GE2025: What the parties said about key issues at roundtable discussion
Presenter Otelli Edwards (in pink) with (clockwise from her left) PAP’s Chee Hong Tat, WP’s Michael Thng, RDU’s Ravi Philemon, PSP’s Stephanie Tan, PAR’s Lim Tean and expert Joseph Liow at the Mediacorp roundtable debate on April 27.ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH
Tay Hong Yi and
Aqil Hamzah
Apr 28, 2025
SINGAPORE – The five political parties fielding the most number of candidates in the general election participated in a televised roundtable discussion on April 27.
They discussed, in turn, issues surrounding geopolitics and the economy, immigration and jobs, and the cost of living.
All parties were asked a common question on these topics before being asked different follow-up questions by academics.
The incumbent PAP was allocated half the speaking time, while the other parties shared the remaining half equally.
Here is a summary of what they said:
1. Geopolitics and the economy
The question posed to all candidates by CNA newscaster Otelli Edwards was: “The global outlook is increasingly uncertain. It appears free trade is in decline. How do you see this impacting Singapore and how does your party propose to help Singaporeans deal with these challenges?”
People’s Alliance for Reform (PAR)
PAR chief Lim Tean said warning signs that globalisation would fray emerged as early as 2022.
Yet, the PAP did not heed those warning signs and kept talking about globalisation, said Mr Lim, who is
contesting Potong Pasir SMC.
In contrast, PAR thinks “glocalisation” is the way forward, he said, referring to working with trustworthy regional partners closer afield.
“We cannot carry on to the drumbeat of the Americans (who) led globalisation. We must start to cooperate with our regional partners, like the Indonesians, the Thais, the Malaysians.”
Professor Joseph Liow, senior research adviser at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, then asked Mr Lim if he could reconcile PAR’s view that the impact of the Trump tariffs might be exaggerated with Singapore’s heavy reliance on global trade.
Mr Lim mooted setting up a bank to finance small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), so they can expand globally and regionally.
He said he saw the Trump tariffs as, primarily, a tool to contain the rise of China.
“How it’s going to end is beyond anyone’s comprehension.”
Progress Singapore Party
Ms Stephanie Tan, the PSP candidate for Pioneer SMC, said the party recognises that tariffs imposed by the US can impact Singapore’s economy.
Singapore cannot overly depend on multinational corporations and needs to build up local enterprises, she said.
“At the same time, Singapore must maintain our trading relationships with various trading partners to hedge our risks in times of uncertainty.”
Prof Liow asked Ms Tan how Singaporeans should prepare for the trade war between the US and China.
Ms Tan called for steps to strengthen Singapore’s domestic capacities.
She proposed reducing the cost of doing business by issuing national guidelines on rent increases for commercial properties.
Red Dot United (RDU)
RDU secretary-general Ravi Philemon expressed concerns about the decline of free trade as Singapore is a “price taker” in the global economy.
However, he added, what worried him even more was whether Singapore is reading the right signals from trading partners.
“I think we need to get back on track and read the right signals and make sure that Singapore is well positioned for this change that is coming,” said Mr Philemon, who is leading the RDU’s bid for Nee Soon GRC.
Prof Liow asked Mr Philemon what policies the Government could adopt to strengthen its domestic economic foundations to deal with the exacerbating trade tensions.
Mr Philemon said Singaporeans must feel that their backs are covered.
Cutting the goods and services tax back to 7 per cent from the current 9 per cent would put more money in people’s pockets and spur consumption, he said.
Workers’ Party (WP)
WP Tampines GRC candidate Michael Thng said the first thing Singapore needs to do is to look at deepening ties with friendly nations – such as those from Asean – that still welcome trade with the Republic.
But he noted that some Singaporean workers might be displaced nonetheless.
For these workers, Mr Thng said measures, including redundancy insurance and mandatory retrenchment benefits, must be in place to allow them a chance to bounce back.
Prof Liow asked him what strategic opportunities Singapore could take advantage of.
Mr Thng answered, saying industries in Singapore may have become more price-competitive as a consequence of the trade war, and also sought the creation of more home-grown industry leaders.
He cited the semiconductor industry in the first category. For the second, he suggested an export-import bank to give home-grown firms an easier access to capital.
People’s Action Party (PAP)
Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat said the PAP government has been laying the foundations to deal with the effects of increased uncertainty, especially on the job market and workers here.
Even more than the looming tariffs, what bothers businesses is the uncertainty that stops them from making investment and hiring decisions, he said.
Mr Chee, who is leading the PAP team contesting Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, also said a large part of
the $143 billion Budget passed in 2025 aims to help Singapore companies and workers stay competitive in the medium to longer term, while enabling them to tide over in the interim.
