National Day Message from the Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA)
50 years after the founding of the country, the country has progressed, the society has prospered, the government has become wealthy, but the quality of the citizens’ lives has deteriorated greatly. It is common to see elderly citizens in their 60-70 years of age picking up cardboard under the hot sun, or selling tissue paper or collecting used plates at hawker centres, just to earn a paltry living that pays less than $10 a day. Some elites even choose to make fun of these elderly citizens’ plight as a means of passing time.
The achievements of our country are the results of our hard work collectively, no one takes personal credit, and everyone should be able to enjoy the fruits of our labour in a fair and just manner.
However, today, the fruits of the labour are only concentrated on the upper class; the people at the lower classes seems to have been forgotten by the government. At present, their salaries will never be able to catch up with inflation. Hence we suggest to the government to implement minimum wage scheme instead of merely offering wage supplements – only then we would be able to close the gap between the rich and the poor in Singapore.
As for our national fertility rate failing to hit replacement level, we propose that, rather than letting the elderly citizens work for manual works earning less than $10 a day, why not give them $500 incentive every month, to help out with looking after their grandchildren? “The young are dependent; the elderly are reliable” – this would encourage birthrate as couples find peace of mind to concentrate on their careers, knowing that someone reliable is looking after their children. We can also eliminate the risk of our local people becoming the minority race in future, having to come under the rulership of foreigners.
Singapore belongs to Singaporeans; if the people wish to defend their rights, they need to bravely repel against the PAP’s 6.9 million population White Paper. Let us protect our rights through the votes, to build a Singapore for Singaporeans.
Here’s wishing everyone a Happy National Day, as well as peace and prosperity.
Desmond Lim Bak Chuan
Chairman of SDA
