Concerns of Man on the Streets
· How the standard of living in Singapore will be?
· How will Singapore cope with the instability in the region and the world, such as terrorism?
· What will Singapore do with the remaining land it has?
· How to ensure energy supplies and resources such as food, water, electricity and items meet demand?
· How to contain a growing population on a small island?
· Lawmaking
· controlling the nation's finances
· ensuring ministerial accountability
Parliament convenes when it is in session. The first session of a particular Parliament commences when Parliament meets after being formed following a general election. A session ends when Parliament is prorogued (temporarily suspended) or dissolved. The maximum term of each Parliament is five years, after which Parliament is automatically dissolved. A general election must then be held within three months.
The quorum (minimum number of members that are present to make the proceeding valid) for a Parliamentary sitting is.......................
one quarter of the total number of MPs, excluding the Speaker.
In case the picture above is not clear enough to be interpreted, I shall explain briefly about the structure of the parliament of Singapore. The President and the Parliament jointly forms the legislature of Singapore. The Parliament is made up of Member of Paliament (MP), Non-constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) and Nominated Members of Parliament (NMP). The Speaker of the Parliament chairs the Parliament and is the overall charge of the administration of Parliament and its secretariat. Under the Speaker, there will be a Leader of the House , an MP selected by the Prime Minister ,and Leader of Opposition, an MP of largest Opposition Party. The procedure of the Parliament is as follows:
Profile:
Founded in :21st November 1994
Founder :Sin Kek Tong ( led a pro-Chiam See Tong faction out of the Singapore Democratic Party and was the stand-in leader of the SPP for 3 years until Chiam
Party Leader :Chiam See Tong
Status :left or centre opposition
1st Member of Paliament (MP) :Chiam See Tong ( winner of constituency of Potong Pasir )
In 2001, the SPP became a founding member of the Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA), along with the National Solidarity Party (NSP), the Singapore Justice Party (SJP) and the Singapore Malay National Organisation (PKMS). Chiam became the founding Chairman of SDA, which aimed to provide a common grouping under which different opposition parties could stand as a united front in elections against the ruling People's Action Party (PAP).
Aims:
· Uphold parliamentary democracy, peace, progress, equality and justice in Singapore
· Ensure government live up to its responsibilities and promises, is accountable and transparent
· Building a strong unified opposition front to bring about maximum effectiveness and benefits to Singaporeans
· Achieve two-party system and a truly democratic society in Singapore
Causes:
· Public Accountability
o Lack of involvement of Opposition in Parliament
o For greater transparency and public accountability of the government in its policies and action, such as the Mas Selamat and Huang Na incident
· Influx of Foreigners
o Singaporeans’ salaries declining
o Foreigners competing with Singaporeans for jobs
o Layered levies on skilled foreign employees
· Ageing Population
o Aged people’s health care and medical expenditure facing inflation
o Healthcare insurance premiums for those over the age of 60 becoming costlier due to increasing medical costs
· High Cost of Living
o The cost of living in Singapore for the common average Singaporean steadily increasing
o More and more Singaporeans being “sandwiched” and “left-behind
· Public Housing
o great stress on affordable housing option for Singapore citizens due to slowing down of building and increasing influx of immigrants
· Transport system:
o public transport commuters face over-crowding, poor reach in many outlying areas, long commutes and higher fares
o lack of public accountability and transparency over the amount of profit made by public transport companies and how it is channelled and distributed
National Solidarity Party (NSP) Profile:
Founded : 1987
Location : 397 Jalan Besar #02-01A Singapore 209007
Political position : Centre-left
Motto: Service to Society
NSP is pragmatic, progressive and treasures strong nationalist values e.g. sovereignty. While the Party is pro-business, it champions the working class at the same time.NSP believes in the human potential, dignity and rights of all people regardless of race, language and religion. The Party is committed towards the building of a more open, dynamic, vibrant and inclusive society through consensus and the democratic process. It also values the contribution of each and every member towards the promotion of its potential cause.
