Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong continued to play coy about the upcoming general election during last night’s National Day Rally.
In his Mandarin speech, he joked that he had “also heard” rumours of elections, while in his English speech he said that he would call the elections “soon”, while urging Singaporeans to support him and his team of People’s Action Party (PAP) leaders in taking Singapore into the future.
If you’re a middle class heterosexual family, the rally speech had good news for you: the income ceilings for buying HDB and EC flats have both been increased, while Baby Bonuses will now apply to every child (rather than just the first four). Proximity Housing Grants will also be made available to help young Singaporeans live closer to their parents, and paternity leave has been increased to two weeks so that fathers can play a more active role in caring for their newborn child(ren).
PM Lee: We will help couples live closer to parents with Proximity Housing Grant – every Sporean household will be eligible #ndrsg
— Lee Hsien Loong (@leehsienloong) August 23, 2015
PM Lee: We will increase the amt of Baby Bonus & give it for every child. This will provide more support for larger families. #ndrsg
— Lee Hsien Loong (@leehsienloong) August 23, 2015
(If you are a single mother, a same-sex couple – with or without a child – sorry, there was no mention of you. But Lee did assure us that “every Singaporean child is precious”.)
For older Singaporeans – who aren’t quite as old as the pioneer Singaporeans – Lee promised that the re-employment age would be raised from 65 to 67, and that Health Minister Gan Kim Yong, who is leading the Ministerial Committee on Ageing, will soon be announcing a new Action Plan.
.@leehsienloong: We will pass legislation to raise re-employment age from 65 to 67 by 2017, after coming election. #ndrsg
— TOC News (@tocsg) August 23, 2015
Special CPF Housing Grants for HDB flats have been doubled to $40,000, so lower- to mid-income families can have a better shot at owning their first flat.
.@leehsienloong: Even if you own below $1k, as long as you have steady job and CPF contribution, you can own a 2-room flat. #ndrsg
— TOC News (@tocsg) August 23, 2015
Lee also introduced the Fresh Start Housing Scheme, which will help families in rental flats – and who have previously owned HDB flats – get back on their feet and lease their own flats again. These flats would have a shorter lease, and stricter conditions for resale, and the family would also have access to counsellors to help them with holistic solutions to their problems.
Fresh Start scheme is major initiative, but impt one as it shows govt philosophy: help you if you help yourself; no one left behind #ndrsg
— The Straits Times (@STcom) August 23, 2015
Lee also took on the more controversial issues of rising cost of living and immigration.
On the cost of living, he highlighted the availability of a wide range of house brand goods in supermarkets such as NTUC Fairprice, which would make basic necessities more affordable. He also touched on the government’s plan to build more hawker centres that would be able to provide low cost meals to families. (NOTE: The issue of hawker centre prices has been a matter of some discussion recently.)
Lee also urged Singaporeans to think about how expectations have changed: more families now have aircon units in their homes, and while the household used to share one landline, now every member has a mobile phone, perhaps even a smartphone. These changes in lifestyle, Lee said, would also affect the cost of living.
On the matter of immigration, Lee defended his party’s policies, saying that there are “no easy choices” and that every decision made will involve trade-offs and “some pain”. However, he firmly believed that he had made the right decisions for Singapore.
In the year of Singapore’s Golden Jubilee, as well as the passing of Lee Kuan Yew, the National Day Rally would already have been primed for maximum nostalgia and emotion as much was made of the past five decades of Singapore’s history.
With an upcoming election thrown in the mix, though, it didn’t take much more of a stretch to present Singapore’s fortunes as tied to the PAP. “Keeping faith” between the government and the people was credited as one of the factors that led Singapore to where it is today.
While it could hardly be described as surprising that the National Day Rally would be used to highlight the achievements of the PAP, some Singaporeans have questioned the use of a state occasion to promote a single political party. Lee was, after all, speaking as a prime minister rather than a party leader, and had not yet called the elections.