Good evening, voters of Punggol
Cost-of-Living
Have you been affected by the super-fast rising cost of living?
My colleagues and I did what we could in Parliament to stop the PAP from raising the GST.
After the first increase from 7 to 8%, we said to the PAP – “defer the increase that you had planned before COVID and before the Russia-Ukraine war”.
The PAP says that the whole world is facing inflation. Yes, it is true that inflation worsened as we exited COVID and galloped further ahead with the Russia-Ukraine war.
But which ruling party anywhere in the world increased goods and services taxes when the winds of inflation were raging the strongest?
Which government turbo-charged inflation with a consumption tax hike? None. Except the PAP.
The PAP says there will be increases in healthcare and other costs and revenue is needed. Yes, both a growing population and an aging population mean higher government spending. But let me ask you: Could the GST increase have been postponed? Yes, of course!
After COVID, there was a political window to defer raising GST and give Singaporeans breathing room.
When the WP questioned the PAP in Parliament during the Budget debate this year, the Prime Minister even responded to my speech asking, how did the PAP turbo-charge inflation with a GST hike? Doesn’t he know?
The Monetary Authority of Singapore which is under the Prime Minister’s Office told Parliament in 2024 that a GST hike could increase inflation by up to 40%.
Isn’t that turbo-charging?
Singaporeans have had to tighten our belts due to the worst inflation in decades.
Everything is more expensive. Even these elections.
In GE 2020, each candidate could spend up to $4 per voter. Now, the Elections Department has raised the amount to $5. 25% more! Not 2% more!
Food prices in hawker centres have increased by just as much, if not more.
Many Singaporeans rely on CPF retirement payouts because they have stopped working. These payouts do not increase with inflation and so our seniors are hit very hard.
A poorly timed GST hike
The real tragedy is that the PAP had enough fiscal room to avoid making things worse for Singaporeans.
For this past Parliamentary term, we know that the Government had a surplus of more than 14 billion dollars.
With such a surplus, will the PAP now have the courage to admit that the decision to raise the GST in 2023 and 2024 was poorly timed?
There is still time for the PAP to admit to this and apologise. Polling day is on Saturday!
I said in Parliament that only the PAP can answer to Singaporeans why it raised the GST when it did. We are still waiting for a sensible answer. Because all the surpluses for this term, as per our constitutional rules have been locked up in the reserves, and cannot be used for current spending needs.
After the PM questioned where the turbo-charging of inflation was, one of his Ministers said we can debate about the best time for a GST hike.
But my fellow Singaporeans, we do not need to debate this. A political party which claims it has the back of the Singaporeans should not worsen cost-of-living pain by increasing GST when inflation is raging.
No government in the world will do this if it has got the back of its citizens.
And to rub salt into the wound, one PAP MP in Parliament, in supporting the PAP’s GST hike, said that while, and I quote, “we do not like pain at all, a little pain is necessary because it is what makes us alert, it is what keeps us alive.” Unquote.
Singaporeans are asking – why did the PAP have to inflict morepain on us? We are already in pain because of global inflation. Why must you make things worse?
But even as we wait long for a satisfactory answer, we must ask a fundamental question. How does the PAP get away with such decisions – increasing GST at such a bad time?
The answer is simple, the political pressure that it faces from elected WP MPs is not enough for now.
Why vote WP?
You might reasonably ask: if WP MPs were not able to stop the GST increases, why elect us? Let me give you two reasons.
One reason is this: the PAP cares deeply about its percentage of votes and the number of seats it wins. Vote share and seats are how PAP politicians judge each other. These are the PAP’s KPIs.
You, as the voter, can tell the PAP what you want by voting for the Workers’ Party.
When the PAP loses votes and seats to the WP, it has to take corrective action.
It will think twice and even three times before further raising the GST or implementing other policies that the people object to. Or at the very least, the PAP will consider the timings of their policies much more carefully. That would be an excellent outcome for the people of Singapore!
The second reason to vote WP is this: when there are WP MPs in Parliament, we ask the questions that Singaporeans want to ask. The PAP has no choice but to try to justify its decisions and actions in Parliament. And when we offer alternative policies, we put such options into public discussion and the PAP must respond.
