Singapore — Progress Singapore Party Non-Constituency Member of Parliament Leong Mun Wai praised Singaporeans for having “weathered another difficult year even as we transit into 2022,” as he himself heads back to Parliament with his “Plate Full.”
Mr Leong wrote in a Jan 8 Facebook post that after last year’s debate in Parliament on jobs, he hopes the Government is aware of the need to adjust training and educational models in line with today’s concerns, “to prepare Singaporeans for emerging new job opportunities.”
However, he added that he does not believe this change is about to come.
“Unfortunately, this is not going to happen anytime soon as our Government is still bent on the archaic stance of demanding unquestioning and absolute obedience from Singaporeans. This is evident from its penchant to enforce controversial one-dimensional policies, to stifle dissent and to tighten the financial screws on its citizens.”
He mentioned in his post the various crises Singaporean citizens have waded through, including financial crises over the past few decades.
“Our resilience has pulled us through, aided by the financial resources we have accumulated over the years,” Mr Leong wrote. “This fortitude was forged as a result of the back-breaking work and sacrifice of a few generations of Singaporeans.”
However, he noted that life “has become tougher and tougher” due to higher costs of living “amidst a worsening job landscape” and underlined that “an obedient resilience is insufficient for our people to maintain its economic edge.”
The PSP NCMP added that “a fresh leadership style” is needful amid today’s challenges.
“We did not keep pace with the information revolution that started two decades ago as the Government chose to rely on the economic model of cheap foreign manpower.
This has deprived many Singaporeans the opportunities to upgrade their skills at a time when it was most needed.”
He also added that the pandemic has caused many Singaporeans to suffer economic hardship and uncertainties, and wrote that he holds the Government responsible for allowing the “prices of housing, food, electricity, transport and others to hike, and to top it all, re-introduced the GST hike.”
Even the Vaccination-differentiated safe management measures were not spared in Mr Leong’s criticism.
“To add insult to injury, the Government now incredulously inflicts more stress on Singaporeans by implementing its ‘no vax, no work’, ‘vaccination of 5-11-year-old children’ and ‘booster jab requirement after 270 days, with more to come’ policies.”
He ended his post urging Singaporeans to keep their chins up.
“So I pray that Singaporeans will continue to stay upbeat, to weather through these tough times. Don’t give up and don’t consider migrating, as many Singaporeans have often burst out in desperation, disgusted with the many policies that are devoid of compassion and sometimes even reason. We need every Singaporean to stay put and fight for our home. Let’s all begin with this awareness for 2022!” /TISG
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