Issues on 4G leadership, cost of living & job security: here's how PSP's 1st ever physical rally went

Leong Mun Wai, Progress Singapore Party (PSP) Sec-Gen said, "my time in Parliament has convinced me that the 4G PAP has really lost its way."

"We can see a general decline in the standards, in accountability, competence and ethics in recent years," the former Non-Constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) added.

Leong then brought up multiple issues such as TraceTogether, train disruptions, the Income-Allianz deal, and Ridout Road saga as examples of such a decline.

He also claimed that the GST hike and the increase in property tax has resulted in the burden of taxation falling on middle-class Singaporeans.

The PSP held their first ever physical rally on Apr. 24 at Catholic High School.

The rally lasted for nearly three hours, and saw all of the PSP's candidates speak, beginning with the candidates for Chua Chu Kang GRC, and concluding with the candidates for West Coast-Jurong West GRC.

The PAP has "definitely" lost its way

Leong's sentiments were echoed by PSP chairman and founder Tan Cheng Bock, who claimed that the PAP has "definitely" lost its way.

Tan added that during his time, the PAP was comprised of doctors, lawyers and the "ordinary man from the street".

Now however, the PAP's candidates are from the civil service, its organisations, and Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), he added.

"This is dangerous. There will be groupthinking. To me, it is inbreeding," he said.

Tan also praised Leong and Poa for their performance in parliament and said they had taken many "parliamentary wounds".

In expressing his sympathy for them, he also encouraged Leong and Poa to continue as it is for the "good of the country".

"Parliamentary wounds will heal. You will gain traction. You will get the people to support you. People recognise good people. So you will get quality opposition members from my small party," he said.

Merchandise

A merchandise store was also spotted at the rally, which sold, among other things, stuffed toys of the PSP's own mascot, Otica.

Here's some of the more notable things that were said during the rally.

Were young Singaporeans trained to do Grab food delivery?

One of the candidates for Chua Chu Kang GRC, S Nallakaruppan, said he had joined the PSP because of its founder, Tan whom he described as a "good person with a caring heart".

He also touted his credentials as a chartered accountant as proof of how the PSP will look after Singaporeans' funds when the PSP is voted into Parliament.

Nallakaruppan focused on job hunting in his speech, noting that while young Singaporeans who are from the "top-end" can find a job, those below have to turn to doing food delivery for Grab.

"Nothing against Grab delivery, but is this what they are trained for?" he asked.

Fertility rates are low in Singapore because young people have no confidence in the future

The husband of NCMP Hazel Poa, Tony Tan, said:

"Our fertility rate is low. This is very well a symptom of young people losing confidence of their future."

The candidate for Kebun Baru SMC called for smaller class sizes and for the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) to be made optional.

He also called for a review of Singapore's assessment system to make it easier for students to enter polytechnic and to enter university in turn from polytechnic, and suggested that students could either be assessed on an internship or simply repeat their module the next term.

Tony Tan also called for more debates on how taxpayers' money is being spent, and questioned the effectiveness of spending S$5 billion on Singapore's stock market.

"My concern is about the priority of our allocation of our taxpayer money, which in my view, should be used to address the high cost of living. The S$5 billion should go to that, not to the stock market," he said.

More public holidays and the "right to disconnect"

Sani pointed to his experience as the legal counsel of a condo management firm as proof of how PSP would be able to run a town council.

He added that there was no difference between managing a condo and running a town council.

Sani then reiterated the PSP's manifesto proposals in his speech:

• A "right-to-disconnect" policy which will provide employees with the right to refuse to monitor work-related communications outside of work hours,
• Increasing the number of public holidays from 11 to 14,
• Reducing the statutory working hours from 44 to 40, and
• Increasing the minimum days of annual leave to 14 from seven.

"Ladies and gentlemen, work-life balance is not just a personal dream, it is a national priority, because a tired nation is not a growing one," he said.

Do we have fair competition in Singapore?

Poa said that the People's Action Party (PAP)'s continued dominance has allowed it to create an unlevel playing level field and hinder fair political competition.

She added that the PAP's dominance is likely to continue for some time to come, and asked about the impact on Singaporeans.

Poa also pointed out how the PAP's political dominance has given them the ability to change the Constitution "whenever they want and however they want".

She cited the reservation of the 2017 Presidential election, and how the changes in criteria had blocked the PSP's founder, Tan Cheng Bock, from running.

Top photo by Swarnabho Sarkar