WP’s aim is to wake up sleeping Govt: Yee
Workers Party supporters during the rally on September 2, 2015. Photo: Jason Quah
SINGAPORE — Borrowing the fable of the rooster used by Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong last week — to dismiss the Opposition’s claims that its showing in the 2011 General Election contributed to policy shifts — Workers’ Party (WP) central executive council member Yee Jenn Jong yesterday (Sept 2) said if the WP is indeed a rooster, it crows when the sun is out not to take credit, but to wake up the sleeping People’s Action Party (PAP) government.
Speaking at the WP rally in Hougang, Mr Yee said: “The rooster does not crow to make the sun rise. It crows every morning because it is morning and it is time to wake up.”
He added. “The rooster is telling the people ‘Hey, wake up’, that’s what the WP has been telling the PAP, that’s what you, the citizens of Singapore, has been telling the PAP.”
Mr Yee said that the PAP is not listening to Singaporeans, resulting in problems such as sky-high prices of flats and the faulty public transportation system. “There may be a Swiss standard of living for some, but not for many,” he said, alluding to Mr Goh’s promise, when he was Prime Minister, for Singaporeans to attain a standard of living equivalent to that in Switzerland.
Mr Yee reiterated that a strong Opposition is needed as it is dangerous for the country to be run by just one “so-called ‘A team’”. “There is enough for more than one ‘A team’; we can all benefit from the contest of ideas,” he said.
Mr Yee is leading a team to contest Marine Parade Group Representation Constituency (GRC), where the WP would face a PAP team including Mr Goh.
Mr Yee said his team is not afraid of contesting what is considered a PAP stronghold because the WP wants to offer voters a credible alternative. “Marine should be blue, not white,” he quipped.
Last week, at a press conference to formally unveil PAP candidates for Marine Parade GRC, Mr Goh used the fable of a rooster who boasted that “its crowing caused the sun to rise”, in reference to claims that a greater Opposition presence post-2011 GE had contributed to policy shifts such as increased social spending and tightening the inflow of foreigners.
WP Aljunied GRC candidate Chen Show Mao also alluded to Mr Goh’s comments, and noted that Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean had claimed that the Opposition was muted in Parliament. “It is not easy being a rooster in Singapore,” Mr Chen quipped.
Other WP speakers — including WP East Coast GRC candidate Gerald Giam and WP Punggol East candidate Lee Li Lian — elaborated on policy proposals in their party manifesto.
Mr Giam said a national minimum wage applied across all industries can help reduce poverty here — which is the “basic responsibility of any Government”. He added that it is unreasonable to expect an average household to live on less than S$1,000 a month in a place ranked by the Economic Intelligence Unit as the world’s most expensive city. A national minimum wage will also encourage more people, such as women and older workers, to re-enter the workforce, thus reducing the Republic’s dependence on foreign labour, he said.
Ms Lee spoke about the stresses faced by families with a foreign spouse and felt that more should be done in terms of, for instance, providing long-term passes to enable these families to stay together here. She also highlighted the plight of caregivers such as stay-at-home parents. There should be more financial help such as subsidies or Central Provident Fund contributions provided to this group, she said.
