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‘PAP losing 20 seats will compel it to become populist’

SINGAPORE — No matter how dominant a political party is, losing as many as 20 to 30 seats will undermine the party and compel it to become populist, People’s Action Party (PAP) candidate for Sembawang Group Representation Constituency Ong Ye Kung said yesterday (Sept 8).

The People's Action Party held its lunchtime rally on Sept 8, 2015. Photo: Jason Quah

The People's Action Party held its lunchtime rally on Sept 8, 2015. Photo: Jason Quah

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SINGAPORE — No matter how dominant a political party is, losing as many as 20 to 30 seats will undermine the party and compel it to become populist, People’s Action Party (PAP) candidate for Sembawang Group Representation Constituency Ong Ye Kung said yesterday (Sept 8).

Speaking at the PAP’s lunchtime rally at Raffles Place, Mr Ong singled out the political divide that Singapore is facing currently with one camp arguing for increased Opposition presence in Parliament to make the incumbents work harder.

But there is an alternative scenario, he said. “If we lose so many seats, any party, not matter how dominant you are, will be undermined and will be weakened and worse, can be compelled to become populist, leading to excessive politicking,” added Mr Ong.

He compared the situation to an employer bypassing a hardworking employee for promotions to get him to work even harder. “It cannot be. I feel that our politics should not go this way. Singapore’s politics must be about the ability to balance continuity as well as change,” he added.

Joining the fray, Bishan-Toa Payoh PAP candidate Chee Hong Tat took a jibe at the Opposition, noting that he has not seen them do anything to help the small and medium enterprises in between election periods and took issue with the Workers’ Party suggestion to freeze the inflow of foreign workers.

“Their proposals are driven by populism, not sound economic knowledge,” he said.

Pointing to the WP’s suggestion to freeze foreign workers numbers and boost labour participation in women and seniors instead, he noted that Singapore already has a very high labour participation rate, and asked if it is realistic to further raise this figure.

On how some Singaporeans face competition from foreign professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs), Manpower Minister Lim Swee Say said he feels their stress and frustration. But he also noted that the annual growth of S Pass and Employment Pass holders combined have dropped by 70 per cent since new tightening measures were introduced in the 2010 budget.

The drop in the annual increase of the Employment Pass holders for PMETs was more drastic, from 30,000 a year to an average of 1,000 a year in the past three years, he said.

In fact, while the world faces the problem of wage stagnation, salaries have continue to increase in Singapore over the past five years, with real wages going up by 20 per cent, Mr Lim added.

While factors outside Singapore are beyond its control, Education Minister Heng Swee Keat said Singaporeans can build deep skills in the country through SkillsFuture and ensure everyone will have the best possible opportunities to learn and be at their best at a time when the Singapore economy is in the midst of a transformation.

“We can turn all our workplaces into the best learning places and we have employers who do not just care about you turning up for work and doing your work. But to care about you, care about how you learn, how you grow and how you can progress in your career,” he said.

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