Singapore People's Party (SPP) chairman Jose Raymond has launched his specific manifesto for Potong Pasir SMC on July 1.

The manifesto for Potong Pasir features four basic tenets summarised in the acronym C.A.R.E., with 17 proposals to improve Potong Pasir if SPP is elected into parliament.

Care, Compassion, Collaboration

The SPP plans to deploy a different methodology in meeting people's needs, in place of the Meet-The-People Sessions. He said:

"On many occasions, residents wait for hours, have an appeal written and then leave without any kind of assurance that their problem will be solved."

Raymond outlined that the SPP will instead find customised solutions to help residents via multiple meetings over the course of a week, or through making home calls to ensure that residents feel comfortable in sharing their issues.

The manifesto also emphasised that compassion is "critical" and, noted that they cannot expect to win the people's trust if they do not show compassion towards their issues, big or small.

Accountability, Respect and Empathy

The Potong Pasir Manifesto also mentioned "many incidents" which have prompted questions of accountability".

Raymond proposed that they "must also force a culture of accountability for the mistakes which are made", which will instil confidence and ensure that public servants will be held accountable for their actions.

The manifesto also highlighted that the people in Potong Pasir need to be consulted and engaged extensively prior to any action taken which affects the community they live in.

SPP also said that they "must foster a culture of empathy in our neighbourhood" and in politics as well, mentioning that individual problems faced by residents will become the community's issue to deal with.

"We must find a way to put empathy back into our politics...politics is about people. Politics is putting people right at the heart and centre of everything we do."

Proposals

The proposals to improve Potong Pasir are focussed in four areas.

Senior-friendly

The first area is to make Potong Pasir more friendly for seniors, such as setting up a Community Geriatric Programme to improve access to mental health and disability support for residents.

SPP also aims to provide seniors in Potong Pasir with jobs and expand their current Befrienders Programme to look after the needs of the vulnerable, seniors and person-centred care for seniors who live alone

The party also plans to conduct a town audit with seniors and physically disabled to identify and replace physical hazards in the neighbourhood.

Environmental sustainability

Environmental sustainability is the next area that SPP wants to focus in, with recycling incentives, awareness programmes, and assessing the feasibility of having charging units for electric vehicles and rooftop gardens within and around the state.

Green issues and combating climate change was an important plank of SPP's party manifesto too.

Active town

Their third area of focus is to make Potong Pasir an active town, by opening up more spaces within the neighbourhood for sports and organising more sports-related activities.

They also plan to link up with private neighbourhood gyms to provide fitness training for seniors.

Caring town

The last area of focus is to make Potong Pasir a caring kind of town, with plans to pioneer a Care4Citizens programme, to allow residents to reach out to have issues dealt with immediately through online platforms.

They also plan to expand two current programmes - the aforementioned Befrienders programme, and the Legal Support Programme to ensure residents who need legal help will be supported.

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Top image via SPP's Potong Pasir Manifesto