WP manifesto 'won't raise spending'
By Zakir Hussain & Kor Kian Beng
THE Workers' Party (WP) last night defended its manifesto, saying that it is neither populist nor will it incur more government spending.
'It's trying to address real concerns here,' WP chairman Sylvia Lim told reporters at WP chief Low Thia Khiang's Meet-the-People Session in Hougang. Mr Low declined to speak to the media.
The manifesto is driven by the party's vision of a 'caring society' that takes special care of its weaker members, she added.
Also present with Ms Lim were WP council members Eric Tan and Gerald Giam, who were closely involved in drafting the 63-page document unveiled on Saturday.
The document has been criticised by government ministers who urged voters to scrutinise it and ask how the party intends to fund and implement its proposals.
These include, among others, reforms to how new Housing Board (HDB) flats are priced, a compulsory basic hospitalisation insurance scheme and a nationalised public transport system.
Last night, Mr Giam stressed that most of the 220-plus proposals do not entail more spending.
He said some proposals, such as lowering ministerial salaries, will mean government savings. And some other suggestions will mean bigger government revenues, such as the promotion of more vibrant small and medium-sized enterprises, which will yield more tax takings.
He also said proposals like universal hospitalisation insurance that covers all citizens will, in the long run, save the state money.
Ms Lim said she welcomed the scrutiny, adding that WP believes the proposals are important for Singapore. 'We believe in transparency and we want to be seen as a serious party.'
On public housing, Mr Giam said the high prices of HDB flats were due to the People's Action Party's asset enhancement policies of the past 20 years.
He also decried the lack of information on some areas of public policy, such as the cost price of flats, adding that the WP was seeking a law that would require the Government to make information more freely available to the public.
Added Mr Tan: 'The bottom line is we don't want Singaporeans spending their entire working life paying off their loan.'
The WP members were also asked if their proposals on HDB flats would depress the asset values of current home owners. Ms Lim said the party had not proposed any price caps or restrictions for resale flats.
On public transport, she said the party sought to run the proposed National Transport Corporation on a cost and depreciation recovery basis, not at a loss.
As for proposals that involve additional spending, Ms Lim said the party had looked at the Government's revenue streams and economic growth figures, and found that tax revenues, including from betting taxes, have been rising. There are also investment returns from the reserves.
'We would have to look at those figures in detail, and of course, some of the information is not completely transparent to us,' she added.
Added Mr Giam: 'We didn't come up with the manifesto with the idea that there is a bottomless pit and we should just spend it. We did consider the cost impact of a lot of these proposals... We are just proposing a reallocation of the limited resources that we have.'
By Zakir Hussain & Kor Kian Beng
THE Workers' Party (WP) last night defended its manifesto, saying that it is neither populist nor will it incur more government spending.
'It's trying to address real concerns here,' WP chairman Sylvia Lim told reporters at WP chief Low Thia Khiang's Meet-the-People Session in Hougang. Mr Low declined to speak to the media.
The manifesto is driven by the party's vision of a 'caring society' that takes special care of its weaker members, she added.
Also present with Ms Lim were WP council members Eric Tan and Gerald Giam, who were closely involved in drafting the 63-page document unveiled on Saturday.
The document has been criticised by government ministers who urged voters to scrutinise it and ask how the party intends to fund and implement its proposals.
These include, among others, reforms to how new Housing Board (HDB) flats are priced, a compulsory basic hospitalisation insurance scheme and a nationalised public transport system.
Last night, Mr Giam stressed that most of the 220-plus proposals do not entail more spending.
He said some proposals, such as lowering ministerial salaries, will mean government savings. And some other suggestions will mean bigger government revenues, such as the promotion of more vibrant small and medium-sized enterprises, which will yield more tax takings.
He also said proposals like universal hospitalisation insurance that covers all citizens will, in the long run, save the state money.
Ms Lim said she welcomed the scrutiny, adding that WP believes the proposals are important for Singapore. 'We believe in transparency and we want to be seen as a serious party.'
On public housing, Mr Giam said the high prices of HDB flats were due to the People's Action Party's asset enhancement policies of the past 20 years.
He also decried the lack of information on some areas of public policy, such as the cost price of flats, adding that the WP was seeking a law that would require the Government to make information more freely available to the public.
Added Mr Tan: 'The bottom line is we don't want Singaporeans spending their entire working life paying off their loan.'
The WP members were also asked if their proposals on HDB flats would depress the asset values of current home owners. Ms Lim said the party had not proposed any price caps or restrictions for resale flats.
On public transport, she said the party sought to run the proposed National Transport Corporation on a cost and depreciation recovery basis, not at a loss.
As for proposals that involve additional spending, Ms Lim said the party had looked at the Government's revenue streams and economic growth figures, and found that tax revenues, including from betting taxes, have been rising. There are also investment returns from the reserves.
'We would have to look at those figures in detail, and of course, some of the information is not completely transparent to us,' she added.
Added Mr Giam: 'We didn't come up with the manifesto with the idea that there is a bottomless pit and we should just spend it. We did consider the cost impact of a lot of these proposals... We are just proposing a reallocation of the limited resources that we have.'
