The Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) believes that the next general election (GE) will be held at the last quarter of this year.
It said this at the GE2015 Campaign Kick-Off today to kick-start a series of monthly events to also commemorate SDP's 35th anniversary this year, which falls on August 6.
The events will culminate with a pre-election rally that the SDP will be holding at the Hong Lim Park in October, where it would also introduce its potential candidates and issues for the GE.
SDP also unveiled its campaign slogan today: Your Voice in Parliament.
"You can disagree with us (because) we are a democratic party," Dr Chee Soon Juan, SDP's Secretary-General said at the press conference today.
But a look at the policies that the SDP has put out over the years showed that there is much to agree with.
Dr James Gomez who also spoke at the press conference, said that the SDP has been introducing alternative policies for Singaporeans every six months since the 2011 GE.
The SDP's policies are grounded in compassion, justice and equality, Dr Gomez said.
Some of the highlights of the key policies that the SDP has unveiled over the last few years were summarised at the press conference today.
The prime minister should only earn $50,000 a month. In comparison, PM Lee earns over $180,000 a month now.
"Cabinet ministers are currently overpaid," SDP said in its press release.
"The SDP proposes that the MP allowance be 10 times the mean wage of the poorest 20th percentile, while ministers be paid three times the MP allowance and the prime minister 4 times more.
"Such an approach will ensure that the living standards of low-income groups rise with the rest of the population."
There should be a cap of $2,000 that every Singaporean need to pay for healthcare every year. Currently, there is no cap and there have been reports of Singaporeans paying tens and thousands for healthcare every year.
New flat prices should be pegged to the cost of land, which SDP said will make housing truly affordable.
Currently, the PAP government adds in land costs to 60 percent of the prices of flats, jacking up the prices of flats to more than five times the annual median income of Singaporeans, much higher than in the past.
"SDP will focus on alternative policies", it said in its presentation.
"We want to stand on policies to run in the elections," Dr Gomez said.
When TRS spoke to an audience member, he said, "The SDP has sound policies that take care of the people. This is better than the policies from the PAP which have not changed."
Indeed, this was what Dr Chee observed as well.
"The PAP has become lazy," Dr Chee said, "it does not think out of the box."
"(But for SDP), we look at what the problems in Singapore are and respond accordingly."
For example, Dr Chee said that one of the education policies that the SDP has proposed is to provide free lunch to all students.
"Some people think it is socialist but we do not think so," Dr Chee said.
He said that with the policies that the SDP has developed, "I don't think anybody can dispute these are problems people are concerned with."
Indeed, "the most important thing in parliament is to listen to the people," Dr Chee also said.
And to also do so, the SDP has conducted 44 campaign activities since 2011, or an average of one every month.
It has concentrated its focus at Tanjong Pagar, Sembawang, Yuhua, Bukit Panjang, Holland-Bukit Timah, West Coast and Punggol East.
But where will the SDP contest?
Dr Chee said that it would contest in the seats that it did in 2011, but it will have a better idea after the electoral boundaries are redrawn.
The PAP is known to gerrymander and change the electoral boundaries at each general election so as to swing the votes back for itself.
But Dr Chee hopes that people would focus on the alternative policies.
We should stop the name-calling and move up the level of discussion to a more intelligent level, Dr Chee said.
He also said that Singaporeans are today more mature and intelligent and the government should treat them as such.
The SDP plans to introduce their next policy paper next month, on economic policy.
However, even though the PAP government has taken some of the SDP's policies to implement, the PAP has only done so in a "haphazard" way because it only wants "placate" its critics, Dr Chee said.
For example, the SDP has proposed that minimum wage should be implemented in Singapore. Pointing to Hong Kong, Dr Chee explained that there were fears that a minimum wage would cause the economy to go down, but since its implementation in 2011, the Hong Kong economy has stayed intact.
He criticised the Progressive Wage Model, which adapts the SDP's ideas of a minimum wage but only for cleaners and does so in a "piecemeal" manner.
"It does not make sense (that cleaners are paid so little)," Dr Chee said.
The government has legislated the Progressive Wage Model for cleaners, however, the basic wage starts at a low of $1,000 which many Singaporeans have panned as being inadequate for subsistence living in Singapore.
And so, we should stop the PAP from having a two-thirds majority in parliament, Prof Paul Tambyah said, but he was quick to add that this is not the official party stand but he hoped that the opposition parties could work together to achieve this.
Stopping the PAP from having a two-thirds majority is "symbolic", Prof Tambyah said, so that the PAP does not have a "right to push through policies".
Also, the Singapore's constitution has been the most-changed in the world, Prof Tambyah said and if a two-thirds majority is prevented for the PAP, it can still "protect" Singapore's constitution, adding that denying the PAP a two-thirds majority is "something many people will agree with".
It does seem like the SDP has been well-prepared since the last general election and with a slew of policies papers every six months since GE2011 and monthly activities and walkabouts, it has built itself into a credible and formidable opponent to the PAP.
The next GE will also be Dr Chee's first outing, since being the only person in Singapore to be sued by all the three prime ministers of Singapore, as the press conference's emcee referred to him as.
What does Dr Chee thinks?
It's been "too long since he last contested" and it will be an "interesting contest", he said.
On where he might contest, Dr Chee said that it is "premature" to decide as the PAP would still redraw the boundaries.
But the people have a suggestion for Dr Chee.
"Ang Mo Kio," someone shouted.
But he still hopes that Singaporeans will focus on the policies.
"The important thing for a leader is to educate and inform the people of what is going on," Dr Chee said.
