Singapore People’s Party (SPP)

Profile:

Founded in :21^st 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

1^st 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