Earlier in the SPP’s preliminary statement on the National Day Rally speech, we indicated that we support the Prime Minister’s moves to meet the challenges Singapore faces. Policy changes, such as the proposed new scoring system for PSLE exams and the increase of primary school places for unconnected students to 40, are welcomed.
In this follow-up response to the speech, we seek to raise some questions on policies that were introduced in the NDR speech, in the spirit of furthering the national debate we undertake together.
Social spending
The Prime Minister assured Singaporeans that the government has been distributing permanent GST vouchers and employing the Special Employment Credit. We are also aware of the NTUC vouchers given out at various PAP meet-the-people sessions.
Singaporeans certainly appreciate these gifts. But the fact remains that Singapore’s expenditure on social protection is only 3.5% of all social spending.
This 3.5% includes CPF. CPF cannot be considered government expenditure – it is our own savings. So we would argue that if PM Lee was trying to convince us that the government has done enough through subsidies, the argument is not strong based on the figures.
The wages of Singaporeans
We do not support the above mentioned subsidies as a long term solution. We urge Singaporeans to work with us to push for a higher wage policy, including a minimum wage.
The next step the government should take is to further manage the influx of foreign workers, especially in the PMET group, in order to level the playing field for Singaporeans, and to stop wage depression. It is not true that the pay of Singaporeans is not competitive enough. We are a world class city, but compared to other top cities, our engineers are paid much less for instance.
We want Singapore to be a world class city, but we also believe Singaporeans deserve to be paid world class wages.
Public housing
We understand that the Sengkang Fernvalue Vista BTO project was priced at S$123,000 for a 4-room flat. In March 2013, the similar 4 room HDB was prices to $361,000. This looks like a huge reduction. When PM said it stabilised, how long a time frame was he referring to though?
During the speech, we were assured that if one is earning S$1,000 per month, one should be able to afford a 2-room flat.
From the feedback we received from the ground, an S$1,000 per month wage earner may not even be paid CPF, as s/he would be taking on freelance jobs such as cleaning and care taking. The feedback we received is that home owners also need to consider home upkeep, furniture expenditure, basic repainting, and so on. I hope the government can provide a more detailed breakdown as to how a $1,000 per month wage earner can afford a basic, sustainable lifestyle in Singapore with two kids – a realistic family size.
Health care
We are worried about is that Singapore’s total health care spending has not been more than 5% of GDP. We are also concerned about the lack of transparent information. We are aware that MediFund surpluses have been transferred to the protected reserves, but why were they not transferred to MediShield instead? What are the interests to be gained from MediFund surpluses?
With regard to the quality of health care, we have two suggestions. We should relook at expanding the list of qualifying universities for doctors to practise in Singapore, and to bring in more medical officers to help support the increasing health care requirements in Singapore. NUS should expand the number of places in the medicine faculty.
Our second suggestion is to work on shortening the queue for subsidised treatment. The feedback we have gotten is that a referral from polyclinics can take up to 6 months – it can take up to 1 year before one can see a specialist.
Project Jewel, or the real issues at stake?
I am not sure how crucial Project Jewel is to Singaporeans, who already benefit from many shopping malls. Project Jewel is an exciting project, but it is not the most vital thing that will affect Singaporeans’ daily lives at this moment.
The real issues are overpopulation, an inadequate public transport infrastructure bursting at the seams, and a deteriorating health care system. We urge the government to look more closely into these issues, as we move ahead.
MRS LINA CHIAM, NCMP
Chairman, Singapore People’s Party