On Aug. 2, Workers' Party's He Ting Ru gave her first speech in Parliament, touching on various topics like meritocracy, sustainability and healthcare.
Ridding people of perceived lack of social mobility
The ongoing discussion of meritocracy was brought up when He described how the Covid-19 pandemic has unearthed flaws and vulnerabilities in the current system.
To respond to these issues of the increasing number of residents requiring assistance, He said it is a "good start" that the country is "finally recognising the limits and even failure of meritocracy".
She said:
"We must not let blind reliance on what meritocracy can achieve turn us into a harsh and unforgiving society where the vulnerable are blamed for their plight, for not being hardworking or talented enough to strive for a better life for themselves and their families."
Instead, He noted that the real danger now is the perception of a lack of social mobility, something which she had witnessed in encounters with students for example, who did not believe in themselves.
Suggestions she put forth to mitigate or eliminate this perception include encouraging university students and members of various professions to speak and mentor those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Another suggestion was to have smaller class sizes, something the WP previously mentioned in their GE2020 manifesto, where they called for class sizes to be reduced to an average of 20 students.
Sustainability across all sectors
Social, economic and environmental sustainability were issues that He touched on in her speech as well.
Social sustainability
Strengthening the Singapore identity is key to maintaining harmony, He said.
Instead of "berating" Singaporeans for being xenophobic, the government should listen to their concerns to understand their feelings.
She also said that the government should engage and empower Singaporeans from all sectors, while involving and integrating newcomers.
Economic sustainability
Singapore needs to be ready for continued repercussions to our trade and supply chains in light of the pandemic, despite existing plans to fortify these sectors.
To deal with these changes, Singapore's education system needs to "encourage inquisitive exploration and less rote learning". This is to produce a workforce that can adapt to new changes and opportunities.
Environmental sustainability
He said that environmental sustainability does not merely equate to "costs and compliance", but to opportunities too.
These opportunities include digitalising supply chains, like harnessing blockchain and Internet of Things in supply chains to make them more sustainable.
He suggested increasing accessibility and awareness of green financing and green bonds.
Increasing awareness of green issues at a young age was proposed as well, such as through community projects to improve environmentally-friendly practices.
More support for unpaid workers
Lastly, He highlighted the need to tackle widening health inequalities by improving existing care systems to better support carers and unpaid workers.
This can be done in various ways.
One is to integrate social, health and informal care systems like hospital and community-based services to provide more "seamless support" for the elderly and those with long-term conditions.
Situating elder and childcare centres within the same facilities, which will also help with elderly's loneliness and facilitate inter-generational exchange, was also mentioned.
She also said that informal and unpaid carers, such as family members and even children, should be integrated into the care delivery system.
By considering and also developing a way to measure to unpaid work, such as through time-use surveys, He said that this will make it easier for our policies to pay attention to inequalities.
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Top photo from He Ting Ru / FB