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SINGAPORE – The WP on April 17 unveiled its manifesto for the upcoming general election, covering 125 policy proposals in five sections.
Titled “Working for Singapore”, it covers affordability and cost of living concerns, economic growth and opportunities, inclusion and equality in the society here, accountability and democracy here, and security and geopolitics.
Speaking at the party headquarters in Geylang, incumbent Aljunied GRC MP Gerald Giam said the WP manifesto is a refined and enhanced version of the one for the previous general election in 2020.
Following that election, with the increase in the number of its MPs, the WP was able to bring the proposals in that manifesto to Parliament and have them “tested through the fire of debate”, he said.
Mr Giam added that some of the proposals from the 2020 manifesto remain in the latest one, as they have not been implemented yet.
“We’re not just dropping them just because they weren’t implemented by the Government. And this is our plan forward to bring forward these proposals in Parliament if we have an opportunity to,” he said.
Here is a summary of the key areas that the manifesto addresses:
Affordability and cost of living
Proposals in this section cover topics such as the goods and services tax, retrenchment benefits, tiering utility bills to benefit those who consume less, reducing healthcare costs for vulnerable groups, and housing affordability.
One proposal is redundancy insurance for all local workers, which both employers and employees contribute to.
Incumbent Sengkang GRC MP Jamus Lim said there are important nuances between WP’s proposed scheme and the Government’s SkillsFuture Jobseeker Support scheme.
WP’s proposal would provide a retrenched worker with up to $2,000, for up to six months, on certain conditions.
Retrenchment benefits should be mandated through legislation, the party proposed, starting with private companies with at least 25 employees.
In terms of housing, one proposal is to peg the house price to income ratio to the median income levels of new home owners for BTO flats.
Other proposals include the tiering of utility bills such that those who use less electricity and water pay less, and allowing Singaporeans aged above 60 to use MediSave to pay for medical expenses not already covered by assistance schemes such as MediShield Life.
Economic growth and opportunities
Proposals here touch on areas such as prioritising local over foreign talent, improving the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises, better support for older workers, and reforming the Central Provident Fund (CPF) scheme.
One suggestion is to tie the renewal of employment passes for foreigners to effective skills transfers to Singaporeans.
This acquisition or transfer of skills should be tracked and publicly reported as key performance indicators as part of industry transformation blueprints.
The WP also proposes to abolish the statutory retirement age, to let older workers continue working if they want to, and to review the CPF Ordinary Account interest rate.
Inclusion and equality
This section of the manifesto deals with issues such as caregiving, education, access to housing, the work environment and local sports.
It includes proposals to provide up to six days of paid family care leave a year, to develop and regulate the mental health industry, as well as to introduce an optional 10-year through-train programme that allows pupils to skip the PSLE.
Also, the country’s “historical focus on GDP growth as a measure of policy success” needs to be widened to include social development indexes, the party proposed.
These could include income and wealth inequality, physical and mental health, and climate and sustainability goals.
Sengkang GRC MP He Ting Ru said: “Policies to promote inclusion and equality have to take centre stage, especially as global shocks such as the Covid pandemic and various wars have been shown to exacerbate discrimination and inequality.”
Accountability and democracy
Many proposals in this section were previously raised, Ms He noted, such as introducing a freedom of information law, and declassifying the National Archives after 25 years.
There are also suggestions to protect judicial independence, such as the removal of current provisions for the appointment of fixed-term judicial commissioners and short-term senior judges.
Ms He noted the importance of fully independent institutional systems that are empowered to check those in power.
She said: “This section is particularly important in times of uncertainty and change, because… accountability and democracy have to stand firm and be a beacon of light to guide our nation through turbulence.”
Ms He added that the latest WP manifesto also includes policy suggestions related to environmental conservation and anti-discrimination.
For example, the party is proposing for Environmental Impact Assessments to be done for all development projects affecting green areas, to accompany the land use master plan. These assessments should be made permanently available to the public, WP said.
Security and geopolitics
The proposals in this section covers suggestions to bolster national defence, ways to better utilise security budgets and improve the country’s internal resilience, as well as stances that Singapore should take with respect to diplomacy and trade relations.
Among the proposals is one to change the term “NS allowance” to “NS salary”, and to set it to at least “a living wage” of $1,600 per month, and include CPF contributions
Also, institutional buyers such as the Singapore Armed Forces and hospitals should increase their uptake of food from local sources, to improve the viability of local farmers and enhance national food security, Mr Giam said.
On the international front, among other proposals, WP said it supports a negotiated two-state solution in the Israel-Palestine conflict, but added that Singapore should formally recognise the State of Palestine before negotiations for such a solution are concluded.
When asked on this topic, Mr Giam said the WP is making this proposal as “this is a very important issue for a lot of Singaporeans”, and that it would “help to advance this whole peace process”.
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