There is a real risk that the opposition could be wiped out at the election, said Workers' Party (WP) chief Pritam Singh, as he urged voters to make their votes count and prevent the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) from sweeping all 93 seats at the coming polls.
It is for this reason that the WP chose Make Your Vote Count as its campaign slogan, he said, announcing it along with the unveiling of its manifesto yesterday.
Emphasising the need for checks and balances in Parliament, he said: "We need elected Workers' Party MPs to be voted into Parliament so they can serve the public in Parliament and at the constituency through the town council. Elected opposition MPs strengthen our democracy and our political processes... Don't rely on someone else to vote for the Workers' Party."
In 2015, the party ran its campaign on the slogan, Empower Your Future, while the slogan in 2011 was Towards A First World Parliament.
The WP manifesto laid out the party's vision for Singapore along four themes: social and education policies that help Singaporeans achieve their dreams; dignified jobs for workers; building "a home we want" by tackling cost-of-living issues; and creating robust political, governance and defence institutions.
The party also devoted eight pages of the 39-page manifesto to responses to the Covid-19 crisis.
While it acknowledged the PAP Government's efforts in dealing with the crisis and supported the safe distancing measures, it said it was its "duty as a responsible opposition party to make a constructive contribution to the policy discussion on how best to deal with this outbreak and emerge stronger as a nation".
Among the proposals was for the Government to review and improve how rules are communicated, plug gaps in support packages and provide free vaccinations for all when a vaccine is available.
During his national broadcast earlier this month, National Development Minister Lawrence Wong, who co-chairs the Covid-19 multi-ministry task force, had said that the Government will make sure Singaporeans who need a vaccine will get one at "an affordable price".
Mr Singh told reporters the WP's manifesto process kicked off in late 2018, with the party's central executive committee setting up a team comprising Ms He Ting Ru and former Non-Constituency MPs Gerald Giam, Leon Perera and Daniel Goh.
Associate Professor Goh recently stepped down from his party positions due to health reasons.
Mr Singh said the team consulted widely when preparing the manifesto, speaking to specialists and industry experts, and took in feedback from residents of Aljunied GRC, Hougang SMC, as well as other constituencies.
Ms He, 37, Mr Giam, 42, and Mr Perera, 49, presented the manifesto during a virtual press conference yesterday.
The trio were also unveiled as part of the final batch of four candidates in the WP's line-up alongside political newcomer Abdul Shariff Aboo Kassim, 54, a former researcher.
While presenting the party's policies on women and PMETs (professionals, managers, executives and technicians), Ms He said recent events brought to light frailties in the global supply chain and in societies.
She highlighted policy proposals like setting up an export-import bank to finance small and medium-sized enterprise growth, and developing green technology as a new growth area.
She also said childcare subsidies should be equalised for women regardless of employment status.
Mr Giam, who covered policies on families and youth, said cost of living, social protections and climate change were key issues.
He said the WP opposes plans to raise the goods and services tax from 7 per cent to 9 per cent and urged the Government to thoroughly explore other alternative sources of revenue - such as tapping the $15 billion in land sales the Government collects each year and increasing the maximum net investment returns contribution from 50 per cent to 60 per cent.
Mr Giam also called for a redundancy insurance scheme where retrenched workers are given a payout equivalent to 40 per cent of their last-drawn salary for up to six months, capped at $1,200 per month. This will be funded by an employment security fund into which the average worker will contribute about $4 a month, which is matched by employers.
Other proposals include lowering the voting age from 21 to 18 and media reform.
Mr Perera spoke about seniors, whom he said faced challenges living in a high-cost environment like Singapore's. He proposed lowering the Central Provident Fund (CPF) payout eligibility age and CPF Life eligibility age to 60, more transparency on the investment returns of GIC and a special dividend paid to CPF members' Special Accounts if the 10-year moving average difference between the investment returns of GIC and the net interest payable on CPF member balances is positive.
Mr Perera also called for free public transport for those above 65 and for those with disabilities, which he said would encourage more elderly and disabled people to take up jobs.
To tackle lease decay in public housing, the WP is also proposing a universal buy-back scheme offered to all Housing Board lessees in order to backstop resale prices.
Closing the session, party chairman Sylvia Lim said Singapore will need more perspectives.
"Breaking away from the past may be our best formula for the unknowns that lie ahead," she said.
