No masks needed. Then flip flopped and made mask-wearing mandatory.
No need to lock down. Then DOSCON orange.
It is a lock down but the PAP is too proud to admit it and said it is circuit breaker.
GE2020: Opposition parties lack Covid-19 recovery plan when it should be focus of polls, says PAP’s Chan Chun Sing
By NG JUN SEN
Photo: Raj Nadarajan/TODAY
Mr Chan Chun Sing and his team for Tanjong Pagar GRC having a chat before their walkabout in Jalan Bukit Merah, July 4.
Published04 JULY, 2020UPDATED 04 JULY, 2020
1092 Shares
Whoever stands for election must be prepared to take the country forward, and cannot assume that they will not become Government, he said.
On checks and balances, Mr Chan said voters choose who represents them and can look after them every GE.
“Should we reward the opposition with more seats just on the slogan that they will provide more checks on the government? " he asked
He noted that PAP candidates holding portfolios on Singapore’s Covid-19 response have less active campaigning than usual in order to manage the complex situation of Covid-19.
SINGAPORE — A responsible political party or candidate should have a comprehensive plan on the “core issue” of how to get Singapore through the coronavirus crisis, said the People’s Action Party’s Chan Chun Sing, noting that there is a “glaring” lack of discussion of such plans among the Opposition even at the halfway point of the elections.
Candidates and parties should not claim that they are unlikely to form the government too, pointing out the remote chance of government changes in elections elsewhere, he added, noting that the July 10 General Election (GE) is “about the interests of our country”.
“Whoever stands for election must be prepared and must have a plan to take the country forward,” said Mr Chan, the party’s second assistant secretary-general, on Saturday (July 4) morning.
He was speaking to the media at the PAP’s Queenstown branch office after a walkabout at the ABC Brickworks Food Centre, where he also had breakfast with the other PAP candidates for Tanjong Pagar GRC — Ms Indranee Rajah, Ms Joan Pereira, and two new faces Mr Eric Chua and Mr Alvin Tan.
Among the manifestos unveiled by the opposition parties so far, not all contained plans to help the country cope with the Covid-19 crisis. Those which did included the manifestos of the Workers' Party (WP) and the Progress Singapore Party (PSP).
Repeatedly urging all political parties and candidates to refocus on the central issue of tackling Covid-19, Mr Chan said he had studied what other political parties had to say in the days and weeks leading to the GE, as well as in their party manifestos.
Read also: GE2020: PAP’s Chan Chun Sing calls for careful scrutiny of opposition manifestos, as the parties ‘can possibly replace the Govt’
Topics, such as whether the opposition will be wiped out, and whether the Non-Constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) scheme benefits the opposition, had been one focus of the elections so far.
There had also been much discussion over the need for checks and balances on the PAP, he said, stating that voters can decide who represents them and can look after them and their families.
He added that voters will have to decide if they will pick the Opposition merely based off their slogans to check the PAP, adding: “Voters will have to decide if they (want) the opposition… to check the government, or checkmate the government in providing more effective, decisive governance to get through this crisis.”
Read also: GE2020: PSP launches manifesto calling for minimum living wage, Sers for all flats
But the topic of emerging from Covid-19 and saving jobs affected by the pandemic was notably absent, he noted.
“I went through in detail the manifestos of the various parties and the many things that have been said...There is one part glaringly missing: How are we going to get through this Covid crisis,” he said as he called on the Opposition to share their plans on how they intend to lead Singapore through “the most challenging time in our history”.
“The election is not about the survival of any particular opposition party or how many seats the PAP is going to get. It is about how we are going to get through this,” added Mr Chan, whose party’s manifesto titled Our Lives, Our Jobs, Our Future focuses on overcoming the Covid-19 crisis.
He pointed out how amid the GE, the work by the task force in heading the crisis response, the National Jobs Council in creating job opportunities, as well as the Ministry of Trade and Industry in securing lifelines, still continue.
Referring to the election campaigns of task force co-chairs Mr Gan Kim Yong and Mr Lawrence Wong as well as Mrs Josephine Teo, labour chief Ng Chee Meng, National Jobs Council chairman Tharman Shanmugaratnam, and Mr S Iswaran, Mr Chan noted that some of them are campaigning less than usual.
“That's because we still have to manage the complex situation facing us… I can touch my heart and say that at no point in time have we ever neglected the lives, livelihoods and lifelines of our people,’’ said Mr Chan.
“But we have to go to the polls and get the fresh mandate because the challenges will not be with us only for the next few months, they will be with us for the next few years.”
When asked to respond to WP chief Pritam Singh’s comment calling on the PAP government to make clear its revenue and expenditure projections for the rest of the decade so that Singaporeans can properly assess whether a hike in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) is necessary, Mr Chan said anybody who has been following the parliamentary proceedings are fully aware of the fiscal challenges faced by Singapore.
“It’s not as if this has not been shared,” he added, citing the demands of Singapore’s aging population and infrastructure renewal as well as the need to attract investments to create jobs for Singaporeans.
