Party political broadcast for GE2015: Workers’ Party

SINGAPORE — The Workers’ Party today (Sept 3) delivered its first party political broadcast. Here is the full transcript of the speech delivered by Mr Daniel Goh:

Good evening voters.

In 2011, many of you supported our call to move Singapore towards a First World Parliament and sent 7 elected Workers’ Party Members to Parliament.

We have seen the result. Today, we have a more responsive government that is more sensitive to the struggles of the people. We have seen policy changes responding to the needs of Singaporeans.

But the journey towards a First World Parliament has only just begun. We cannot let down our guard now. We must continue our journey to protect our future and the future of our children,

To protect our future, you have to further entrench your power and your rights in Parliament. You need to take charge of your own future but this is not possible if we have an imbalanced Parliament with an overwhelming majority of ruling party MPs.

This election is a landmark election in the new era in Singapore.

Our formula for success in the last 50 years was to allow the ruling party to monopolise power, to exercise control over every aspect of our society, and set the direction for us. This was largely based on the mentality that we only have a small talent pool that could lead Singapore.

But times have changed. Our talent pool has vastly expanded through education and exposure. Many talented Singaporeans today excel in their own fields and gain international recognition. However, our enterprises struggle to take off in the global arena and our workers struggle with productivity. This is not for lack of talent, but because Singaporeans are not empowered to seize our future for ourselves.

For Singapore to become an outstanding smart nation in the next 50 years, we must build and nurture confident professional, business and people sectors unfettered by unhealthy political monopoly.

To do this people must be able to think out of the box; people should be able to express themselves freely and debate issues within known limits as a multi-racial and multi-religious society. People must also feel secure and be assured of their rights against unreasonable and disproportionate actions from the government and political leaders.

We have the opportunity now with the General Election to take that step to become such an outstanding nation. We can empower ourselves through a Parliament that truly represents the diversity of Singapore society for our future as a nation.

We are the masters of Singapore. Our political leaders should serve us and facilitate empowerment of the people, not encourage subservience and groupthink.

You have to decide whether having more ruling party MPs resulting in an imbalanced Parliament is in the best interest of the future of Singapore and your children.

Your vote is a signal to the ruling party that it cannot do what it wants without taking you seriously. It will signal to what extent the ruling party can deprive you of your power to participate in the policy-making process in the name of acting in your best interest.

Before 2011, the ruling party cruised along with policies that led to escalating cost of living, employment and retirement insecurity, and strained infrastructure due to runaway immigration. Your vote changed the course, but change for a better future is only just beginning.

Singapore is one of the richest countries in the world but Singaporeans still feel stressed and disempowered at every stage of our lives. This is not right. The government is planning for a 6.9 million population to solve the problems at hand. This is heading towards the wrong course. We have to change this.

Your vote is your power. Use it to empower yourself.

We understand that to exercise the power of your vote, you need to have an alternative party deserving your support.

The Workers’ Party is your credible choice. We are a rational, responsible and respectable party. We do not oppose for the sake of opposing and we take a balanced approach to politics.

We have worked hard to offer a slate of capable candidates, balanced between seniority and youth, experience and idealism, but all united in seeking the empowerment of Singaporeans.

You can empower yourself to make decisions for your own future.

Vote Workers’ Party. Empower your future.

Good Night.