RDU to discuss SG Budget in Feb 24 forum

SINGAPORE: Opposition party Red Dot United (RDU) announced that it will be holding a forum this weekend in response to the National Budget rolled out by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong on Feb 16.

Titled “Shadow Budget: Balance, Not Just Growth. A Wellbeing Economy for Shared Prosperity,” the forum will be held on Saturday (Feb 24) from 6 to 9 pm at Lobby E, 10 Ubi Crescent #07-96 Singapore 408564. As no reservation or RSVP is required, interested parties may just walk in. Admission to the forum is free.

The speakers for the event are RDU chairman Dr David Foo, Secretary-General Ravi Philemon, Dr Syed Ali Ahmad, and Mr Pang Heng Chuan, both of whom are members of the party’s central executive council (CEC). The forum will be moderated by Ms Liyana Damirah, RDU’s treasurer.

The party’s website says that Dr Foo is an entrepreneur and research chemist with experience working in a government agency and several multinational corporations. He co-founded the Think Centre in 2001, an independent political research initiative, and contested in the General Election 2015.

Mr Philemon is a media practitioner and the Managing Partner of a health-related media business.

Dr Syed is an independent researcher and “a prominent political observer and public policy commentator,” and Mr Pang is a Director at an international company.

Moderator Ms Damirah is the manager of a non-governmental organization.

The party said in a Feb 19 Facebook post that it believes in a “new economic framework” that “extends beyond GDP growth and considers the broader tapestry of our collective experience like the people’s well-being, human development, inequality, living standards and environmental limits, which are all measurable metrics.

Only by giving all these metrics an equal weightage as the GDP can we create a Wellbeing Economy and build a socially, economically, and ecologically sustainable society which accounts for the well-being of every Singaporean.”

RDU was founded in May 2020, just before the General Election was called, as a “national movement dedicated to serving Singapore and advancing the well-being of all Singaporeans by promoting the ideals of Fairness, Accountability, Integrity, Transparency and Happiness, Hope and Heart (Empathy and Compassion).”

The party said at the time that it is composed of “like-minded individuals” from the ages of 25 to 55. The group aims “to build a political-social platform and not just another political party.” /TISG

Read also: Red Dot United and Coalition partners bring festive cheer to Holland Village