Mr Singh’s comment came after Mr Chan questioned WP’s ability to foot the bill for the plans in its manifesto during an online forum on Thursday evening .
WP’s manifesto also questioned the GST hike from the current 7 per cent to 9 per cent that will come in sometime between 2022 and 2025, and contained a chapter on WP’s Covid-19 response plans.
Responding, Mr Chan said on Saturday that the question on how to pay for these proposals boiled down to three options: using recurrent revenue from the present generation, such as through tax, drawing from past reserves earned by Singapore’s forefathers, or borrowing from future generations.
He said: “Today, every S$5 we spent on the budget S$1 come from the returns from our reserves. The question for us is that going forward, with an aging population, do we expect or want to have more returns from our reserves?”
He stressed that parliamentary proceedings over the past two years have made clear where these challenges were.
“Now, there is no easy choice, but we must not run away from it and pretend that the problem doesn't exist. It won't go away just because we pretend not to have heard the challenges.”
At the online forum on Thursday, Mr Chan had called for the careful scrutiny of the three biggest opposition parties because should they win enough seats, he believed that they could form a coalition government.
The three largest opposition parties in GE2020 are:
PSP, which is contesting 24 of 93 seats in Parliament
WP, which is contesting 21 seats
Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), which is contesting 11 seats
Among other things, PSP’s manifesto calls for a minimum living wage and a review of Singapore’s free trade agreements as well as proposes a post-Covid-19 resurgence strategy, which would include bolder economic stimuli and stronger support for small- and medium-sized enterprises.
Mr K Shanmugam, the PAP treasurer leading its slate in Nee Soon GRC, also spoke about the importance of political parties spelling out how they would tackle the Covid-19 crisis on Saturday.
He noted that PAP had made jobs a top issue in its manifesto because the current crisis meant the world could be facing its most serious recession in a long time.
“It's important that every party sets out, not just some broad statements, but what are your plans to deal with it,” said Mr Shanmugam, who will face a PSP team in Nee Soon.
“It's not just a question of some sound bites... (but) concrete plans, jobs, economy, the recession that is coming, people's lives (and) covid crisis - how are you going to get out of it,” he added.
“Even if you’re there to check, what are your alternative policies? I have looked at the manifesto of the candidates who are competing here. And I don't find any answers on these questions.”
Read more at https://www.todayonline.com/singapo...zHaVPBWiOBFaqO57V6hOE9X0cbdMr0TVwFO3f4aTsHjUM
No need to lock down. Then DOSCON orange.
It is a lock down but the PAP is too proud to admit it and said it is circuit breaker.
GE2020: Opposition parties lack Covid-19 recovery plan when it should be focus of polls, says PAP’s Chan Chun Sing
By NG JUN SEN
Photo: Raj Nadarajan/TODAY
Mr Chan Chun Sing and his team for Tanjong Pagar GRC having a chat before their walkabout in Jalan Bukit Merah, July 4.
Published04 JULY, 2020UPDATED 04 JULY, 2020
1092 Shares
Whoever stands for election must be prepared to take the country forward, and cannot assume that they will not become Government, he said.
On checks and balances, Mr Chan said voters choose who represents them and can look after them every GE.
“Should we reward the opposition with more seats just on the slogan that they will provide more checks on the government? " he asked
He noted that PAP candidates holding portfolios on Singapore’s Covid-19 response have less active campaigning than usual in order to manage the complex situation of Covid-19.
SINGAPORE — A responsible political party or candidate should have a comprehensive plan on the “core issue” of how to get Singapore through the coronavirus crisis, said the People’s Action Party’s Chan Chun Sing, noting that there is a “glaring” lack of discussion of such plans among the Opposition even at the halfway point of the elections.
Candidates and parties should not claim that they are unlikely to form the government too, pointing out the remote chance of government changes in elections elsewhere, he added, noting that the July 10 General Election (GE) is “about the interests of our country”.
“Whoever stands for election must be prepared and must have a plan to take the country forward,” said Mr Chan, the party’s second assistant secretary-general, on Saturday (July 4) morning.
He was speaking to the media at the PAP’s Queenstown branch office after a walkabout at the ABC Brickworks Food Centre, where he also had breakfast with the other PAP candidates for Tanjong Pagar GRC — Ms Indranee Rajah, Ms Joan Pereira, and two new faces Mr Eric Chua and Mr Alvin Tan.
Among the manifestos unveiled by the opposition parties so far, not all contained plans to help the country cope with the Covid-19 crisis. Those which did included the manifestos of the Workers' Party (WP) and the Progress Singapore Party (PSP).
Repeatedly urging all political parties and candidates to refocus on the central issue of tackling Covid-19, Mr Chan said he had studied what other political parties had to say in the days and weeks leading to the GE, as well as in their party manifestos.
