SDP ANNOUNCES NEW CANDIDATES - DR PAUL TAMBYAH AND MS JASLYN GO

A day after introducing its first 2 candidates Chong Wai Fung and Gerous Khung Wai Yeen, the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) announced today another 2 candidates who would be contesting under its banner in the upcoming General Elections (GE). They are Professor of medicine Paul Ananth Tambyah and sales director Jaslyn Go Hui Leng.

Dr Tambyah is a professor of medicine and a senior lecturer at the National University of Singapore and was a founding member of human rights activist group MARUAH. He has since left MURUAH, but has continued to be active with the SDP since he started a decade ago. Speaking to reporters at a press conference at the SDP AMK branch, he said he would like to focus on healthcare financing.

"Singapore has very good healthcare. We've got very good doctors, we've got good nurses, we've got good allied health professionals, we've got excellent infrastructure. You go to our hospitals they are comparable to some of the best in the world. The trouble is that they are really, really expensive," Dr Tambyah says.

He laments that "once MediShield Life kicks in, you still have to pay either out-of-pocket or through Medisave for the bulk of your hospitalisations."

The second candidate, Ms Jaslyn Go, says that she wants Singapore to change its immigration policies.

"In my generation, we were still able to make it without a paper chase. Unfortunately, I can't say the same about the younger generation. We have to compete with non-Singaporeans for a place in school and work."

Ms Go is also championing a change to the education system. In other countries, she said, children do not have to go through major national examinations like the the Primary School Leaving Examination. "Every year, for PSLE you sometimes wonder whether parents are the one doing the exams or the children. This has to be changed."

“The education system in Singapore is really very stressful for the kids," she added. "I want our kids to grow up in an environment where they enjoy learning … And children must be given time to be children.”