Singapore — The Progress Singapore Party held its final event to wrap up its campaigning on Wednesday (July 8), the eve of Cooling Off Day.
New PSP member Lee Hsien Yang and party Secretary-General Tan Cheng Bock spoke during the Facebook livestream posted on the PSP Facebook page.
Mr Lee spoke of witnessing the government encourage Singaporeans to visit local attractions and book staycations during the March school holidays. He said: “I wonder if the Government knew what it was doing?”
Mr Lee questioned if the Government was putting the economy ahead of the lives of the people.
He also revisited the U-turn on the mask policy, and the uncertainty surrounding Singapore amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.
Mr Lee suggested that the elections being called in the middle of the pandemic might be an indication that the People’s Action Party (PAP) was exploiting the fears among Singaporeans.
Mr Lee also touched on the presence of a quarter of a million people in Singapore in absolute poverty despite the PAP’s promises that no one will be left to walk alone. He stressed that benefits should be shared more fairly, and less should be spent on “vanity projects”.
In this election, he said, the votes of Singaporeans will determine if the population will continue to grow substantially, if Singaporeans will continue to face stiff competition from foreigners for jobs, and if there will be opposition Members of Parliament (MP) to hold the PAP accountable.
Mr Lee emphasised that the PSP defends freedom of speech and good values. He said again that there should be “no more blank cheques”.
“We must vote fearlessly,” he added.
Dr Tan rounded up the last livestream session from PSP by dispelling some fears he had heard from voters regarding voting for the opposition.
New citizens have said they fear that voting for the opposition might see their citizenship being taken away. First-time voters are afraid that voting for the opposition will affect their career prospects. However, Dr Tan said these fears were unfounded and that voters should still vote according to their conscience.
He reiterated that the institutions that run Singapore are not limited to political parties. Regardless of the mandate in Parliament, the Civil Service will still continue to serve the country as it has throughout the years.
Dr Tan ended the session with this appeal to voters: “Please consider PSP candidates.”
The PSP is fielding 24 candidates across nine constituencies. /TISG