Reform Party

RP: Plan to invest wealth in citizens

Seven political parties delivered their second party messages on television and radio last night. The time allocated was based on the number of contesting candidates. We reproduce the messages that were delivered in English.

ROY NGERNG Candidate

ROY NGERNG, RP CANDIDATE:

My fellow Singaporeans, on Sept 11 you will head to the polling booths to cast your vote and exercise your right to choose. Will you choose for a brighter future or will you choose one with more broken promises? There was a time when we Singaporeans were proud of our society, when we were taken care of by one another, and when we knew that the policies were designed to protect us. But that was long ago.

This Government promised us a Swiss standard of living but instead the cost of living has risen and wages have failed to keep up, and even stagnated. As a result, many Singaporeans have difficulty making ends meet.

This Government runs our country like a corporation. A profit-making machine where the citizens are not preferred shareholders and their well-being is gradually being neglected.

The Government has failed to find a solution to our productivity problems. Its only suggestion is to continue increasing the population for the sake of hollow GDP growth. This idea has caused many Singaporeans to be sidelined and puts unacceptable stress on our society.

The Reform Party believes there is another way. We have a fundamentally different manifesto carefully crafted, refined and updated over the last few years.

Singapore has accumulated huge surpluses but this wealth is hoarded instead of being shared with Singaporeans. The Reform Party wants to invest our wealth in our citizens, our greatest natural resource. We want to invest in Singaporeans in the following ways.

• By implementing a minimum wage.

• Putting a cap on foreign workers.

• Investing in healthcare.

• Providing free education.

• To give you a share of the land that your HDB sits on.

• To give you a stake in GIC and Temasek Holdings.

• Abolishing MediShield premiums completely for the young and old.

• And to Return Your CPF savings to you at 55.

These policies will improve not only productivity and fertility but will grow real wages. Our policies put Singaporeans at the heart of the matter. Current government policies aren't working for Singaporeans and many of you feel the current government has lost touch with Singaporeans. Reform Party believes that our Singaporeans deserve a better government, one that will work harder for you. Singaporeans, you deserve a government that is fully transparent and accountable to you, and where the power of checks is returned into your hands, its rightful place. In Parliament, the Reform Party will fight tirelessly for these rights, on your behalf.

You are a taxpayer of Singapore and you are an equal citizen. We want your right as a citizen to be equally respected and we will not allow the Government to threaten you by holding back amenities.

The Reform Party will be safe and accountable on the ground, and we will be your champion in Parliament. Singaporeans, let's vote for a brighter future. Let's vote for a more caring Singapore for ourselves and our children.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on September 11, 2015, with the headline RP: Plan to invest wealth in citizens. Subscribe