Causes
Standard of living
· Promoting gradual instead of sudden population growth
· The need to provide a comprehensive security net for children up to 18 yrs old
· Lower tax burden and abolish certain indirect taxes such as Water Conservation Taxes due to rising cost of living
Economy
· Promote and increase local investment and involvement the market economy by providing more opportunities and help to local enterprises
· Privatisation policy should be review and further justified as certain essential industries are still an integral part of the Singapore national infrastructure
Prevent low-wage workers from exploitation by setting minimum living wage policy
· An Equal Opportunity Commission to prevent employment discrimination
· Priority for citizens in skills-upgrading training, workforce and employment due to increasingly intense competition for jobs with foreigners
Transparency and Neutrality
· Government should not take control of or participate in the competition within the mainstream media, including the partisan and political websites
· Greater access to State information by citizens, whether secret or not, including all national issues
Housing
· HDB should release a comprehensive detail of the costs (land, construction, development, administrative, etc) of each project on its website before launching it, to allow the market to evaluate its cost efficiency
· Priority of housing and rental flats for citizens
· More assistance to those with genuine financial difficulties in looking for housing
· More subsidised rental flats to reduce waiting time for Citizens in dire needs
Health Care
· Make Comprehensive Medical Insurance compulsory to everyone in Singapore and subsidising the premiums payable for citizens only, covering all approved hospitalisation treatments with predetermined costing except the rental of hospital bed to discourage unnecessary extended stay by the patients
· Promote generic drugs which are cheaper
· more beds, medicine and qualified workforce to meet needs of ageing population
Education
· Make nursery and pre-primary education more accessible by providing subsidise
· Reduce class size to 20 to enable better interaction between teachers and students
· Scholarship bonds not to be bonded to any specific ministry or statutory board
· Priority for Citizens in admission to Universities and Schools of higher learning
· Allow temporary “borrow” from CPF Ordinary Accounts in times of hardship, capped at 20% of Account or a maximum of $1500 per month
· the list of CPF-approved tertiary providers should be expanded both in scope and availability to provide for continuing education in this knowledge-based economy
Transportation
· better balance between vehicle population growth and transport facilities to reduce traffic congestion and space constraints and minimise commuters’ costs without using any stringent punitive measures
· The current Vehicle Quota System should be reviewed to prevent COE bidding prices from escalating out of control.
· The Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) system currently being abused as yet another taxation tool at the expense of road users.
· The operations of public transportation should be monitored closely to prevent any unreasonable fare increment merely for the sake of profitability as transportation cost per household currently forms a high percentage of the average household income.
· All Concession Pass holders (students, Senior Citizens, handicapped, and Public Assistance recipients) should be allowed to enjoy concession rate at all times.
Defence and Security
· The national defence expenditure should be reduced progressively over several years so that it could be capped at a steady 4.5% of the GDP.
· The fulltime National Service period should be further reduced from the current 24 months, in view of further technological advancement.
· Prohibit nuclear armaments
· The Internal Security Act should not be abused to suppress political dissidents or to create fear amongst the electorate. All political / security detainees should be entitled to fair trials, within three months after their detention
People’s Action Party (PAP) Profile:
Founded in : 1954
Founder : Lim Chin Siong, Fong Swee Suan, Lee Kuan Yew
Current Leader : Lee Hsien Long
HQ : PCF Building, 57B New Upper Changi Road, #01-1402, Singapore 463057
Ideology : Social
Political position : Far-Right
1st Member of Parliament : Has won all elections since independence of Singapore in 1965
Core Values:
Honest: The Party must remain clean, incorruptible, above board and transparent, and lead with integrity.
Multiracial: A Singaporean Singapore that belongs equally to all citizens, where every individual, regardless of race, language, and religion is assured of justice and fairness.
Meritocratic: A system that provides citizens with equal opportunities to progress, and for a person’s contributions to be recognised and appreciated on the basis of merit.
Self-reliant: No one owes us a living. We will avoid creating the dependency syndrome a welfare state generates.
Causes:
The Party shall be a national movement dedicated to the service of our nation and to the advancement of the well-being of our people. Towards this end, the Party's objectives shall be: -
(a) To preserve, protect and defend the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Singapore.
(b) To safeguard the freedom, and advance the well-being, of Singaporeans through representative and democratic government.
· Economy and employment
1. Upgrade jobs in every sector
2. Help companies expand
3. Attract new investments
4. Help lower-income
· Financial Assistance
1. Workfare
2. More housing grants
3. Bigger bursaries
4. ComCare
5. Opportunity Funds for students
· Education
1. Provide paths for students with differing abilities and interests
2. More teachers in every school
3. Support for learning difficulties
4. First class facilities
5. Childcare centres in neighbourhoods
· Housing
1. Affordable new HDB homes
2. Upgrade old HDB and private estates
3. Recreation all over the island
4. Vibrant arts an culture
· Health Care
1. Affordable healthcare
2. Maintain employment
3. Long-term care closer to home
· Harmony and listening to opinions
1. Encourage youths to pursue their causes
2. Strengthen multiracial identity
(c) To forge a nation of Singaporeans; to build a multiracial society, fair, just, and tolerant to all, whatever their race, language, and religion; to infuse into Singaporeans a sense of national identity and to bind them together by patriotism and commitment to Singapore.
