GE2025: Ong Ye Kung criticises SDP for downplaying role of PAP MPs in transforming Sembawang
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Health Minister Ong Ye Kung refuted the SDP's claims that it did not matter who the MP on the ground is, as long as the PAP forms the government.
ST PHOTO: AZMI ATHNI
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SINGAPORE – Sembawang would not have transformed into the town it is today, if not for the role played by PAP MPs past and present, said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung.
He was refuting claims made by the opposition Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) that it does not matter who the MP on the ground is, as long as the PAP forms the Government.
Speaking at a rally near Sun Plaza in Sembawang on April 28, Mr Ong said the SDP was making sweeping statements.
He said: “One of the parties, SDP... They have a lot to say, but one thing they say, I think, is disingenuous. They say all these plans are going to happen anyway because the PAP will be the Government.
“Whoever is the MP... all these things that I just mentioned, will still happen. Really ah? I don’t think they can come here for one month and make all these sweeping statements.”
Mr Ong ran through a list of completed projects, including the Bukit Canberra integrated sports and community hub, the Yusof Ishak Mosque, the Woodlands Health hospital and the Sembawang Hot Spring Park.
Upcoming ones he named included the Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link
Each project required extensive discussions with the authorities, he added.
Said Mr Ong: “I spoke to the Defence Ministry and asked, can you give us some land to build the hot spring park? Mindef agreed, that’s why today we have a hot spring park.
“If it was the SDP in charge, do you think Hot Spring Park will happen? I raised money for the performance stage... in Sembawang Park. If it is the SDP in charge, do you think a stage will come up in Sembawang Park?”
He added that he was also in discussions with the Urban Redevelopment Authority on future plans for the site on which Sembawang Shipyard sits, and that in the “usual Sembawang GRC style”, residents will be consulted.
Mr Ong, 55, is helming the PAP team in Sembawang GRC against the SDP and National Solidarity Party (NSP) in a three-cornered fight.
His five-member team includes two new faces – Mr Ng Shi Xuan, 35, and Mr Gabriel Lam, 42, as well incumbent MPs Vikram Nair, 46, and Mariam Jaafar, 48.
When rolling out larger national projects like the Thomson-East Coast Line, the community is less involved because the Cabinet makes the decisions, said Mr Ong.
Addressing the crowd, he asked: “When those decisions are made in Cabinet... do you not want the anchor minister of Sembawang GRC to be in the room making that decision?”
The audience roared and chanted Mr Ong’s name, accompanied by a swell of clappers and whistling.
Mr Ong also addressed several recent policy proposals put forward by the SDP in its speeches and manifesto, and explained why the ideas were not feasible or realistic.
For instance, the core of the SDP healthcare proposal, he said, is a single-payer, universal healthcare system in which the Government manages a central healthcare fund.
Mr Ong said he designs healthcare systems and develops policies as part of his job, but he was not able to figure out what type of healthcare set-up the SDP is proposing.
Patients in Singapore pay their hospital bills with government subsidies, claims from MediShield Life, and through MediSave or what can be called the S+2M system.
Mr Ong asked: “A single-payer system. What does it mean? It means S+2M – get rid of two of the (letters) and live with one? So, my question to SDP is, which two are you getting rid of?”
He added that the SDP plan would mean getting rid of all the subsidies or getting rid of MediShield Life. Without subsidies, all hospital bills must be paid by the health insurance scheme MediShield Life, he said.
Mr Ong said: “What does it do to premiums? Shoot through the roof. They never tell you, right? If there’s no MediShield Life, then you depend only on the subsidy, and your taxes will shoot through the roof.
“When something sounds so good, it is usually fake.”
The SDP’s housing policies appear to have taken a leaf from the PSP’s book, he said.
It is proposing to remove the cost of land from the price of Build-To-Order and Sale of Balance units to lower the cost of Housing Board flats.
The idea may sound appealing, Mr Ong said, but he questioned the broader implications of such a policy move, asking what effect it would have on existing home owners and the overall resale market.
He said: “If you have a proposal or an alternative, be prepared to be scrutinised by the PAP and by the people. SDP proposals, they don’t have a snowball’s chance of contributing to a thriving Singapore.
“Their proposals show that the SDP doesn’t know how public policies work. They don’t seem to really understand the experiences of other countries and learn from them. These are populists calls to get them a ride to Parliament.”
It may be the opposition’s role to challenge the status quo by being a critic of national policies, but the true test comes when it is time to take over and govern – a role that the PAP has to do every day since it is in government, added Mr Ong.
“We do, they talk. We implement, they claim credit. In terms of policy contributions, in terms of affecting the lives of Singaporeans, the opposition is a pale shadow of the PAP government,” he said.
