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SINGAPORE - The opposition Singapore United Party (SUP) is calling for a price ceiling on resale Housing Board flats to make quality housing accessible to Singaporeans.
It also said that primary school education should be made free for all local children, and more flexibility should be accorded to workers to withdraw their Central Provident Fund retirement sums.
These were among the key proposals in SUP’s 20-page manifesto, which was released to the media on April 24. The party is making its electoral debut in the upcoming May 3 polls.
The relatively young party formed in 2020 is contesting just one constituency – Ang Mo Kio GRC – in the general election.
It faces a PAP team led by Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong, and the People’s Power Party in a three-cornered fight.
SUP’s slate includes secretary-general Andy Zhu and Ms Noraini Yunus, who both contested in the GRC under the Reform Party (RP) banner in the 2020 General Election. The others on the team are party chairman Ridhuan Chandran, flight attendant Nigel Ng and businessman Vincent Ng.
In its manifesto, SUP seeks to fix problems that, it said, get in the way of creating a more inclusive country. These include “inflexible withdrawal limits on the CPF retirement fund... exorbitant resale HDB prices and steep medical costs”.
It said that HDB flats have consistently shrunk in size over the years, and argued that public housing is no longer affordable, with recent resale transactions crossing $1 million.
“We therefore propose that a price ceiling be enforced on resale HDB flats instead of allowing the free flow of market forces to dictate the price,” it said.
The party did not specify what this cap should be.
As for CPF funds, SUP said that the retirement sum “can be made to work better in the hands of savvy individuals who should not be penalised for the mismanagement of others”, and called for the Government to provide more liberty for Singaporeans to manage their wealth.
On healthcare costs, it proposed that the Government introduce free medical care to those aged 14 and younger “so as to lighten the financial burden on families, and in the long run, our nation”.
Despite subsidies such as those under the Merdeka package and the Community Health Assist Scheme, healthcare costs are still an issue for many seniors who no longer receive a stable income, said SUP.
“We would like to urge the Government to relook the healthcare model and possibly extend free medical care to those aged 67 and above.”
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Primary education should be made free for all local children so that they start on an equal footing and the financial burden on lower-income households can be eased, said the party.
Cost-of-living concerns have been central to many opposition parties’ proposals in this election. For one, the Singapore Democratic Party, in its manifesto unveiled on April 20, called for new flats to be sold for between $90,000 and $270,000.
Mr Zhu said previously that SUP’s manifesto will be shaped by feedback from residents.
This election, SUP is campaigning on the slogan of Moving Forward, Together.
Ang Mo Kio is the largest electoral division, with 161,499 registered voters.
In 2020, the RP team that included Mr Zhu and Ms Noraini secured 28.09 per cent of the vote in Ang Mo Kio GRC against the PAP, led by then Prime Minister Lee.
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