SINGAPORE, July 7 — A day after Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong called for a strong mandate from voters to allow the People’s Action Party (PAP) to execute its plans to overcome the Covid-19 crisis, the opposition Workers’ Party (WP) has called out his statement as a “false choice”.
Sylvia Lim, WP’s chairman, pointed to other “robust democracies”, such as Taiwan and New Zealand, that have been dealing quite effectively with the coronavirus.
“In fact, in New Zealand, the prime minister, her own party doesn’t even have a majority of the Members of Parliament,” she told reporters at a doorstop interview in Sengkang today, referring to New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern.
Lim added: “The fact is that Singaporeans know that when there is a need to come together, they will, and they will support the Government in handling the Covid 19 crisis, regardless of who they vote into Parliament.”
At the same doorstop interview, WP secretary-general Pritam Singh said that Lee had tarred all political parties “with the same paintbrush” in suggesting that opposition parties had been “completely silent” on tackling the pandemic throughout the election hustings.
A day earlier, Lee, PAP’s secretary-general, made these points in his longstanding lunchtime Fullerton rally on the seventh day of campaigning.
Singh said that WP had dedicated the first chapter of its manifesto, released last week, to the coronavirus response. “That should tell you how significant Covid-19 is as an issue for the Workers’ Party,” he said.
In its manifesto, WP had called for an independent commission of inquiry to be held in public into lessons learnt from the pandemic once the crisis ebbs. It added that Singapore should institute changes to its pandemic preparedness strategy, plan and protocols that are identified by this commission.
Responding to Lee’s criticism of the opposition’s proposals, such as a minimum wage, Singh said that he “makes no apologies” for WP’s suggestion, noting that about 100,000 Singaporeans are not earning a reasonable wage.
Lee said yesterday that opposition parties “prattle on” about a minimum wage or a universal basic income, instead of crafting detailed plans for Singapore to get through the economic downturn set off by the pandemic.
He noted that a minimum wage would add costs to employers and pressure them to drop even more workers.
Singh stood his ground on the proposal, adding: “It’s something that the Workers’ Party has believed in for many, many years, across many manifestos, and it’s something that we’ll continue to press.
WP had proposed a national minimum monthly take-home wage of S$1,300 (RM3,982) for full-time workers, which can be pro-rated for part-time work.
More than 100,000 Singaporeans, WP noted, earn a take-home wage of less than S$1,300 a month for full-time work. This is below the S$1,300 an average four-person Singapore household needs to spend monthly on basic necessities, such as food, clothing and shelter.
Investors will find assurance in healthy, mature debates
Other opposition party leaders also countered the suggestion by PAP candidates that international investors would lose confidence Singapore if there were more opposition voices in Parliament, arguing that investors would in fact find reassurance in a democracy with healthy and mature debates.
At his rally yesterday, Lee had said Singapore’s first-rate government that receives strong support from the people was a reason why international firms were willing to invest in Singapore during an economic crisis.
He added that the world — including investors, friends and adversaries — would scrutinise the results of the July 10 General Election, so PAP needs a “strong mandate” to lead the country through the crisis.
The point was also made by PAP first assistant secretary-general Heng Swee Keat, who had said on Sunday that if there were more opposition politicians voted into Parliament, international investors might see “a government severely weakened, a people divided, and a nation whose confidence has been shaken”.
Responding to these comments, Steve Chia, the Singapore People’s Party’s secretary-general, said during a walkabout in Toa Payoh today that the international community wants to see Singapore making a stable transition to its fourth generation of leaders.
A “one-party system is not stable”, he said, adding: “The international community wants to see that there is diversity of parties and views, and that the diversity of political parties in Parliament can still debate and function effectively as a Singapore society”.
Leon Perera of WP also weighed in yesterday, writing on Facebook that Singapore’s foreign direct investments grew after GE2011 — from about S$665 billion in 2010 to S$1.27 trillion in 2015 — when WP wrestled Aljunied GRC from PAP for the first time.
“WP supports strong foreign direct investment attraction and good economic management. We have spoken up in Parliament about these subjects,” he said.
“We are facing new challenges with Covid-19, rising economic nationalism and geopolitical tensions. The economic models of the past — which included using incentives to attract foreign direct investment from multinational corporations — are still relevant, but will need to be supplemented by different approaches.”
Meanwhile, Singapore Democratic Party chief Chee Soon Juan asked why the PAP is concerned about what the international community thinks of the results of the coming GE.
Speaking to reporters during a walkabout in Bukit Batok on Tuesday, he asked: “Why is ( Lee) worried about how the international community looks at what we’re doing here?”
“(The election) is left up to Singaporeans to decide about our own future. Nobody else is going to be responsible for what we do in this country and what happens to us,” he said. “So I would like everybody to be focused on what happens for us here now”. — TODAY
