Politics
WP releases GE 2020 “Make Your Vote Count” slogan, manifesto
The Workers’ Party (WP) on Sunday (28 June) released its slogan and manifesto for the coming general election, which is set to take place on 10 July.
Prior to the slogan’s unveiling by party secretary-general Pritam Singh in a virtual press conference today, the party’s “Make Your Vote Count” slogan has been making its rounds in social media posts by WP candidates and members in the form of a hashtag.
Throughout the four days of the party’s introductory press conferences, WP has stressed the importance of breaking down the prospect of a presence of a People’s Action Party (PAP) “supermajority” in Parliament.
WP called on Singaporeans to make their vote count by voting in more representatives from a constructive and rational alternative party — the kind of political party it has strived to be before and during its time inside and outside of Parliament.
Proposed policies drawn in WP’s manifesto — similarly titled “Make Your Vote Count” — were based on the party’s consultations with industry experts, as well as the residents of Aljunied group representation constituency (GRC), Hougang single-member constituency (SMC) and other constituencies, said Mr Singh today.
Daniel Goh, a WP member who previously served as a non-constituency Member of Parliament, also contributed to the manifesto, he added. Asst Prof Goh will not be contesting in this year’s general election, and will be retiring due to health issues.
A few of the key suggestions laid in WP’s election manifesto this year are:
- Thoroughly exploring all other alternative sources of revenue” instead of resorting to tax hikes.WP opposes plans to increase the Goods and Services Tax (GST) to 9 per cent, as the increase “further burdens hardworking families already struggling with the high cost of living in Singapore”;
- Putting in place a minimum take-home wage of S$1,300 per month for full-time work and pro-rated for part-time work, which will provide some ease to over 100,000 Singaporeans who currently earn less than S$1,300 to meet their basic needs;
- Implementing amendments to existing policies or introducing new policies that will ease the burden of seniors struggling with high living costs in Singapore.These include allowing patients above 60 to use Medisave for all medical expenses at public healthcare institutions, lowering the CPF Payout eligibility age and CPF Life eligibility age to 60, and making public transport free for Singaporeans aged above 65; and
- Pushing forth again a Redundancy Insurance Scheme to provide relief to workers who have been laid off “while complementing existing programmes for re-training and re-employment”.
Aljunied GRC candidate Gerald Giam said today that the redundancy insurance scheme will not only ease the financial pressure felt by retrenched workers while seeking new employment, but will also act as an “automatic stabiliser for the economy during a downturn”.
Party chair Sylvia Lim said that in the face of disruption affecting economies and political landscapes locally and globally, “no single political party, however powerful, can find all the right answers from within itself”.
Breaking away from our past, she said, may be “our best formula” to face “the unknowns” that lie ahead.
Read WP’s “Make Your Vote Count” manifesto below:
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