With that, the SDP campaign just got off to an exciting start.
http://therealsingapore.com/content/sdp-wants-minimum-wage-and-believes-pm-should-only-earn-50000
It said this at the GE2015 Campaign Kick-Off today to kick-start a series of monthly events to also commemorate SDP's 35th anniversary this year, which falls on August 6.
The events will culminate with a pre-election rally that the SDP will be holding at the Hong Lim Park in October, where it would also introduce its potential candidates and issues for the GE.
SDP also unveiled its campaign slogan today: Your Voice in Parliament.
"You can disagree with us (because) we are a democratic party," Dr Chee Soon Juan, SDP's Secretary-General said at the press conference today.
But a look at the policies that the SDP has put out over the years showed that there is much to agree with.
Dr James Gomez who also spoke at the press conference, said that the SDP has been introducing alternative policies for Singaporeans every six months since the 2011 GE.
The SDP's policies are grounded in compassion, justice and equality, Dr Gomez said.
Some of the highlights of the key policies that the SDP has unveiled over the last few years were summarised at the press conference today.
The prime minister should only earn $50,000 a month. In comparison, PM Lee earns over $180,000 a month now.
"Cabinet ministers are currently overpaid," SDP said in its press release.
"The SDP proposes that the MP allowance be 10 times the mean wage of the poorest 20th percentile, while ministers be paid three times the MP allowance and the prime minister 4 times more.
"Such an approach will ensure that the living standards of low-income groups rise with the rest of the population."
There should be a cap of $2,000 that every Singaporean need to pay for healthcare every year. Currently, there is no cap and there have been reports of Singaporeans paying tens and thousands for healthcare every year.
New flat prices should be pegged to the cost of land, which SDP said will make housing truly affordable.
Currently, the PAP government adds in land costs to 60 percent of the prices of flats, jacking up the prices of flats to more than five times the annual median income of Singaporeans, much higher than in the past.
"SDP will focus on alternative policies", it said in its presentation.
"We want to stand on policies to run in the elections," Dr Gomez said.
When TRS spoke to an audience member, he said, "The SDP has sound policies that take care of the people. This is better than the policies from the PAP which have not changed."
Indeed, this was what Dr Chee observed as well.
"The PAP has become lazy," Dr Chee said, "it does not think out of the box."
"(But for SDP), we look at what the problems in Singapore are and respond accordingly."
For example, Dr Chee said that one of the education policies that the SDP has proposed is to provide free lunch to all students.
"Some people think it is socialist but we do not think so," Dr Chee said.
He said that with the policies that the SDP has developed, "I don't think anybody can dispute these are problems people are concerned with."
Indeed, "the most important thing in parliament is to listen to the people," Dr Chee also said.
And to also do so, the SDP has conducted 44 campaign activities since 2011, or an average of one every month.
It has concentrated its focus at Tanjong Pagar, Sembawang, Yuhua, Bukit Panjang, Holland-Bukit Timah, West Coast and Punggol East.
But where will the SDP contest?
Dr Chee said that it would contest in the seats that it did in 2011, but it will have a better idea after the electoral boundaries are redrawn.
The PAP is known to gerrymander and change the electoral boundaries at each general election so as to swing the votes back for itself.
But Dr Chee hopes that people would focus on the alternative policies.
We should stop the name-calling and move up the level of discussion to a more intelligent level, Dr Chee said.
He also said that Singaporeans are today more mature and intelligent and the government should treat them as such.
The SDP plans to introduce their next policy paper next month, on economic policy.
However, even though the PAP government has taken some of the SDP's policies to implement, the PAP has only done so in a "haphazard" way because it only wants "placate" its critics, Dr Chee said.
For example, the SDP has proposed that minimum wage should be implemented in Singapore. Pointing to Hong Kong, Dr Chee explained that there were fears that a minimum wage would cause the economy to go down, but since its implementation in 2011, the Hong Kong economy has stayed intact.
He criticised the Progressive Wage Model, which adapts the SDP's ideas of a minimum wage but only for cleaners and does so in a "piecemeal" manner.
"It does not make sense (that cleaners are paid so little)," Dr Chee said.
The government has legislated the Progressive Wage Model for cleaners, however, the basic wage starts at a low of $1,000 which many Singaporeans have panned as being inadequate for subsistence living in Singapore.
And so, we should stop the PAP from having a two-thirds majority in parliament, Prof Paul Tambyah said, but he was quick to add that this is not the official party stand but he hoped that the opposition parties could work together to achieve this.
Stopping the PAP from having a two-thirds majority is "symbolic", Prof Tambyah said, so that the PAP does not have a "right to push through policies".
Also, the Singapore's constitution has been the most-changed in the world, Prof Tambyah said and if a two-thirds majority is prevented for the PAP, it can still "protect" Singapore's constitution, adding that denying the PAP a two-thirds majority is "something many people will agree with".
It does seem like the SDP has been well-prepared since the last general election and with a slew of policies papers every six months since GE2011 and monthly activities and walkabouts, it has built itself into a credible and formidable opponent to the PAP.
The next GE will also be Dr Chee's first outing, since being the only person in Singapore to be sued by all the three prime ministers of Singapore, as the press conference's emcee referred to him as.
What does Dr Chee thinks?
It's been "too long since he last contested" and it will be an "interesting contest", he said.
On where he might contest, Dr Chee said that it is "premature" to decide as the PAP would still redraw the boundaries.
But the people have a suggestion for Dr Chee.
"Ang Mo Kio," someone shouted.
But he still hopes that Singaporeans will focus on the policies.
"The important thing for a leader is to educate and inform the people of what is going on," Dr Chee said.
With that, the SDP campaign just got off to an exciting start.
http://therealsingapore.com/content/sdp-wants-minimum-wage-and-believes-pm-should-only-earn-50000
