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WP reprises issues of 2011 to attack Govt’s performance

SINGAPORE — In the third day of hustings, Workers’ Party (WP) candidates who spoke at Yishun Stadium yesterday tackled hot-button issues such as transport, housing and the inflow of foreigners — topics that had dominated the campaign trail in the previous General Election (GE) four years ago.

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SINGAPORE — In the third day of hustings, Workers’ Party (WP) candidates who spoke at Yishun Stadium yesterday tackled hot-button issues such as transport, housing and the inflow of foreigners — topics that had dominated the campaign trail in the previous General Election (GE) four years ago.

Referring to major train breakdowns recently, candidate for East Coast Group Representation Constituency (GRC) Gerald Giam criticised transport operator SMRT and what he said was the Government’s lack of adequate planning for the renewal and replacement of rail assets.

Nee Soon GRC candidate Luke Koh, one of the WP’s new faces who spoke at the rally, also called for the nationalisation of the public transport system.

Mr Giam added: “WP calls for a not-for-profit, Government-owned, national transport corporation to own and manage all rail and bus assets. This will minimise cost and increase efficiency … and better ensure that maintenance and renewal are done in a timely fashion, insulated from the profit pressures that other transport operators face.”

On the Central Provident Fund (CPF) savings scheme, the WP’s East Coast GRC candidate Leon Perera said he did not feel that retirees who receive S$600 to S$1,000 a month under the CPF Life Scheme could live “comfortably”.

“From Silver Support, from next year onwards, you may get S$100 more, at most S$250 more a month,” said Mr Perera. “Do you think this is enough to retire on? I don’t, and neither did most who attended the Prime Minister’s National Day Rally last year. They said they needed S$2,000 a month to retire on.”

Reiterating the party’s proposal in its manifesto, Mr Perera said that the Government should pay out to members part of the long-term difference between CPF interest rates and the investment returns of Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC. This is because CPF monies are used by the GIC for investment.

East Coast GRC candidate Daniel Goh, who was the first to take the podium, dedicated most of his speech to the Government’s population policy. Rather than focusing on managing foreign labour, he said, the Government should instead concentrate on encouraging higher labour force participation among senior workers, female workers wanting to re-enter the workforce and “those who have lost their confidence”.

Mr Giam chimed in, suggesting that the inflow of foreign labour should be reduced so more jobs could be filled by Singaporeans.

In what is becoming a key tenet of the WP’s policy proposals, Mr Giam and Mr Koh also called for the introduction of a national minimum wage of S$1,000 a month.

Mr Giam added: “The minimum wage would reduce the inflow of foreign labour, so there will be more jobs to fill.

“Raising wages will attract more Singaporeans in the workforce to fill jobs, and will also improve productivity and reduce turnover because workers are more motivated and less likely to switch jobs,” said Mr Giam.

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