GE: Cost of living, foreign workers among issues tackled at TV forum
By May Wong | Posted: 01 April 2011 2008 hrs
SINGAPORE: The cost of living and the influx of foreign workers were two issues tackled during the pre-election television forum, organised by Channel NewsAsia. Entitled "A political forum on Singapore's future", it is the first such programme to be recorded since 1988, and will be broadcast unedited.
Despite the discussions being limited by time constraints, representatives from the People's Action Party (PAP), the Singapore People's Party (SPP), the Workers' Party (WP), the Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA) and the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) all made full use of the forum to get their positions across.
An issue which dominated part of the discussion was the cost of living.
SDP's representative, Dr Vincent Wijeysingha, said during the forum: ___________"It's getting impossible to live in Singapore. We're one of the most expensive cities in the world to live in and i don't think it's an accidental thing.[/size]
"Inflation is significantly high at the moment, high even the government themselves is sounding alarm bells about it. Other costs that we have that are also rising, (like) healthcare costs. I know a taxi driver, I was in his cab when he said he couldn't afford a cataract operation because of the exorbitant cost."
Another participant, SPP's representative Lina Chiam, believes the open-door immigration policy has played a role in contributing to higher costs in Singapore.
She said during the forum: ___________"We're trying to get in as many immigrants as possible, citizens as much. I think they said that they want to be about six million, correct me if I'm wrong and I think this puts a constraint on the cost of living, housing, medical, transport, school enrolment and etc etc and I believe that we should look carefully to see do we need to have that amount of population in Singapore."[/size]
One of the PAP's representative in the forum, MP for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC Josephine Teo, felt that tightening the immigration policy would in turn have an effect on Singapore's business environment.
She said:___________ "We can certainly stop foreign workers from coming to Singapore but we cannot stop companies from leaving. So I think a very important point is to ask ourselves, in terms of the way we manage the economy, how can we allow companies and businesses to selectively employ foreign workers, for the benefit of growing the Singapore economy, for the benefit of our incomes rising.
"In manufacturing operations in Singapore, typically, 80 per cent of the operators are non-Singaporeans. In other words, many of the low end jobs are done by the foreigners. But guess what, 80 per cent of the managerial jobs in finance, in administration, the technicians, the engineers, 80 per cent are Singaporeans. If you tell these companies that they can't continue their operations here because we're going to stop the inflow of foreign workers completely, then these 80 per cent Singaporeans will equally lose their jobs."[/size]
To tackle such challenges, the Workers' Party believes an alternative leadership in parliament is necessary to provide a different perspective.
WP's representative in the forum, WP assistant webmaster and council member Gerald Giam, said:___________ "Now the government is now dominated by just one party, the PAP. If this party were to fail, what will happen to Singapore? Alternative government do not just spring up over night, and that's why the Workers' Party has a great emphasis on putting forward a rational, respectable and responsible party that will be able to win the trust of Singaporeans.
"Now even if we field candidates that have all the capabilities and credibility that Singaporeans want, but they do not win the elections, we're not going to make very much progress in that respect and that's why we need a sizeable number of elected MPs in Parliament to be able to safeguard Singapore's future that way."
[/size]
But the PAP's comeback - the ruling party has provided help where needed and can be relied upon for the long term.
PAP's other representative in the forum, Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugatatnam, said: ___________"This next few years is going to be as trying as what we have experienced in the last three to four years. We've got problems in japan, problems in the middle east, no one can say how it is going to go but we've got to be prepared for surprises and more ups and downs.
"We need a team in government that's proven to experienced, knows how to deal with crises, and always with a sense of fairness, and we need new leadership, the people who'll eventually succeed the Prime Minister and his current team. That's what we're bringing into this election, many people - young, energetic and committed but amongst them, the core of the new leadership that Singapore needs. It's critical for our future."
[/size]
The programme will be broadcast on Channel NewsAsia on Saturday, April 2 at 10pm Singapore, Hong Kong time.
Encore telecasts are scheduled for Sunday, April 3 at 6pm and Monday April 4 at 1pm and 6pm. Channel 5 will also air the programme on Monday, April 4 at 10pm.
A mandarin programme will also be recorded and is currently scheduled for broadcast on Channel 8 on Sunday, April 3 at 9pm.
