• About Us
    • Fact Checking Policy
    • Ownership & funding information
    • Volunteer
  • Subscribe
  • Letter submission
    • Submissions Policy
  • Contact Us
The Online Citizen Asia
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • Comments
  • Current Affairs
    • Singapore
    • Malaysia
    • Indonesia
    • China
    • ASEAN
    • Asia
    • International
  • Finance
    • Economics
    • Labour
    • Property
    • Business
  • Community
    • Arts & Culture
    • Consumer Watch
    • NGO
    • Lifestyle
    • Travel
  • Politics
    • Civil Society
    • Parliament
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
  • Law & Order
    • Legislation
    • Court Cases
No Result
View All Result
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • Comments
  • Current Affairs
    • Singapore
    • Malaysia
    • Indonesia
    • China
    • ASEAN
    • Asia
    • International
  • Finance
    • Economics
    • Labour
    • Property
    • Business
  • Community
    • Arts & Culture
    • Consumer Watch
    • NGO
    • Lifestyle
    • Travel
  • Politics
    • Civil Society
    • Parliament
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
  • Law & Order
    • Legislation
    • Court Cases
No Result
View All Result
The Online Citizen Asia
No Result
View All Result

PAP Manifesto 2011 – a statistical analysis

by onlinecitizen
23/04/2011
in Letters, Opinion
Reading Time: 5 mins read
0

Mr Leong Sze Hian takes a look at the recently-released People’s Action Party election manifesto and shares his thoughts – from a statistic point of view.

PAP Manifesto :

“CREATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR HIGHER INCOMES FOR ALL”

Income

“Work with unions and firms to raise productivity and upgrade jobs in every line of work, so that all workers can raise their skills and earn more”

“Invest $2.5 billion in Continuous Education and Training, so that everyone has the chance to develop their skills and expertise or enter new fields throughout their working lives.”

My analysis of the Department of Statistics’  Average Monthly Household Income from Work among Resident Employed Households By Deciles, indicates that for the last five years, real incomes only increased by about between 1.4 and 2.9 per cent per annum among the different categories.

Against this, HDB prices rose by about 11.1 per cent per annum for the same five year period, from 2005 to 2010.

It may also be important to note that the definition of “Resident Employed Households” is “households headed by a Singapore citizen or permanent resident with at least one working person”.

Therefore, it excludes households that do not have any employed person. Examples of such households are the unemployed (66,400 as of December last year), discouraged unemployed (10,900) and those undergoing full-time training with some funding under Government schemes (number unknown).

If an adjustment is made for these ‘excluded’ households, real income growth may be lower.

My analysis of the MOM’s Report on the Labour Force in Singapore 2010 also indicates that workers’ real median wage only grew by about 1.2 per cent per annum from 1999 to 2010 – from $1,840 in 1999 to $2,500 in 2010.

PAP Manifesto:

“Now our economy has rebounded, and many more good jobs have been created”

Jobs

A total of 115 900 jobs were created last year. Local employment (Singaporeans and permanent residents (PRs)) grew by 56,200 and foreign employment grew by 59,700. This means that the rate of change of growth in foreign employment over the previous year’s was about four times more than that for locals over the previous year’s 41,800.

This is despite the consistent rhetoric that the influx of foreign workers into Singapore will be curtailed. Also, since the data for locals includes both Singaporeans and PRs, how many of the jobs created actually went to Singaporeans?

PAP Manifesto:

“IMPROVE THE LIVES OF LOWER-INCOME SINGAPOREANS”

HDB

“Provide new, high-quality and affordable HDB homes“

“Help them own their homes through the Additional Housing Grants and the new Special Housing Grants, and provide them more housing options including two-room flats”

With HDB prices increasing by about 69 per cent over the last five years, how helpful are the housing grants? They may not be able to catch up with the increase in HDB prices? We should also note that many Singaporean HDB flat buyers do not qualify for any of the housing grants – those who qualify may only qualify for some of them, and the moment your household income exceeds $1,500 a month, your grant, even if you qualify, reduces in quantum.

PAP Manifesto:

Healthcare

“Build new General Hospitals in Jurong and  Sengkang, and keep health services affordable to all Singaporeans through the ‘3 Ms’ of Medisave, MediShield and Medifund.”

According to Credit Counseling Singapore’s (CCS) annual report, medical expenses was one of the top three reasons for  indebtedness in 2010.

20.9 and 36.6 per cent of Singaporeans and permanent residents (PRs) respectively, sought help from CCS for their medical debts.

In the first quarter of this year alone, the Ministry of Health (MOH) has had to respond six times in the Straits Times Forum to writers with queries pertaining to the affordability of healthcare.

MOH’s replies repeat the consistent rhetoric that healthcare is affordable in Singapore, through the ‘3Ms’.

If so, why do the CCS statistics seem to indicate otherwise?

According to the Department of Statistics’ Yearbook of Statistics 2010, the total number of hospital beds in Singapore increased by 0 per cent, from 11,742 in 1999, to 11,663 in 2009. The number of polyclinics, at 18, has also remained unchanged during this 10 year period.

PAP Manifesto:

Public Assistance

“Strengthen the safety net for the needy, ill or disabled through Medifund and Public Assistance, as well as ComCare and the many helping hands  of the community”

The number of Singaporeans who qualify under the Public Assistance Scheme (PA) has hardly increased, from 2714 in December 2004, to 2,890 and 2,920, in 2008 and 2009, respectively.