The WP is not naïve, nor is it populist. We are a party that does its homework. We know that Singapore will have rising expenditures in healthcare and increased HDB subsidies to finance HDB’s deficit.
But who should determine how future spending should be funded? Not the PAP on its own – it should be Singaporeans! If you give us your vote, the WP will debate with the PAP on this and represent you.
Without the WP working for Singapore in Parliament, the PAP will have free reign to do whatever it wants. And when you give feedback that you are in pain, what will a PAP MP whose party has a supermajority in Parliament tell you? He will tell you pain is good; it makes you feel alive.
Fiscal Facts
From 2020 to 2024 alone, about 115 billion dollars from NIRC contributions were added to our reserves. This 115 billion is the investment return from our reserves, and includes things such as the dividends from our assets. Upto 50% can be used for the yearly budget, but the other 50% goes back into the reserves. Following the rules in the Constitution, not a cent of this investment return that goes back into the reserves can be spent to help Singaporeans today.
For comparison, about 43 billion dollars was spent to fight COVID. The PAP said this represented twenty years’ worth of past budget surpluses.
But the 115 billion dollars collected through NIRC receipts from 2020 to 2024 is close to three times the amount of money spent to fight COVID, which the PAP called the crisis of a generation.
And the 115 billion dollars was accumulated in just 5 years. With so much accumulated, could the PAP have postponed or even cancelled the GST increase? Yes it could have!
Reserves & more Reserves
On the use of our reserves to fight COVID, the Workers’ Party asked the PAP a direct question in Parliament.
And it was this – After the largest withdrawal of our reserves since independence to fight COVID – we asked: were our total reserves higher or lower than before COVID?
The PAP couldn’t even offer a straight answer. Instead the PAP said, the reserves continue to grow. That was not the question. To the PAP: just please answer the question!
Now, lets be clear, saving for the future is certainly a good thing. It is prudent. But in Singapore, with more than 80% of land in Government hands, Singaporeans should never be shy to ponder and ask: how much is enough and under what circumstances should we use it to look after our people?
We live in a country where CPF retirement payouts are not inflation-indexed and where parents wonder if their children will be able to afford HDB flats, much less private property.
We must continue to question, in good faith, whether we are overburdening the current generations even as we look to secure Singapore for future generations.
My fellow Singaporeans, there is nothing wrong with asking such questions. But I have not heard any PAP MP ask the tough questions. Nor have I heard many of them ask tough questions that directly question PAP government policy.
Realities of voting PAP in Punggol
As for DPM Gan Kim Yong, the leader of the Punggol GRC team, should Punggol voters choose him and his team?
Let me share a fact about Mr Gan. In the PAP’s party elections in November 2024, he was not elected into the PAP’s central executive committee. This is strange for a Deputy Prime Minister. Could it be that he was ready to retire and did not plan to run in these elections?
If so, can he be so critical to the PM’s plans? You mean the PAP has no one else in cabinet that can negotiate with the United States on tariffs? If this is true, and to quote SM Lee Hsien Loong, “see liao lah”!
Remember what happened to DPM Heng when he abandoned Tampines GRC at the last minute to contest East Coast GRC in GE2020? He was supposed to be our next Prime Minister. All lined up – ready to take off. And then, the PAP tells us, sorry, runway too short.
DPM Heng has now retired from politics but I am sure he will continue to contribute to Singapore. Voters of Punggol, Mr Mr Gan Kim Yong is older than the now retired DPM Heng. If elected, it looks like he is going to be a one-term MP.
Taxpayer Funding for all Singaporeans
DPM Gan says he and the PM are friends. I am sorry Punggol, but I cannot say that the PM and I are friends.
But do I need to be his friend for taxpayer funding to be allocated to Punggol? No! As a Singaporean, I expect fair allocation of taxpayer resources to all our people. And our Civil Service will allocate funds and projects fairly.
Here are just a few reasons why I say so:
· In my ward of Eunos in Aljunied GRC, despite being in WP hands for the last 14 years, a polyclinic will open NEXT YEAR.
· The Eastern General Hospital is also under construction in the Eunos ward of Aljunied GRC.
· There are two MRT stations in my ward, both of which were built after 2011.
The PAP has learned through the years that putting opposition wards last for upgrading and last for national projects creates a backlash against them in constituencies all over Singapore. So I have every confidence, Punggol will be well served!