Read also: GE2020: PAP’s Chan Chun Sing calls for careful scrutiny of opposition manifestos, as the parties ‘can possibly replace the Govt’
Topics, such as whether the opposition will be wiped out, and whether the Non-Constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) scheme benefits the opposition, had been one focus of the elections so far.
There had also been much discussion over the need for checks and balances on the PAP, he said, stating that voters can decide who represents them and can look after them and their families.
He added that voters will have to decide if they will pick the Opposition merely based off their slogans to check the PAP, adding: “Voters will have to decide if they (want) the opposition… to check the government, or checkmate the government in providing more effective, decisive governance to get through this crisis.”
Read also: GE2020: PSP launches manifesto calling for minimum living wage, Sers for all flats
But the topic of emerging from Covid-19 and saving jobs affected by the pandemic was notably absent, he noted.
“I went through in detail the manifestos of the various parties and the many things that have been said...There is one part glaringly missing: How are we going to get through this Covid crisis,” he said as he called on the Opposition to share their plans on how they intend to lead Singapore through “the most challenging time in our history”.
“The election is not about the survival of any particular opposition party or how many seats the PAP is going to get. It is about how we are going to get through this,” added Mr Chan, whose party’s manifesto titled Our Lives, Our Jobs, Our Future focuses on overcoming the Covid-19 crisis.
He pointed out how amid the GE, the work by the task force in heading the crisis response, the National Jobs Council in creating job opportunities, as well as the Ministry of Trade and Industry in securing lifelines, still continue.
Referring to the election campaigns of task force co-chairs Mr Gan Kim Yong and Mr Lawrence Wong as well as Mrs Josephine Teo, labour chief Ng Chee Meng, National Jobs Council chairman Tharman Shanmugaratnam, and Mr S Iswaran, Mr Chan noted that some of them are campaigning less than usual.
“That's because we still have to manage the complex situation facing us… I can touch my heart and say that at no point in time have we ever neglected the lives, livelihoods and lifelines of our people,’’ said Mr Chan.
“But we have to go to the polls and get the fresh mandate because the challenges will not be with us only for the next few months, they will be with us for the next few years.”
When asked to respond to WP chief Pritam Singh’s comment calling on the PAP government to make clear its revenue and expenditure projections for the rest of the decade so that Singaporeans can properly assess whether a hike in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) is necessary, Mr Chan said anybody who has been following the parliamentary proceedings are fully aware of the fiscal challenges faced by Singapore.
“It’s not as if this has not been shared,” he added, citing the demands of Singapore’s aging population and infrastructure renewal as well as the need to attract investments to create jobs for Singaporeans.
Mr Singh’s comment came after Mr Chan questioned WP’s ability to foot the bill for the plans in its manifesto during an online forum on Thursday evening .
WP’s manifesto also questioned the GST hike from the current 7 per cent to 9 per cent that will come in sometime between 2022 and 2025, and contained a chapter on WP’s Covid-19 response plans.
Responding, Mr Chan said on Saturday that the question on how to pay for these proposals boiled down to three options: using recurrent revenue from the present generation, such as through tax, drawing from past reserves earned by Singapore’s forefathers, or borrowing from future generations.
He said: “Today, every S$5 we spent on the budget S$1 come from the returns from our reserves. The question for us is that going forward, with an aging population, do we expect or want to have more returns from our reserves?”
He stressed that parliamentary proceedings over the past two years have made clear where these challenges were.
“Now, there is no easy choice, but we must not run away from it and pretend that the problem doesn't exist. It won't go away just because we pretend not to have heard the challenges.”
At the online forum on Thursday, Mr Chan had called for the careful scrutiny of the three biggest opposition parties because should they win enough seats, he believed that they could form a coalition government.
The three largest opposition parties in GE2020 are:
PSP, which is contesting 24 of 93 seats in Parliament
WP, which is contesting 21 seats
Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), which is contesting 11 seats
Among other things, PSP’s manifesto calls for a minimum living wage and a review of Singapore’s free trade agreements as well as proposes a post-Covid-19 resurgence strategy, which would include bolder economic stimuli and stronger support for small- and medium-sized enterprises.
Mr K Shanmugam, the PAP treasurer leading its slate in Nee Soon GRC, also spoke about the importance of political parties spelling out how they would tackle the Covid-19 crisis on Saturday.
He noted that PAP had made jobs a top issue in its manifesto because the current crisis meant the world could be facing its most serious recession in a long time.
“It's important that every party sets out, not just some broad statements, but what are your plans to deal with it,” said Mr Shanmugam, who will face a PSP team in Nee Soon.
“It's not just a question of some sound bites... (but) concrete plans, jobs, economy, the recession that is coming, people's lives (and) covid crisis - how are you going to get out of it,” he added.
“Even if you’re there to check, what are your alternative policies? I have looked at the manifesto of the candidates who are competing here. And I don't find any answers on these questions.”
Read more at https://www.todayonline.com/singapo...zHaVPBWiOBFaqO57V6hOE9X0cbdMr0TVwFO3f4aTsHjUM
