GE2025: PSP’s minimum wage idea is ‘easy way out’, says PAP’s Gan Siow Huang
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PAP candidate for Marymount SMC Gan Siow Huang meeting a resident during a walkabout in Bishan on April 26.
ST PHOTO: TARYN NG
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SINGAPORE – The PSP’s proposal for a minimum monthly wage in Singapore “sounds simple” and is an “easy way out”, said the PAP’s Gan Siow Huang, who is defending her Marymount seat in the 2025 General Election.
In an interview with The Straits Times on April 26, she said that the Progressive Wage Model (PWM) by the PAP Government offers a more comprehensive and sustainable solution for lower-wage workers.
“I do not assume that a single wage, minimum wage, will be sufficient for all... The more difficult thing is how to have a more targeted minimum wage for each sector, and that takes a lot of hard work,” said Ms Gan, who is the Minister of State for Education and Manpower.
“Because in each sector, we have to get both the employers and unions to come together to a common landing on what is a reasonable, sustainable minimum wage for that sector.”
Ms Gan, 50, spoke to ST after a walkabout in Bishan on April 26, when she was asked about the comments made by her opponent, Mr Jeffrey Khoo, during a PSP rally on April 24
PAP candidate Gan Siow Huang meeting a resident in Bishan on April 26. “For the last five years, I’ve been very active on the ground, and I am confident that, by now, most residents will know what I stand for,” she said.
ST PHOTO: TARYN NG
Mr Khoo, the chief executive of a regional risk consulting firm, had called for a $2,250 minimum monthly wage and policies to prioritise Singaporeans in the workforce.
The PWM, said Ms Gan, links wage increases to skills upgrading and productivity, and it is a more calibrated approach that takes into account industry needs.
The Workfare Income Supplement scheme, a government initiative that provides cash and Central Provident Fund top-ups for lower-wage workers, is another way to help workers, she added.
Mr Khoo had also suggested implementing stronger “Singaporean-first” policies in relation to the Government’s Fair Consideration Framework, which sets out requirements for employers here to consider the workforce fairly for job opportunities.
In response, Ms Gan said such comments do not take into account Singapore’s size and lack of natural resources.
Likening it to United States President Donald Trump’s political slogan, she said: “You look at the US’ Make America Great Again. Are they?
“Our market is very small... So, if you want to compete for businesses, if you want to bring in investments, you must make sure we have talent and be humble. While we have very good talent here, we don’t have enough.”
PAP candidate Gan Siow Huang at a Bishan coffee shop on April 26. She said plans are under way for a new covered linkway across Bishan Street 22.
ST PHOTO: TARYN NG
Instead of shutting others out, she added that Singapore should aim to build a strong and diverse workforce that includes local and global talent.
The battle in the single-member constituency will see Ms Gan, who won 55.04 per cent of the vote against PSP’s Ang Yong Guan’s 44.96 per cent in her first contest in 2020, facing a PSP opponent again.
Mr Khoo was part of the PSP’s best performing team at the last polls, which took 48.32 per cent of the vote in West Coast GRC.
On her opponent, Ms Gan noted that though Mr Khoo has experience contesting in elections, his experience is in West Coast, not Marymount, where the needs of residents are different.
“For the last five years, I have been very active on the ground, and I am confident that, by now, most residents will know what I stand for, who I am, and I think I am in a better position,” she added.
In her time as Marymount MP, said Ms Gan, she brought several projects to fruition, including a new bus stop and bus service 162 along Sin Ming Road, sheltered linkways, and the redevelopment of Thomson Community Club.
The club is expected to be completed in a few weeks after a delay. It was originally estimated to be completed by late 2021, but work stopped when the previous contractor encountered unforeseen business challenges during the pandemic and could not continue.
She added that plans are under way for three more active ageing centres in the area and a new covered linkway across Bishan Street 22 which connects to Bishan North Shopping Mall.
She said: “This is a high-demand, high-interest item by the residents. The last five years, many residents have been asking me to have this built so that it will be more convenient, rain or shine, for them to access the neighbourhood town.”
Elisha Tushara is a correspondent at The Straits Times specialising in Singapore’s education landscape.
