Skip to main content

New! You can personalise your feed. Try it now

Advertisement

Advertisement

PSP to file motion on housing policies in Parliament 'in due course', after being asked to 'go beyond social media posts'

SINGAPORE — The Progress Singapore Party (PSP) "welcomes" the Government's call for a parliamentary debate on public housing and will be filing a motion "in due course", the opposition party's secretary-general Francis Yuen said on Wednesday (Dec 21).

Mr Leung Mun Wai, a Non-Constituency Member of Parliament and a member of the Progress Singapore Party.

Mr Leung Mun Wai, a Non-Constituency Member of Parliament and a member of the Progress Singapore Party.

Follow TODAY on WhatsApp
  • Progress Singapore Party's secretary-general Francis Yuen said that the opposition party file a motion in Parliament on housing policies
  • This was a day after Ms Sim Ann, Senior Minister of State for National Development, asked Mr Leong Mun Wai from the party to do so 
  • Mr Leong and Ms Sim have been going back and forth about the pricing of Build-to-Order flats on Facebook
  • This was not the first time Mr Leong has been asked to file a motion in Parliament

SINGAPORE — The Progress Singapore Party (PSP) "welcomes" the Government's call for a parliamentary debate on public housing and will be filing a motion "in due course", the opposition party's secretary-general Francis Yuen said on Wednesday (Dec 21).

His statement on the party's Facebook page comes after Senior Minister of State for National Development, Ms Sim Ann, on Tuesday responded to PSP's Leong Mun Wai's online criticism on the prices of Build-to-Order (BTO) flats by asking him to "go beyond social media posts" and "file a motion in Parliament" to formally discuss the issue.

This is not the first time she is responding to his criticism — the duo have been involved in a series of back-and-forth exchanges since Dec 8 when Mr Leong, a Non-Constituency Member of Parliament, questioned if subsidies from the Housing and Development Board (HDB) were "really very generous".

In his initial post, Mr Leong had also called for the removal of land costs from the pricing of HDB flats, such that the prices would only take into account construction costs and price differences between locations.

In addition to Mr Yuen's post, Mr Leong also responded to Ms Sim's call on Wednesday, stating that his party will "not shy away" as long as the debate is "conducted in good faith by both sides of the House". 

"There will be no winners or losers in this debate — but all Singaporeans will lose if we do not discuss the many issues around public housing and allow the status quo to continue," he wrote. 

This is not the first time Mr Leong has been asked to file a motion by political office holders from the ruling People's Action Party.

In May 2021, Mr Leong was invited by Minister for Law and Home Affairs K Shanmugam to file a motion on the India-Singapore Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (Ceca).

"If anyone here believes that Ceca is a problem, put it up for a Motion, debate it openly and let us hear whether Singaporeans benefit or lose from it. I am looking at you, Mr Leong. I invite you to put up a Motion to debate Ceca," said Mr Shanmugam in Parliament while responding to a clarification about racism brought up during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Mr Leong had previously criticised the free trade agreement and questioned how many foreigners had entered Singapore under such agreements.

Mr Leong's motion on Ceca was debated in Parliament in September 2021.

Speaking to TODAY, Nanyang Technological University political analyst Felix Tan said that it is "important" for debates to happen in Parliament because it is an official platform, unlike social media which is more casual.

"Everything said (in Parliament) is on record, and reflected on Hansard, which makes it clear that this issue on HDB and BTOs will be discussed at a state level," said Dr Tan. The Hansard is an official record of speeches, debates and procedures made in parliament.

Dr Tan added that debating in Parliament has other benefits than signaling the topic's importance on a state level — evidence and facts must be given to support arguments in Parliament and people with vested interest in a topic may chime in.

In Parliament, Members of Parliament (MPs) are given parliamentary privilege to speak without the risk of being prosecuted or having legal action taken against them. However, unfactual statements can have the MP called into question — as in the case of former Workers Party MP Raeesah Khan.

"We don't want to cast doubt on an institution that has been there since our independence to help Singaporeans," said Dr Tan on bypassing Parliament and having MPs debate openly on social media platforms.

"Whatever Mr Leong's gripe is, he can discuss openly in Parliament. So it's best to go on an official platform rather than a social media platform... Social media only perpetuates rumours and uncertainty."

Related topics

Parliament PSP Leong Mun Wai Sim Ann HDB

Read more of the latest in

Advertisement

Advertisement

Stay in the know. Anytime. Anywhere.

Subscribe to get daily news updates, insights and must reads delivered straight to your inbox.

By clicking subscribe, I agree for my personal data to be used to send me TODAY newsletters, promotional offers and for research and analysis.