He said the
task force set up to tackle the impact of US tariffs will look at how to grow the economy by reconfiguring trade links. The nation also stands to gain from its strong international reputation that the PAP government has built up since independence.
“We stay connected with the world because we believe that is the best way to grow our economy,” Mr Chee said.
He added that Singapore has inked numerous pacts to build economic links with countries, amounting to about 30 per cent of the global economy, aside from the US.
Singapore’s ease of doing business, stability, ability to plan for the long term and strong tripartite partnership are all signature attributes that attract investors, particularly in the current environment, he said.
Singapore’s fiscal resources and reserves, accumulated over generations, will come in handy, said Mr Chee.
“They give our people the confidence that when we promise to support Singaporeans, we have the resources to do it, not just for now, but also into the future, for as long as it is needed,” he said.
Singapore resisted the temptation to dip into its reserves unless there was a critical need and now Singaporeans can navigate uncharted waters by staying together, he added.
So how would Mr Chee make a case for Singapore’s interests if he were to meet US President Donald Trump, Prof Liow asked.
To this, Mr Chee outlined a fourfold response: That Singapore will not want to choose sides between the US and China; that it would like the US to remain engaged in Asia; that Singapore may be small but has alternative options; that Singaporeans are united.
Calling Mr Trump a “tough negotiator”, Mr Chee said: “If he knows that we have no other options, he will squeeze us hard.”
This means Singapore needs to show how it has like-minded partners to forge new trade links with, as well as help its firms become more productive, and workers, more skilled.
“So, if we want to be able to navigate in this more complex, uncertain world, and to be able to deal with tough negotiators like Mr Trump, we have to demonstrate to them that… we will stay united.”
2. Immigration and jobs
CNA asked all candidates: “As the Singapore economy transforms, some workers could be left behind. But the Singapore economy is also heavily reliant on foreigners. How would your party balance these two challenges?”
PAR
Mr Lim said the PAR has always been known as the party that insists that Singaporeans be prioritised for jobs here.
“We make no concession on that whatsoever.”
He added that the party will insist employers must employ Singaporeans first, unless they can show that no Singaporean is capable of doing that job.
He said the PAP government has fostered an economy where employers actually prefer hiring foreigners to locals.
Economics professor Jessica Pan from the National University of Singapore asked Mr Lim how the PAR would resolve the tension between supporting local SMEs and stricter access to foreign skilled manpower, even as it seeks to protect Singaporean workers.
Mr Lim said the PAR opposes “very harmful treaties” such as the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (Ceca) with India.
“Once (Ceca is) abolished, we may talk about being open to foreign workers, but the balance has tilted too far in the last two decades.”
PSP
Ms Tan said the PSP has never, and will never, argue for a closed Singapore.
“We are aware that Singapore needs talents from other countries, but, in our opinion, it should be done in a way that is complementary to our Singaporean workforce.”
The PSP wants to strengthen the current fair consideration framework, imposing a modest levy on an Employment Pass (EP) like those for the S Pass and work permit, as well as imposing a quota on EP holders.
Prof Pan asked Ms Tan how the PSP would ensure its proposed tighter controls on EP holders do not limit access to essential foreign skills that Singapore needs.
Ms Tan said the PSP’s proposals are not entirely new, or different, from what the Government has in place.
In the latest term of Parliament, the PAP government
launched the Complementarity Assessment Framework (Compass) and raised the qualifying salary for EP holders successively, she noted.
RDU
Mr Philemon agreed with Mr Chee that Singapore has no choice but to remain an open society.
However, care must be taken to ensure the privilege of citizenship “is better accentuated” in such a society.
Prof Pan asked how RDU would ensure Singaporeans continue to have access to good, secure jobs even as it calls for a shift away from gross domestic product-focused growth and a citizens-first hiring policy.
Mr Philemon said the
SkillsFuture Jobseeker Support scheme is the “flimsiest of safety nets for Singaporean workers”. He wants citizens to be prioritised above foreigners.
WP
Immigration has to remain the cornerstone of Singapore society, Mr Thng said. But he said immigration policy must uplift Singaporeans and not sideline them. For this, WP has proposed ensuring more deliberate skills transfer between foreign talent and the local workforce.
“(It’s) well and good for us to allow that foreign talent to come in, in the first generation of employees... (to) really try and make a dent in that particular industry.
“We must create the right incentives such that companies have a reason to then start trying to transfer (those) skills across, so that while the first generation of workers may be foreign-born, after that, you may have opportunities for Singaporeans to take more of the jobs.”
