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