People should vote “fearlessly” urged, Lee Hsien Yang of the Progress Singapore Party (PSP).
Mr Lee, who is the son of founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, said in a video on the party’s official Facebook page on Wednesday (8 July), “Voting for the opposition is the safest choice for Singapore. It’s not rocking the boat but saving our boat from sinking. “
In the video, Mr Lee said that as he was walking the grounds campaigning for his party, he talked to many HDB owners and people in hawker stalls and community areas who expressed their fears and worries.
“The Merdeka Generation is ageing and the leases on your HDB homes are decaying. You are worried about being able to access your retirement funds. You are afraid you won’t be able to afford healthcare in your golden years. You worry for your grandchildren who face the immense pressure of living in a class-conscious Singapore, where students get pigeon holed very young.”
He continued, “Children of the Merdeka Generation are competing with foreign talent with better paid jobs and promotions. Although you have served national service, you sometimes feels like a second class citizen in your own country.”
“You must race against the rising cost of living in of the most expensive cities in the world. You are discouraged from speaking up about things you care about. Singapore is your home yet it feel unwelcome and has become a terrifying maze. Your future here no longer feels safe, secure, nor successful.”
Mr Lee went on to say that there are “many hidden dangers” for the country’s future in a status quo controlled by the People’s Action Party (PAP) from the government’s tight control of media and powerful controls it has recently enacted on discourse on social media.
He continued, “[The government] operates with tremendous secrecy so that it’s difficult for anyone to access adequate data be it about our reserves, employment, population targets or other plans.”
Mr Lee also noted the difficulty in having proper checks and balances in government when “so many within the system are related by blood, marriage or close friendship.”
He questioned, “How would we ever find out about corruption or cronyism or abuse of power or the misuse of our nest eggs until it’s too late?”
“How do you get more transparent answers and access to information and data? After all, information is vital to make informed decisions and citizens should not be dismissed or controlled like children.”
“How do you make our leaders accountable? How do you make them listen? How do you get them to at least seriously consider different ideas instead of just dismissing them and falling back on outdated modes of thinking?”
Mr Lee then questioned the PAP government’s decision to “rush into an election” which risks the safety of Singaporeans despite their talk of “keeping Singapore safe”.
The PSP politician, who is not contesting in the upcoming general election, then urged votes to send their message through their votes and to vote “fearlessly”.
“The maze we live in today is the result of having a single party in charge with no checks and balances, no transparency or accountability. Only ‘ownself check ownself’,” he said.
“This is dangerous for the future of Singapore,” he stressed, adding that “every single vote counts.”
He urged voters to “end the PAP’s supermajority” and “send the wake up call to the current leadership” that there will be “no more blank cheques”.
“Vote fearlessly. You are Singapore and Singapore needs different,” he concluded.
