SINGAPORE, Sept 7 — With a new generation arising and political dynamics changing, the next government will have to be more collaborative and policies must be more accommodative and flexible to cater to different segments of society and their needs, Dr Ng Eng Hen, organising secretary of the ruling People’s Action Party, said yesterday.

“We recognise that a new generation has arisen. They were born of a different context (and have) different visceral responses, different visual memories, different aural and nasal memories,” said Dr Ng, who is also Defence Minister.

Moving forward, the Government’s policies will have to evolve, because there will be more diverse segments of society as well as varying needs, he said. Dr Ng was speaking to reporters after the launch of a covered plaza on Lorong 7, Toa Payoh.

There has already been “a significant shift” in the policies of the Ministry of National Development — “changes which we would not have moved so easily before”, he said, citing the recently announced Fresh Start Housing Scheme as an example.

The Central Provident Fund (CPF) scheme, too, will need to be made more flexible, so as to cater to those who fall ill and cannot work or those who need financing because they purchase homes late, he added.

But Dr Ng said that despite what detractors say, the CPF “serves its fundamental core mission” of providing an income for life to all Singaporeans for as long as they live. More importantly, it is fiscally and financially sound.

“I don’t think you want to weaken the core of a good scheme, but just like (in) housing, what you need to do is expand the options so it caters to more and more diverse groups,” he said.

Capable ministers and Members of Parliament are needed for the policies to be crafted and shaped in ways that effectively reach out to wider segments of society, and that is why the PAP is calling for a strong mandate to form a government that is not “weakened by attrition”, said Dr Ng.

He added that the government-to-people partnership will also have to evolve into more institutional links, whether it is with civil society or with voluntary welfare organisations.

The government has already begun this process, he added, citing as examples the Our Singapore Conversation initiative, the Committee to Strengthen National Service as well as public consultation exercises for some policies.

Dr Ng also stressed that the outcome of this General Election will set the tone for future generations and determine the kind of politics that the next generation will have.

Pointing out that contests for all seats are likely in subsequent elections, he said: “The question we have to ask ourselves is: Do we want to precipitate a kind of politics that is more like other countries — fractional, fighting, combative politics — where each side goes against the other and you get a lot of heat, but very little light?”

A weakened PAP Government, he added, will not be in the interest of Singapore and Singaporeans. The Opposition parties have also not indicated that they wish to form the Government; instead, their “platform” is that people should vote for them so as to push the PAP Government into performing better, he said.

“It’s equivalent to saying, ‘Put your money in my bank so that the other bank raises its interest rate.’ Well, that’s fine, but what happens when the money that I put in your bank draws no interest and the capital sum is drawn down?”

During the hustings for this election, the Workers’ Party has criticised the Government’s population policy and called for the foreign worker inflow to be reduced.

Asked if the planning parameter of a 6.9 million population is going to stay, Dr Ng said the issue had to be looked at as a whole, and “that’s what a Government has to do”.

“The trade-off is never about numbers in a population. The trade-off is: How do you accept slower growth when your local workforce will stop growing after 2020,” he said.

The government has been tightening foreign labour numbers, but businesses are feeling the pain.

“This is not something you can address with just one line and with one question, because it affects jobs, it affects the daily lives of Singaporeans … These are not simple questions that you can slogan away.”

Ultimately, it is up to Singaporeans to decide on the kind of politics and the direction that the country takes, said Dr Ng.

“No matter how capable a candidate is, no matter how pure his or her intentions are, if the residents decide that that’s not going to be their representative in Parliament … then — as simple and definitive as that — the candidate doesn’t get to serve.” — TODAY