SDA pledges cheaper flats as part of manifesto

SINGAPORE — The Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA) became the first political party to announce its manifesto for the coming General Election yesterday (Aug 20), pledging to liberalise the use of Medisave and sell public flats to Singaporeans with lesser means at 10 per cent “above the raw price”, among other things.

Its proposals aimed at a “Singapore for Singaporeans” covered population issues, housing, healthcare and public-transport policies, employment, education and the Central Provident Fund scheme.

The opposition party, led by chairman Desmond Lim Bak Chuan, is likely to challenge the ruling party in Pasir Ris-Punggol Group Representation Constituency (GRC) in the election.

The SDA wants CPF account holders to be able to withdraw funds from their accounts if they wish to do so. It wants CPF funds to be used only for retirement and not for other purposes such as education and the purchase of property.

It said public housing prices have gone up partly because “the influx of immigrants (has) pushed up the demand”. Calling for more rental units to be provided for young couples waiting for their new homes to be constructed, the SDA also proposed a scheme that will sell flats at 10 per cent above the “raw price” to Singaporeans unable to afford open-market prices and who cannot afford Build-To-Order flats.

“This type of flat units can only be sold back to (the Housing and Development Board) and not in the open market, so that price may be contained,” the party said.

On healthcare, the SDA wants Medisave funds to be available for use without caps for hospitalisation and outpatient treatment, as well as comprehensive medical coverage from private insurers.

It wants to legislate minimum wage and a “Singaporeans First” policy for employment, where employers can only hire foreigners after proving they have exhausted all means of employing a local for the job.

But it recognised that certain roles may be filled only by foreign labour and pledged to do away with foreign-worker quotas that apply to restaurants, logistics companies, construction and manufacturing. This would mean that small and medium enterprises and food and beverage businesses do not have manpower shortage, which “leads to lost sales and lousy service rendered”.

The SDA also wants to do away with streaming in schools.

Its manifesto was issued on the same day SDA sent in its application to set up a Singapore Cabbies Association, to be an alternative to the National Taxi Association and protect the rights and welfare of taxi drivers here.

In 2011, the SDA’s six-man team won 35.21 per cent of the votes in Pasir Ris-Punggol.