And if not, I invite the PAP Punggol team to list for the people of Punggol, which projects and initiatives you will cancel if you lose Punggol GRC. Say so now, so we can see how much you really care for the residents of Punggol.
What about in Parliament? Which candidates will make a greater difference for you? Three of the PAP Punggol candidates are political office holders. They simply cannot question the Government – they ARE the Government. Who will ask the hard questions in Parliament if there are concerns from Punggol residents? Only the Punggol candidates from The Workers’ Party!
PAP Supermajority
In my party political broadcast that was televised last Saturday, I shared that in March 2023, despite their supermajority, the PAP almost could not pass an amendment to our Constitution. Lucky for them, WP MPs were around.
In our parliamentary democracy do you know whose job it is to ensure that enough PAP MPs are around to vote on laws proposed by the PAP government? It is the Government Whip. Do you know who that person was in March 2023?
It was the PAP Punggol team’s very own – Janil Puthucheary!
As all NSmen know, you must always “check strength”. You must make sure every soldier is present and no one is left behind. This is drummed into all SAF commanders. But in March 2023, Janil Puthucheary did not ensure there were enough PAP MPs around to vote for a PAP Government’s constitutional amendment. Lucky for him, the Workers’ Party MPs were present and ready to Work for Singapore.
Residents of Punggol, only the opposition can challenge and push the PAP to listen harder, and to explain and defend its position.
And if it is clear there is far stronger public support for the WP’s position, the PAP will even have to change course.
We are here to make the PAP more sensitive to your needs and your concerns.
A PAP MP will simply defend the PAP at all costs.
In the previous term of government, one PAP MP, in order to promote skills upgrading, proposed that university degrees should expire after five years.
How do PAP MPs come up with such proposals? I think their supermajority – the overconfidence created by having more than 90% of seats in Parliament is the reason why.
Coming back to the PAP proposal of expiring degrees. Lets unpack it. You mean parents are supposed to spend a bomb on their children’s university education only for the degree to expire? And this is after negotiating one of the most stressful education systems in the world. Why should our degrees expire? So that the PAP can push skills upgrading through crazy ideas that don’t make sense?
My fellow Singaporeans, and lionesses and lions of Punggol – general elections come around only once every five years. It is really tough for the opposition to assemble a slate as strong as the one you have before you in Harpreet Singh, Alexis Dang Pei Yuan, Jackson Au and Alia Mattar.
A balanced political system & Gerrymandering
A vote for the PAP in Punggol will not result in a more balanced political system.
The PAP does not need your vote to form the Government.
But your vote is really precious for the Workers’ Party. We ask you to vote in Singapore’s interest and to help Singapore achieve a more balanced Parliament where your voice is heard.
Punggol GRC, your role in these elections is very very significant. You see how the PAP government shifts electoral boundaries every five years. About one month before elections, the PAP Government announced that MacPherson SMC, where they secured a healthy majority in past elections, suddenly became part of Marine Parade GRC. Is this acceptable?
But the terrain in Punggol is different. How much can the PAP play with electoral boundaries here? Not as much as in Marine Parade – Braddell Heights GRC.
The PAP government’s electoral boundary review committee cannot merge Punggol GRC into Johor!
By the next elections, Marine Parade – Braddell Heights GRC can easily see its boundaries change again in future. These changes may harm WP’s chances in our mission to have a more balanced political system.
So Punggol can send a very strong message to the PAP. You can change some electoral boundaries every five years, but don’t mess with Punggol. Don’t mess with Singaporeans!
Punggol, if you vote WP, you will be doing an incredible service to the nation – service based on justice and equality. You will show the PAP the limits and futility of redrawing boundaries and announcing them just one or two months after general elections. This will hit the PAP government hard, right between the eyes. But you vote for the Workers’ Party it will be in line with PM Lawrence Wong’s Forward Singapore vision – of a new social compact with Singapore. One where all of us matter.
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, will benefit not just you, but all Singaporeans who want a fair and accountable electoral boundary review process. So that we remain on track to be a society based on justice and equality.
Punggol GRC, elect the Worker’s Party candidates. This is not Mission: Impossible. It is Mission: possible! You can do it!
Vote Workers’ Party! Working for Singapore!
28 April 2025
Office of the Leader of the Opposition 