GE2025: PPP calls for policy changes to lower cost of living in second rally, including scrapping GST on essential items

SINGAPORE: Candidates from the People's Power Party (PPP) called for policy changes that would help Singaporeans deal with the rising cost of living, during the party's second rally of the election season on Saturday (Apr 26). 

Addressing a crowd at Yio Chu Kang Stadium within Ang Mo Kio GRC, several candidates from the opposition party, such as Mdm Arbaah Haroun and party chairman Derrick Sim, urged the government to scrap the goods and services tax (GST) for basic necessities and raise MediSave withdrawal limits, among other measures. 

All 10 candidates from PPP were present at the three-hour long rally, which was again hosted and led by secretary-general Goh Meng Seng. 

The PPP is fielding 10 candidates in Ang Mo Kio GRC and Tampines GRC. 

Both its teams are facing multiple opponents. Mr Goh himself is leading his team of five in the four-way battle for Tampines GRC, while PPP's Ang Mo Kio GRC team is going up against the People's Action Party and the Singapore United Party.

Mr Goh, who spoke in between the other candidates' speeches, mostly talked about the need to restrict immigration into Singapore, but also touched on the issue of rising costs.

He called for controls on private hire companies, which he said are competing directly with middle-class citizens in the car market, thus driving up prices. 

"Cars are no longer a luxury. It is a necessity when we have an ageing population. These are the things that no one in parliament is talking about," he said.

Other PPP candidates took turns to highlight various issues within the party's manifesto. 

GST, HOUSING ISSUES 

A handful of candidates including Mr Sim called for the GST to be scrapped on essential items.

Speaking in Mandarin, Mr Sim, a candidate for Tampines GRC, noted that the government's collection of GST on essential goods did not "play a significant amount" compared with other revenue sources.

Hence, removing the GST on basic essentials such as vegetables, fish and onions would not harm the government, he said, while maintaining the tax on these goods harms retirees and lower income households.

A few candidates also brought up the issue of housing affordability.

Mdm Arbaah, for example, highlighted the party's proposal to set aside a special category of two-and-a-half room flats for young couples as part of a "Family Kickstart Programme".

These flats could be priced affordably by excluding the land cost at market rate, so that young couples can get married early and buy a home, according to PPP's manifesto. 

She also called for more support for couples, including "heavy subsidies" for in-vitro fertilisation for those who needed help conceiving. 

"Starting a family shouldn't feel like climbing Mount Everest, don't you think so?" asked Mdm Arbaah, who is part of PPP's Tampines slate.  

And flats should be priced based on "real starting salaries" instead of market prices, she argued. 

"Speculators, we'll keep them in check so homes go to the people not portfolios," she added. 

CPF, JOB SECURITY AND CARBON TAX

Mdm Arbaah cited data on how 74 per cent of Central Provident Fund (CPF) members aged 65 and above who received retirement payouts in Dec 2018 from either the CPF LIFE or Retirement Sum Scheme got monthly payouts under S$500 (US$380). 

She thus called for employer contributions to be raised and for funds in the CPF to be "better invested by the government". 

In its manifesto, the PPP suggested that the government invest a large pool of CPF funds in Singapore's sovereign wealth fund or other accredited trust funds to yield a higher return instead of being transferred to the government via the special government bond, which the party said gives only a fixed and generally lower return. 

Mr Sim also called for the government to increase MediSave withdrawal limits, citing how a person could only withdraw up to S$600 a year for certain cancer treatments. 

"The government has not adjusted this for many years," Mr Sim said in Mandarin. 

"When you need the money, you can't even use it. This is why we have to enter parliament, because (our politicians) are too lazy ... they won't amend these."

This was a suggestion echoed by party treasurer William Lim.

Mr Lim, who is helming PPP's team in Ang Mo Kio GRC, also called for a cancellation of carbon tax on businesses. A hike in the carbon tax could raise the cost of living for households if businesses decide to pass on the increase in operating costs to consumers, he said.

The carbon tax has been progressively raised from S$5 per tonne for greenhouse gas emissions from 2019 to 2023, to S$25 per tonne in 2024 and 2025, and is set to increase further. 

Mr Peter Soh, a Tampines GRC candidate, said in Mandarin that the carbon tax was not a "laughing matter" because this would result in higher bills for Singaporeans.

As part of their suggestions to strengthen job security for Singaporeans, a few candidates, including Mr Goh, called for the role of human resource manager to be restricted to Singaporeans.

Mr Goh suggested that people of other nationalities who occupy this position would choose to hire compatriots from their own countries instead of Singaporeans. 

Mr Samuel Lee, who is part of PPP's Ang Mo Kio team, repeated this call while quoting statistics from the latest graduate employment survey that showed graduates from certain courses had less success at finding full-time employment than those from other courses.