Workers’ Party (WP)
Founded in : 1957
Founder : Singapore’s former Chief Minister, David Marshall
Current Leader : Sylvia Lim
Status : centre-left opposition
1st Member of Parliament : J.B. Jeyaretnam
In 1981, the party's then-leader J.B. Jeyaretnam became the first opposition MP to be elected to Parliament since Singapore's independence in 1965, when he defeated the candidate of the governing People's Action Party (PAP) at a by-election in the constituency of Anson. He was re-elected at the 1984 general election, but subsequently lost his seat in Parliament in 1986 following a conviction for falsely accounting the party's funds (a conviction Jeyaretnam has always maintained was politically motivated). Worker's Party member Lee Siew Choh served as an NCMP from 1988 to 1991. At the 1991 general election, Low Thia Khiang was elected as MP for Hougang. He was re-elected at the 1997, 2001 and 2006 general elections. Jeyaretnam returned to Parliament as an NCMP from 1997 to 2001, and Sylvia Lim has also served as an NCMP for the party since 2006.
Philosophy:
· Diversity, respect, human dignity, tolerance and equal opportunity
· Social justice via respect for the rights of workers, senior citizens and the disabled
Causes:
Governance and Civil Liberties
· Elections s organised by independent bodies reporting to the Chief Justice and President for political neutrality
· The Public Order Act (POA) should not be used to curtail active citizenry. In particular, the provisions on Public Assembly, Move-on order and restrictions on filming of law enforcement operations should be reviewed.
· Voting age to be brought down from 21 to 18
· Citizens aggrieved by actions of public servants have to commence an expensive law suit
Justice Law and Order:
· For mandatory sentences for capital offences to be removed
· Capital cases conducted by a tribunal of two judges whose decision to impose death sentence must be unanimous
· Ensure reliability, impartiality and justice in capital cases
Arts, Media, Information and New Technology
· More transparency from the State in sharing its information, including declassification of secret data after a period ot time
Economic Policy
· More chances for local enterprises to compete with Multi-national Companies (MNCs) and Government-Linked Companies(GLCs)
Population and Immigration
· Ensure that the rate of immigration do not exceed the capacity of the country’s infrastructure and the comfort level of the local population.
· Better environment for childbearing and childrearing for career-minded or employed women
· Incentives for employers to implement better work-life balance practices and flexi-work arrangements
· Paternity leave of at least 6 days, half of which will be funded by the government
· All overseas Singaporeans allowed to vote in elections by postal votes
Public Housing
· the prices of new flats pegged to median incomes of Singaporean households who qualify to buy HDB flats and not the resale market price
· The price of new HDB flats affordable enough to enable most lessees to pay off their loans in 20 years rather than 30 years.
· Qualifications for public rental housing should be more flexible
· Number of flats available under Public Rental Scheme should be increased
· The eligibility criteria for the HDB’s Lease Buyback Scheme should be reviewed to extend it to more households who may be in financial need
Healthcare
· A Basic Hospitalisation Scheme covering all basic hospital care at a standard premium rate affordable for 90% of working population
· The government must play its role to monitor and provide support and intervention to VWOs and commercial enterprises in the long term care sector. This is to ensure such services are readily available, of good quality, and affordable.
Education
· Class size reduced to about 20 pupils so that weaker students can be given more attention
· Currently, the tuition grant for all undergraduates is the same regardless of nationality.
· Tuition grant for local undergraduates should be increased
· Special Education (SPED) schools come under direct funding and total administration of MOE in collaboration with VWOs
· National Education include the teaching of our Constitution, the political system of Parliamentary Democracy, the citizenry rights and obligations
Society
· More government support to Voluntary Welfare Organsation (VWOs) providing healthcare and support services to the elderly
· ratify the United Nations Convention on the rights of Persons with disabilities and ensure that its key provisions are implemented in Singapore
· Abolition of GRCs and restoration of single seats
Transport
· All public transport including the MRT & public buses brought under a National Transport Corporation instead of profit-oriented companies
· The Public Transport Council should be dissolved. Government accountability for public transport matters should be via a unit under the Land Transport Authority. This unit should receive feedback, audit services, review productivity and examine the need for fare adjustments.
· Extend and fund concession passes on public transport for the elderly and disabled respectively
Sports and Recreation
· Stronger emphasis on sports popular among Singaporeans that could rally the Singapore nation together
· To elect leaders of National Sports Associations from among the sporting fraternity instead of politicians
Labour Policy
· Higher low wage workers’ wage supplement paid out more regularly and pegged to cost of living
· Foreign manpower dependency ratios / quotas should be carefully calibrated for all skill levels, and by industry rather than broad sectors such as manufacturing or services
· Job security for retired from age 62 to 65 years, the CPF draw-down age
· To set up a Board of Equal Opportunity to ensure equality in employment
Central Provident Fund Policy
· Retirement adequacy via CPF needs to be boosted. CPF rates should not be tinkered with during economic cycles. Apart from paying CPF members interest on their balances, dividends should be paid periodically, since the government utilizes CPF monies for investment and reaps gains above the CPF interest rates.CPF
· CPF members own their CPF monies. Given the uncertain employment outlook for older workers, members should be allowed to start draw-downs after reaching 60 years old. In addition, members in dire financial straits should be allowed to make limited draws on their CPF funds, subject to strict conditions.
