GE2020 SINGAPORE VOTES: ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL
Singapore GE2020: SDA calls for lower GST, stricter hiring of foreigners
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Singapore Democratic Alliance's Mr Desmond Lim (third from left), who helms the team contesting in Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC, waving to residents of Pasir Ris Street 51 from their campaign lorry yesterday.
ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM
The Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA) yesterday launched a website that sets out its manifesto for the July 10 General Election.
The party's key priorities are: Lower the goods and services tax (GST) to 3 per cent for essential items, tackle social inequality, tweak the Central Provident Fund (CPF) scheme and stiffen the qualifying criteria for hiring foreign professionals.
These ideas in its eight-page manifesto, titled Heart For The People, were distilled from years of grassroots and charity work, SDA chairman Desmond Lim Bak Chuan, 53, told The Straits Times.
He said in Mandarin: "We have condensed the residents' pain points, and we want to show them that we have heard their problems and are actively coming up with solutions to solve them."
For example, it wants to allow senior citizens to receive their CPF savings in full on reaching the retirement age of 62, instead of getting monthly payouts.
It also wants the Government to spend more from its returns on investments on youth from disadvantaged families.
"A fraction of (the investment returns) would go a long way in helping more than 100,000 disadvantaged Singaporean families break the poverty cycle. The youth, especially, have a chance to achieve success when given the right tools and environment," the manifesto noted.
It added that the Government's plans to raise consumption taxes will "devastate lower-income to middle-income Singaporeans who are already grappling with the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic". For this reason, it wants the GST for essential items to be lowered to 3 per cent, the party added.
To save jobs for residents, the SDA will also "demand tighter labour audits on companies to ensure that rogue firms do not get away with hiring phantom local staff to boost their army of cheap foreign labour".
