SINGAPORE - Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) chief Chee Soon Juan said life can get better for Singaporeans if they vote in more opposition MPs into Parliament.

Dr Chee, 57, at a 15-minute online rally on Sunday (July 5), spoke about how the Government was more responsive to people's needs after its vote share dropped in the 2011 polls.

On the other hand, prices rose after the PAP scored a strong win in the 2015 polls, he said.

In 2011, the PAP's vote share fell to 60.1 per cent and the ruling party, for the first time, lost a GRC when the Workers' Party (WP) won in Aljunied. The WP also retained its Hougang SMC stronghold.

In his speech, Dr Chee called former transport minister Raymond Lim "unimpressive" and said former national development minister Mah Bow Tan made a "complete mess" of housing policy. He added that the two former ministers did not handle well the challenges of transport and housing.

Dr Chee also said that the terrorist leader Mas Selamat had escaped from prison when Mr Wong Kan Seng was home affairs minister.

He noted that all three politicians stepped down from Cabinet after the 2011 polls.

Another outcome of that election, Dr Chee said, was that Singaporeans benefited from more social spending as well as measures like Medishield Life and the Pioneer Generation package. There was also an improvement to the public transportation system when more buses were added.

In the 2015 General Election, the PAP's vote share increased to 69.9 per cent, and the party became more arrogant, Dr Chee said.

At an online rally last Thursday, Dr Chee gave a breakdown of the price and percentage increases that affected carpark rates, water tax, town council fees and transportation fares, among other things.

During Sunday's rally, he said: "When you give the PAP a high percentage of votes, it becomes arrogant and it feels the voters have given them a green light to raise your living expenses... And because its power was never challenged, it continued to take advantage of the support."

Dr Chee also reminded Singaporeans of the challenges they face when it comes to issues such as CPF funds, a satellite-based electronic road pricing system and an increase to the goods and services tax (GST).

In contrast, the key planks of the SDP campaign - to suspend GST, pay retrenchment benefits, provide income to retirees, put people first and limit the population - will not burden the country's financial resources, he said.

"On the other hand, when you vote in more opposition MPs, the PAP listens to you and moderates its behaviour and cuts back on its excesses."