-CNA/ac
By May Wong | Posted: 01 April 2011 2008 hrs
SINGAPORE: The cost of living and the influx of foreign workers were two issues tackled during the pre-election television forum, organised by Channel NewsAsia. Entitled "A political forum on Singapore's future", it is the first such programme to be recorded since 1988, and will be broadcast unedited.
Despite the discussions being limited by time constraints, representatives from the People's Action Party (PAP), the Singapore People's Party (SPP), the Workers' Party (WP), the Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA) and the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) all made full use of the forum to get their positions across.
An issue which dominated part of the discussion was the cost of living.
SDP's representative, Dr Vincent Wijeysingha, said during the forum: ___________"It's getting impossible to live in Singapore. We're one of the most expensive cities in the world to live in and i don't think it's an accidental thing.[/size]
"Inflation is significantly high at the moment, high even the government themselves is sounding alarm bells about it. Other costs that we have that are also rising, (like) healthcare costs. I know a taxi driver, I was in his cab when he said he couldn't afford a cataract operation because of the exorbitant cost."
Another participant, SPP's representative Lina Chiam, believes the open-door immigration policy has played a role in contributing to higher costs in Singapore.
She said during the forum: ___________"We're trying to get in as many immigrants as possible, citizens as much. I think they said that they want to be about six million, correct me if I'm wrong and I think this puts a constraint on the cost of living, housing, medical, transport, school enrolment and etc etc and I believe that we should look carefully to see do we need to have that amount of population in Singapore."[/size]
One of the PAP's representative in the forum, MP for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC Josephine Teo, felt that tightening the immigration policy would in turn have an effect on Singapore's business environment.
She said:___________ "We can certainly stop foreign workers from coming to Singapore but we cannot stop companies from leaving. So I think a very important point is to ask ourselves, in terms of the way we manage the economy, how can we allow companies and businesses to selectively employ foreign workers, for the benefit of growing the Singapore economy, for the benefit of our incomes rising.
"In manufacturing operations in Singapore, typically, 80 per cent of the operators are non-Singaporeans. In other words, many of the low end jobs are done by the foreigners. But guess what, 80 per cent of the managerial jobs in finance, in administration, the technicians, the engineers, 80 per cent are Singaporeans. If you tell these companies that they can't continue their operations here because we're going to stop the inflow of foreign workers completely, then these 80 per cent Singaporeans will equally lose their jobs."[/size]
To tackle such challenges, the Workers' Party believes an alternative leadership in parliament is necessary to provide a different perspective.
WP's representative in the forum, WP assistant webmaster and council member Gerald Giam, said:___________ "Now the government is now dominated by just one party, the PAP. If this party were to fail, what will happen to Singapore? Alternative government do not just spring up over night, and that's why the Workers' Party has a great emphasis on putting forward a rational, respectable and responsible party that will be able to win the trust of Singaporeans.
"Now even if we field candidates that have all the capabilities and credibility that Singaporeans want, but they do not win the elections, we're not going to make very much progress in that respect and that's why we need a sizeable number of elected MPs in Parliament to be able to safeguard Singapore's future that way."
[/size]
But the PAP's comeback - the ruling party has provided help where needed and can be relied upon for the long term.
PAP's other representative in the forum, Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugatatnam, said: ___________"This next few years is going to be as trying as what we have experienced in the last three to four years. We've got problems in japan, problems in the middle east, no one can say how it is going to go but we've got to be prepared for surprises and more ups and downs.
"We need a team in government that's proven to experienced, knows how to deal with crises, and always with a sense of fairness, and we need new leadership, the people who'll eventually succeed the Prime Minister and his current team. That's what we're bringing into this election, many people - young, energetic and committed but amongst them, the core of the new leadership that Singapore needs. It's critical for our future."
[/size]
The programme will be broadcast on Channel NewsAsia on Saturday, April 2 at 10pm Singapore, Hong Kong time.
Encore telecasts are scheduled for Sunday, April 3 at 6pm and Monday April 4 at 1pm and 6pm. Channel 5 will also air the programme on Monday, April 4 at 10pm.
A mandarin programme will also be recorded and is currently scheduled for broadcast on Channel 8 on Sunday, April 3 at 9pm.
-CNA/ac