Prof Pan asked him how the WP’s stronger emphasis on skills transfer differs from existing frameworks such as Compass.
Mr Thng suggested requiring companies to invest in training for local employees, and pairing local and foreign employees in mentorships.
PAP
Mr Chee said Singaporeans remain at the heart of all of the Government’s economic and manpower policies.
While competition with foreign talent naturally arises from needing to trade with the world, Singapore needs to welcome complementary international talent, he said.
Instead of closing doors, helping workers and businesses here to stay competitive is necessary, he added.
Mr Chee said the PAP has strengthened safety nets to help people in need to bounce back into better jobs.
He said this is all achieved through Singapore’s strong model of tripartism – the three-way relationship between the unions, employers and the Government.
Taking aim at minimum wage proposals from opposition parties, Mr Chee said the PAP believes the Government’s Progressive Wage Model is more practical and effective in helping workers.
The model sets out sector-specific minimum salary levels tied to a worker’s skills and productivity improvements, which Mr Chee said means workers earn higher wages “in a more sustainable manner” better for workers over the longer term.
In contrast, a one-size-fits-all minimum wage may have unintended consequences, causing job losses, he said.
He also challenged the WP’s call for independent unions following the practices of other countries.
“Now, our unions are already independent, so I think what the Workers’ Party is really calling for is a more confrontational relationship between the unions and the Government,” he said.
This would affect Singapore’s economy and reputation, he added.
While the PAP’s policies are pro-Singapore and pro-Singaporeans, Mr Chee said, Singaporeans must avoid a zero-sum mentality, in which foreigners deprive locals of economic opportunities.
“It is about how we can work to grow the economic pie, to enlarge the economic pie so that there’s more that we can share with Singaporeans, more and better job opportunities, better wages.”
He also said the PAP wants to help businesses to transform, including by improving productivity.
However, to successfully be pro-worker and pro-business in this more turbulent and uncertain world will need unity and stability, Mr Chee said.
Singapore will need to forge its own way forward, eschewing welfare for Workfare, and a minimum wage for multiple wage and skills ladders for different industries, he added.
“Through strong tripartism, sound policies that achieve good outcomes in a sustainable way, we enable all Singaporeans to be able to share the fruits of our sustainable economic progress.”
Prof Pan asked Mr Chee what more could be done to address Singaporeans’ concerns surrounding immigration.
Mr Chee said the Government does give priority to locals, with training schemes and safety nets extended only to them.
Singapore cannot close its economy in trying to protect jobs, which will cause economic disruption that affects how competitive Singapore businesses are, he said.
These businesses may decide to move elsewhere, which means jobs for both locals and foreigners are lost here.
He also said the difference between what the PAP has done and what the PSP proposes lies in the very close consultation with tripartite partners the PAP undertakes, allowing the right balance between protecting workers and ensuring competitiveness.
He also touched on a range of policies aimed at investing in the skills of Singaporeans, beyond SkillsFuture.
Mr Chee cited numbers to show that increases to resident professional, managerial, executive and technical jobs added to the Singapore economy over the last decade far outweighed the EP and S Pass holders brought in.
He added that to tap opportunities that emerge from a more turbulent, uncertain environment, Singapore needs to send signals that it still welcomes foreign investments, integrates new immigrants, and yet also protects its people.
3. Cost of living
Candidates were asked: “Many say the GST hikes contributed to inflation. Yet taxes are a key source of revenue to finance services and infrastructure in healthcare, housing and transport. How would you finance the growing needs of Singaporeans?
PAR
Mr Lim said there was “absolutely no need” for the GST hikes, given the inflationary environment.
He said that Budget surpluses accumulated from 1999 to 2019 was about $40 billion in all.
“There’s a lot of money to finance free healthcare, free education, free school meals, as PAR has suggested,” he said.
Professor Terence Ho, adjunct associate professor in practice at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in NUS, asked Mr Lim for his response to comments that PAR’s proposal for price controls on necessities could lead to over demand and under supply of these goods.
Mr Lim said his alliance never proposed price controls on necessities. PAR had called instead for GST to be removed from essentials such as groceries and utilities.
He reiterated his alliance’s call to stop permanent residents from buying HDB flats “because they are the cause of the surge in price”.
PSP
Ms Tan said a number of proposals in the party’s manifesto will increase revenue, such as a $1,200 levy on Employment Pass holders.
The PSP’s housing proposal will also eliminate a large part of HDB’s deficit that arises from providing home buyers with subsidies, she added.
Another suggestion, to amortise the revenue from government land sales for commercial and industrial land, will also result in the proceeds contributing to the Government’s budget, rather than having to be put straight into the reserves, said Ms Tan.
