A MESSAGE FROM WP SEC-GEN LOW THIA KHIANG

 

At the last General Election in 2011, I urged Singaporeans to vote Workers’ Party to move Singapore Towards a First World Parliament.

 

I thank voters who have supported this call. We have seen the outcome of moving Towards a First World Parliament. Today, we have a more responsive government that is more sensitive to the needs and struggles of the people. The ruling party has also openly admitted that the Cabinet has shifted more to the left to be more focused on the livelihood concerns of ordinary Singaporeans.

 

Some Singaporeans asked what the Workers’ Party has been doing in the last four years with the call Towards A First World Parliament. I present here “The Workers’ Party in Parliament, 2011-2015” for your information.

 

The government has responded to the voters of Hougang, Aljunied and Punggol-East who returned 7 elected WP members to Parliament, which is 8% of the total of 87 elected members in Parliament. 

 

 

This election is a landmark election in a new era in Singapore, because your vote will set direction for the future of our nation.

 

First, do you want to send a signal to the ruling party that the government should continue to be transparent, accountable and responsive to the needs of the people?

 

Second, should you empower yourself to participate in the decision-making process to shape your own future and the future of your children and grandchildren in the next era of Singapore?

 

 

Parliament is the supreme representation of the People; it derives its legitimacy in making policy and laws for Singapore on your behalf via elected Members of Parliament. You have to decide whether having more ruling party MPs in Parliament resulting in an imbalanced Parliament is in the best interest of the future of Singapore and your children.

 

More importantly, your vote is a signal to the ruling party that it cannot do what it deems fit without taking you seriously. It will signal to what extent the ruling party can deprive you of your power to participate in the policy-making process without consulting you, in the name of acting in your best interest.

 

There are trade-offs to every policy. Singaporeans entrusted the ruling party to decide on the trade-offs in the last 50 years of nation building; will it continue to work well in the next 50 years? How many more trade-offs should Singaporeans tolerate?

 

The talent pool Singapore has today and what is required for Singapore to succeed are vastly different from the past. Many talented Singaporeans today excel in their own fields and gain international recognition. The ruling party’s mindset of monopolising power to exercise control over almost every aspect of our society and to set direction for all endeavours is a hindrance to the continuing development of Singapore in achieving excellence to become an outstanding nation.

 

People must be freed from the political net-trap where talented Singaporeans in management and the professions have to worry about political correctness in decision-making and the reaction of our political leaders. Our political leaders should serve the people, not be our political masters.

 

To be creative and to be able to think out of the box, people should feel free to express themselves and debate issues within known limits as a multi-racial and multi-religious society. People must also feel secure and be assured of their rights against unreasonable and disproportionate actions from the government and our political leaders.

 

We must build confident professional, business and people sectors to enable Singapore to continue progress in the next 50 years. This requires checking the power of the government and empowering the people via a more balanced Parliament representing the diversity of Singapore society.

 

 

The Workers’ Party (WP) is a Rational, Responsible and Respectable party with a long history and established track record.

 

WP has been offering Singaporeans a choice at every General Election since 1957. WP has been the voice of the people in Parliament since 1981.

WP engages the government in policy making in a rational manner, and it does not oppose for the sake of opposition. When the policy is clearly not in the interest of the nation and the people, WP engages the front bench in debate and opposes it. WP supports policies that are beneficial to the people and the nation.

WP articulates balanced views and takes into consideration our multi-racial, multi-religious and multi-lingual context as a society in our political discourse.

WP has managed Town Council well despite many challenges and hurdles along the way in managing a much bigger town from about 9,000 units at Hougang Town Council to over 70,000 units at Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council. Apart from a number of procedural and accounting lapses pointed out in the Auditor-General’s report, which by now have mostly been addressed, the other important aspects of town management such as cleanliness, lift breakdowns and maintenance are comparable to other Town Councils. WP now has more MPs experienced in Town Council management.

 

 

Your vote is your power. To exercise the power of your vote, you need to have an alternative party deserving your support. I have put in my best efforts for over a decade to build The Workers’ Party to be your credible choice.

 

Before 2011, the ruling party cruised along with policies that led to escalating cost of living, employment and retirement insecurity, and strained infrastructure due to runaway immigration. Your vote changed the course and led to U-turns; change for the better is only beginning. We need to continue the change by sending more Workers’ Party candidates into Parliament.

 

You can empower yourself to make decisions for your own future.

 

Vote Workers’ Party; use the power of your vote to empower your future.