ABDUL SHARIFF ABOO KASSIM, 54
Former researcher
In Secondary 4, Mr Shariff had to leave school mid-way to work in a factory. After his national service, he did various lowly paid jobs, including being a security guard, dispatch rider and an undertaker.
While working, he took his O levels as a private candidate and later, enrolled in Ngee Ann Polytechnic as a mature student.
He put himself through undergraduate studies at Singapore Management University (SMU) by working as a relief cabby and a part-time bus driver, and graduated with an economics degree. He then went on to pursue a master's in tri-sector collaboration at SMU.
Mr Shariff recently quit his job as a researcher at the Centre for Research on Islamic and Malay Affairs (RIMA) to contest in his first general election.
The married father of two said he resigned owing to RIMA's policy of non-partisanship. "But that is a small sacrifice," he added.
Mr Shariff, who started volunteering in Aljunied GRC in 2012, wants to dedicate his candidacy to those who have been dealt a bad hand in life.
"When you believe you have succeeded purely on individual merit, you may hold the view that those who are not successful have only themselves to blame.
He added: "We need leaders with compassion, humility and a conscience, to help the most vulnerable Singaporeans without making judgments about the needy and the poor."
GERALD GIAM YEAN SONG, 42
Co-founder and chief technology officer of tech start-up Vitis Solutions
Having twice contested in East Coast GRC, Mr Giam is not short on political experience.
He was one of the best-performing losing opposition candidates in 2011 when his team got 45.2 per cent of the vote, and he was named a Non-Constituency MP.
He stood again in East Coast GRC in 2015 but lost with a bigger margin. His team got 39.3 per cent of the vote.
Calling his four years in Parliament a baptism of fire, the married father of two said he is prepared, if elected, to reach across the aisle to find the best solutions.
"I learnt a lot from my first term in Parliament and there are many areas I intend to build upon if voters give me a chance to do so. I will tap experts and I will put my ear to the ground," he added.
With former party chief Low Thia Khiang, 63, bowing out of electoral politics, Mr Giam will be in the A-team contesting in Aljunied GRC. He stood in for Mr Low after Mr Low had a bad fall in late April and was hospitalised.
"Going to Aljunied GRC is... a very important thing we need to do as a party. I see myself as doing my part to help advance the cause," he said. "This is a privilege as well as a responsibility that I am taking on."
HE TING RU, 37
Lawyer
Ms He entered politics in 2015 and stood as a WP candidate in Marine Parade GRC. Her team lost with 35.9 per cent of the votes.
A lawyer by training and now the head of legal and communications at a multinational company, Ms He lived in Europe for a decade and worked in London and Frankfurt as a solicitor.
She returned to Singapore in 2011 and, shortly after the general election that year, began volunteering with the WP.
She said: "I have since been active with ground engagement, such as food distributions and outreach activities. There, I learnt much from residents about their hopes, dreams and worries for their families and their future."
The mother of two said she wanted her children to be proud of Singapore when they grow up.
She said: "I want them to be proud of their country that has overcome obstacles by bringing its most vulnerable along with it.
"A country where they can have strong and respectful disagreements with one another, and a society which pursues growth but cares about the impact our actions have on our people and planet.
"These are my hopes for Singapore, and I believe that the Workers' Party must play its part to bring this about."
LEON PERERA, 49
Co-founder and chief executive of Spire Research and Consulting
Although Mr Perera's team lost to the People's Action Party team in East Coast GRC in 2015, it was among the best-performing losing opposition teams.
He was subsequently nominated by the party to take up a seat as a Non-Constituency MP.
In Parliament, he served on the Public Accounts Committee, while in the Workers' Party he was president of its youth wing and organised such activities as panel discussions on various social and economic issues.
This year, the father of two will be part of the party's A-team defending Aljunied GRC.
He said he is running for election once again to contribute to balance in politics.
Balance is not the enemy of unity, he said, adding that Singapore's unity as a country cannot be based on sharing a single political affiliation.
He said one thing he would change about Singapore, if he could, is the "super majority of one party in Parliament" that allows the PAP to "unilaterally change" the Singapore Constitution.
"Our Constitution is extremely important because it sets the framework and the rules for governance, for how governments are formed, for how elections are run, for how political contests are undertaken."
Mr Perera added: "A decision taken within the confines of one party, I think, does not serve the interests of Singapore well in the longer term."