Assoc Prof Ho asked how PSP would ensure fairness between existing and new home owners under its proposed housing model, where land costs are excluded from the price of new flats.
Ms Tan said the affordable housing scheme will not crash the resale market, as flats under the scheme will constitute less than 10 per cent of total HDB flat supply after five years.
The resale market is also underpinned by “a large pool of demand” from buyers who are ineligible for BTO flats or want to live in specific locations, she added.
RDU
Mr Philemon said he agreed with the PAP on the need to maintain Singapore’s competitiveness, and that there is no question that taxes are a key source of revenue, and it is important to get implementation right.
However, he said the perception is taxes are aimed more at ordinary Singaporeans and the wealthy are not taxed enough.
In response to Assoc Prof Ho’s question on how RDU will finance its proposed “Citizens Dividend” unconditional cash transfer for Singaporeans, especially in years when there are no surpluses, Mr Philemon said it would be financed through reported surpluses.
“For two straight years in a row we have (had) over $6 billion of surpluses, and we can use that to start a pilot on the Citizens Dividend,” he said.
He said this will give Singaporeans peace of mind in the years to come, given rising pressures on jobs.
WP
Mr Thng said the
decision to raise GST rates in 2022 following record-high inflation was “the wrong tool used at the wrong time”, and placed a tremendous burden on the average Singapore family.
There are other ways to raise the revenue that is needed, such as the WP’s proposals to change the Net Investment Returns Contribution to “allow a little bit of buffer there” and for a minimum corporate tax rate in line with most other countries, he added.
Assoc Prof Ho said the WP had advanced suggestions to manage costs of various services such as utilities, healthcare and transport, and asked which among them the party considered the most pressing.
Mr Thng said they are equally, yet differently important to each Singaporean family, depending on their spending patterns.
He highlighted a proposal to introduce tiered pricing for utilities, so that those from smaller households who use less water and electricity would pay lower rates.
This would incentivise socially conscious behaviour while relieving pressure on households, he added.
PAP
Mr Chee said the PAP government understands that cost of living is a key concern for many Singaporeans, and said it will continue to provide support for as long as it is necessary to help the people cope.
Singapore imports most of what it consumes and therefore also imports global inflation, but Mr Chee said the Government has taken measures such as maintaining a strong Singapore dollar, which helps mitigate the impact of imported inflation.
Schemes such as CDC vouchers, SG60 vouchers and the permanent GST vouchers scheme also provide help, as do additional initiatives provided at the constituency level, he added.
“The PAP believes that the best way to cope with rising prices is to ensure we can grow our economy,” said Mr Chee, as this means businesses do well and workers earn higher wages exceeding the rate of inflation.
The Government will therefore continue to invest heavily in bringing in investments, creating quality jobs, upskilling workers, transforming businesses and looking after lower-wage workers.
He noted that workers at the 20th percentile of incomes saw a 5.9 per cent increase in real wage growth from 2019 to 2024, compared with the 3.6 per cent increase for the median worker.
The PAP also wants to help Singaporeans with major expenditures, such as housing and healthcare, by making sure they remain affordable and accessible.
Mr Chee cited how eight in 10 families buy their first HDB flats with little or no monthly cash outlay, while eight in 10 patients at public healthcare institutions pay less than $100 out-of-pocket in medical bills.
The Government has achieved this through fiscal discipline, he said.
“We must not borrow or gamble on savings and reserves of future generations,” he said
On the opposition’s proposals to roll back the GST rate to 7 per cent, exempt certain items from the tax, and to loosen the use of national reserves, he said Singaporeans need to consider if such proposals are sustainable.
Mr Chee highlighted the need to invest in workers’ skills, education and lifelong learning, as well as the healthcare needs of seniors and retirement adequacy.
In a more turbulent world, Singapore must also maintain a strong social compact and to grow the economy – not as the sole objective but so that the country has more resources to strengthen its social safety nets, he said.
Mr Chee also critiqued the PSP’s alternative housing proposal, and said the opposition party could not know that such a move would not crash the housing market.
On the WP’s proposal to rely more on corporate taxes, Mr Chee said the recent government surpluses were mainly from corporate tax as Singapore’s economy had done well.
“With a more uncertain, more turbulent world, how can we be so confident that this trend will continue? It’s a question mark,” he said.
4. Closing remarks
PAR
Mr Lim said voters should ask themselves if their lives will be better five years from now if they continue voting for the PAP.
The ruling party will never be able to tame costs, while his alliance has proposals to do so, such as for free healthcare and free education, he added.
