Weekend TODAY: It's about checks & balances: WP

GE2006

LEE CHING WERN
chingwern@newstoday.com.sg


COMPARING NOTES: Workers' Party chairman Sylvia Lim and WP secretary general Low Thia Khiang confer with each other at a rally on Friday night.

THE Government is made up of humans and humans have weaknesses, which is why Singaporeans cannot issue the Government a "blank cheque", said Workers' Party (WP) secretary-general Low Thia Khiang, at his party's rally at Aljunied on Friday night.

"Let the WP have a chance to check the Government, to tell the People's Action Party (PAP) that they had better do the job properly or come election time, the people will hold them accountable," he said.

Citing the scandals that have plagued the National Kidney Foundation, China Aviation Oil and Accord Customer Care Solutions, Mr Low said that the most important governance is not internal but external.

"The Workers' Party is a responsible party. We do not oppose for the sake of it," he said. "If we disappoint you, never mind. The PAP will surely send their candidates back to contest the next election and you can give (the ward) back to them. But first, you must give us a chance to see if we can deliver or not."

Aljunied GRC team leader Sylvia Lim added that sincerity is what drove WP candidates to contest in the GE.

"Above all, nobody had to persuade us to enter politics. We did not have to attend tea parties. We are not reluctant," she said. Ms Lim also defended the WP manifesto, which asked for a non-conditional social safety net, which the PAP had termed a "time bomb".

Said Ms Lim: "The PAP minister said they would only be able to do this if they have a surplus. So why is it that in an election year, they can run a deficit to give out money?"

Mr Low also said that people do not give the WP enough credit for its ideas. He pointed out that in its 1994 Manifesto, the WP had recommended that the Ministry of Education cut class size. Former Education Minister Lee Yock Suan then dismissed the idea, he said.

The WP had also suggested that Medisave and MediShield were not the answers to healthcare and proposed an insurance scheme instead. Mr Low said that it has taken the PAP 10 years to do this.

WP's Aljunied GRC team member, Mr James Gomez, has taken up the issue of a First World opposition raised by Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew.

Mr Gomez maintained that the government is not of First World standard even though Mr Lee had pointed out that under the PAP, Singapore had been ranked highly by many international economic agencies.

Mr Gomez said: "Singaporeans and Singapore are First World. There is no doubt in my mind, but it does not mean that the Government and the PAP are First World. Don't claim credit. Singaporeans and Singapore are First World, and this is the message I want to leave with you today: You are First World, Singapore is First World but the PAP government is not."