Singaporeans are “wise enough” to make judgments based on the Government’s long term performance, not just based on “an episodic event” during the coronavirus pandemic, the Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing said in an interview with Bloomberg TV on 20 May.
In the interview, Mr Chan noted that there’s “not much time” left for the Government to hold its next general election (GE) as the country has to dissolve Parliament by January 2021.
“We would like, when the opportunity arises, to have a strong mandate because the challenges that we are going to face in the coming years will indeed be the challenge of an entire generation,” he told the Bloomberg reporter.
Singapore People’s Party (SPP) chairman, Jose Raymond, concurred with the minister’s remark that Singaporeans are wise enough to look at the Government’s long term performance. But at the same time, Singaporeans should also remember some of the issues that arise under the current Government’s ruling, said Mr Raymond.
Mr Raymond took to Facebook earlier today (21 May) highlighting six issues that Singaporeans should keep in mind when they are called up to decide in the next GE.
“I do agree with him, in that Singaporeans should be wise enough to look at the performance of the Government over the long (in my view, the last) term and make that call. They should remember these points and more when they are called up to decide,” he wrote.
These six issues include:
- the rising cost of living in Singapore;
- depressed wages due to influx of cheap foreign labour;
- diminishing value of HDB homes due to lease decay;
- Singapore’s problematic elected presidency policy shift;
- inequality;
- and lack of job opportunities for Singaporeans.
Mr Raymond indicated that it is “almost a given” that the country will face challenges in the future, but for now it should look at the challenges that will arise tomorrow, next week, and in the coming month as Singapore moves into Phase One after the Circuit Breaker.
“Jobs are being lost, businesses are being shuttered, livelihoods are at risk,” he stated. “People are going to have to put food on the table and still give their children the promise that they too, will have a fair shot at opportunities in future.”
On that note, Mr Raymond questioned the Government’s next move, “How do we restart? How do we reconfigure? How do we adapt? How do we lead?”