He said another reason to vote for PAR is because “PAP MPs are like a range of extinct volcanoes – there’s no fire in them”.
While no PAP MP challenged the GST hikes, Mr Lim said if elected he would do so in Parliament.
“I look forward to cross-examining Mr Chee, (Law and Home Affairs Minister) K. Shanmugam and his other colleagues in Parliament if I am elected,” said the lawyer.
PSP
Ms Tan said Singaporeans are assailed by challenges on all fronts, and that robust and constructive debate in Parliament is needed to find the best way forward for Singapore.
For that to happen, sufficient alternative voices are needed, and she said the PSP has shown itself to be a responsible opposition party that has fought hard to improve Singaporeans’ lives.
She highlighted the work done by PSP’s Mr Leong Mun Wai and Ms Hazel Poa, who had filed more than 700 parliamentary questions and raised eight full motions as NCMPs in the 14th Parliament.
“More PSP MPs mean more voices to fight for you and ensure transparency and accountability from the Government,” she said.
“While any losing PAP MP will still serve you as a grassroots adviser.”
RDU
Rather than voting for RDU or PAP, Mr Philemon said Singaporeans are
going to the polls on May 3 to vote for themselves.
He said that Singaporeans should consider several issues, such as the growing disparity between the haves and have-nots, and called for a new social compact where there is collective prosperity, a comprehensive housing reset, better healthcare and civil liberties.
The policies proposed by RDU “will put Singaporeans first in our own country, the only home that we have”.
“We call on Singaporeans to vote for themselves, to vote for RDU, for we are your vehicle to make Singapore better,” he said.
WP
With uncertainties lying ahead, it is crucial to build a system that will get policies right, because there is “far less margin for error”, said Mr Thng.
To do so, more perspectives in Parliament are necessary to ensure blind spots are not missed and mistakes are not made.
In a call back to Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s comments
that no one has a monopoly on good ideas, he said that Parliament should also not be monopolised by a single party.
As the PAP is likely to maintain its supermajority after Polling Day, he said Singaporeans should vote in WP to “keep the PAP on their tippy toes”.
Mr Thng added: “We’re asking you to vote for the Workers’ Party to allow us to bring our brand of rational, constructive politics into Parliament and deliver it for the Singaporean people.”
PAP
In his closing remarks, Mr Chee said Singaporeans have to decide not just the ideas that work best for Singapore, but also the kind of politics they would like to see, and the values and principles that Singapore should be governed by.
Singapore must not have politics and policies that will pit one segment against another and divide society, he added.
He singled out the WP as imitating the PAP’s policies and positions.
“Sometimes they improvise, with an occasional half step to the left or to the right, depending on how the wind blows, because they want to score political points,” he said.
Bringing up the
WP’s slogan of “Working for Singapore”, he said many of its proposals do not actually work, and that its position on policies such as GST and housing have been inconsistent.
“They like to claim credit for policies that are implemented by the PAP, but they will not take responsibility when their proposals turn out wrong,” he said.
He cited the WP’s recommendation prior to the Covid-19 pandemic to build fewer HDB flats, given the soft resale market.
“If we had listened to what the Workers’ Party had proposed… more Singaporeans will have to wait longer for their flats,” he said. “So fortunately, we did not listen to that advice.”
He also cited the WP’s suggestion in its manifesto to remove the statutory retirement age.
Noting that the law prevents employers from dismissing workers before they reach that age, Mr Chee said that while its intentions may be good, the result is “unintentionally causing more problems for the people you are trying to help”.
Mr Chee said there is no chance of the Government having a “blank cheque” in Parliament, but that voters should also not give the opposition a “free pass”.
He urged Singaporeans to judge both PAP and the opposition candidates on the quality of their proposals, and the quality of their character. Doing so would give the best outcome for Singapore and Singaporeans, he said.
“Make the PAP work harder, but also make the opposition work harder for you,” he said.
The PAP will not play games with Singaporeans when implementing difficult policies – it will put Singapore and Singaporeans first, and never gamble with the lives and futures of Singaporeans, he added.
“When we make promises, you know we will deliver,” he said.
The PAP will also keep faith with principles such as strong tripartism, long-term planning, fiscal discipline, and ensuring that it looks after not just this generation, but also future generations, said Mr Chee.
“These are the hallmarks, the cornerstones of the PAP government’s leadership,” he said.
He reiterated that the PAP will continue to support Singaporeans through the stormy times ahead.
“Vote for the team that can form a good, effective government to secure a brighter future for you and your family. Vote for a safe pair of hands that you can trust,” he said. “Vote for the PAP.”