When the question was last asked in Parliament as to the rejection rate for applications for Public Assistance, the answer was that about 50 per cent were rejected.

Singapore’s ratio of PA receipients relative to the population may be one of the lowest in the world.

 

For just US$7.50 a month, sign up as a subscriber on The Online Citizen Asia (and enjoy ads-free experience on our site) to support our mission to transform TOC into an alternative mainstream press.

Related Posts

Why is Gautam Adani’s Indian empire in turmoil?
AFP

Norway’s sovereign wealth fund pulls out of Adani

09/02/2023
Singapore replaces Russia as host of swimming world championships
AFP

Singapore replaces Russia as host of swimming world championships

09/02/2023
Sacked from UMNO, Malaysia ex-health minister will start his new career as a radio DJ
Malaysia

Sacked from UMNO, Malaysia ex-health minister will start his new career as a radio DJ

09/02/2023
Malaysia King names Anwar Ibrahim as Malaysia’s 10th Prime Minister, swearing-in to take place 5pm today
AFP

Facebook posts falsely accuse Malaysia PM of appointing wife to fictitious job

09/02/2023
India’s Adani shares plunge again after stock sale cancelled
AFP

MSCI review puts India’s Adani shares back in the red

09/02/2023
Singapore MOH scales back COVID-19 restrictions, move down to DORSCON green
Health

Singapore MOH scales back COVID-19 restrictions, move down to DORSCON green

09/02/2023
Subscribe
Connect withD
Login
I allow to create an account
When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
DisagreeAgree
Notify of
Connect withD
I allow to create an account
When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
DisagreeAgree
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Latest posts

Why is Gautam Adani’s Indian empire in turmoil?

Norway’s sovereign wealth fund pulls out of Adani

09/02/2023
Singapore replaces Russia as host of swimming world championships

Singapore replaces Russia as host of swimming world championships

09/02/2023
Sacked from UMNO, Malaysia ex-health minister will start his new career as a radio DJ

Sacked from UMNO, Malaysia ex-health minister will start his new career as a radio DJ

09/02/2023
Malaysia King names Anwar Ibrahim as Malaysia’s 10th Prime Minister, swearing-in to take place 5pm today

Facebook posts falsely accuse Malaysia PM of appointing wife to fictitious job

09/02/2023
India’s Adani shares plunge again after stock sale cancelled

MSCI review puts India’s Adani shares back in the red

09/02/2023
Singapore MOH scales back COVID-19 restrictions, move down to DORSCON green

Singapore MOH scales back COVID-19 restrictions, move down to DORSCON green

09/02/2023
SCDF advance team deployed to Turkey rescued a boy from a collapsed building in Dulkadiroğlu

SCDF advance team deployed to Turkey rescued a boy from a collapsed building in Dulkadiroğlu

09/02/2023
PM Lee assures Singaporeans of affordable homes from the comfort of his Facebook page

PM Lee assures Singaporeans of affordable homes from the comfort of his Facebook page

09/02/2023

Trending posts

Cognizant India transfers staff to work in Singapore as recently as this year

Local IT grads can’t find jobs while engineers constantly transferred from India to work in SG under CECA

by Correspondent
05/02/2023
117

...

No response from Josephine Teo on whether Mediacorp has been instructed to stop coverage of SMT circulation scandal

No response from Josephine Teo over alleged blackout of coverage by Mediacorp over SMT circulation scandal

by Terry Xu
06/02/2023
14

...

Adani’s brother runs SG company and registers as director with local ID

Adani’s brother runs SG company and registers as director with local ID

by Correspondent
03/02/2023
26

...

Japanese-Canadian junior high school girl breaks national record with 3km in 9:02 mins

“I want my normal life back,” Sherry Drury withdraws from National Junior High School Tournament due to overheated public attention

by Yee Loon
06/02/2023
4

...

Desmond Lee says 70% of BTO flats affordable for median household with income of S$8,400 but what about the 10th to 40th percentile?

Desmond Lee says 70% of BTO flats affordable for median household with income of S$8,400 but what about the 10th to 40th percentile?

by Leong Szehian
07/02/2023
14

...

Hazel Poa proposes singles be allowed to buy 3-room HDB flats

Hazel Poa proposes singles be allowed to buy 3-room HDB flats

by The Online Citizen
07/02/2023
16

...

April 2011
M T W T F S S
 123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
252627282930  
« Mar   May »

The Online Citizen is a regional online publication based in Taiwan and formerly Singapore’s longest-running independent online media platform.

Navigation

  • Editorial
  • Commentaries
  • Opinion
  • Politics
  • Community

Support

  • Contact Us
  • Letter submission
  • Membership subscription

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • Fact Checking Policy
  • Privacy Policy

© 2022 - 2023 The Online Citizen Asia

No Result
View All Result
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Commentaries
    • Comments
  • Current Affairs
    • Malaysia
    • Indonesia
    • China
    • ASEAN
    • Asia
    • International
  • Finance
    • Economics
    • Labour
    • Property
    • Business
  • Community
    • Civil Society
    • Arts & Culture
    • Consumer Watch
    • NGO
  • Politics
    • Parliament
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
  • Law & Order
    • Legislation
    • Court Cases
  • Lifestyle
    • Travel
  • Subscribers login

© 2022 - 2023 The Online Citizen Asia

wpDiscuz