PUBLISHED ONApril 27, 2025 4:02 PMByChing Shi JieHoon Jeng JeeThe People's Action Party (PAP)'s policies on housing, immigration, and the recent GST hike were scrutinised on Sunday (April 27) evening as it sparred with four other opposition parties in a live roundtable.
The 90-minute broadcast featured Chee Hong Tat from the incumbent PAP, Michael Thng from the Workers' Party (WP), Ravi Philemon from Red Dot United (RDU), Lim Tean from People's Alliance for Reform (PAR) and Stephanie Tan from the Progress Singapore Party (PSP).
On taxes, Lim said there was "absolutely no need" to raise the goods and services tax (GST) from seven per cent to nine per cent.
He pointed out that the Government had enjoyed Budget surpluses, especially during the 2024 financial year when it was $6.4 billion.
"That's a lot of money to finance free healthcare, education and school meals," said Lim, who is facing a three-way contest for Potong Pasir SMC in the General Election.
The PAR chief called for GST to be exempted on necessities such as food, groceries and healthcare.
Meanwhile, Thng said that the decision to raise the GST in 2022 was "the wrong tool used at the wrong time" and that "it placed a tremendous burden on the average Singapore family".
Thng, who is on the WP team for Tampines GRC, suggested alternatives to generate revenue such increasing the Net Investment Returns Contribution from the current 50 per cent to 60 per cent, as well as impose a minimum corporate tax rate of 15 per cent.
Chee defended the Government's decision to raise the GST, calling it a "difficult decision" to generate addition revenue to support the healthcare needs of seniors.
The transport minister pointed out that the existing measures such as the Assurance Package and GST vouchers mean that those in lower and middle income households will "actually pay much lower than the nine per cent GST rate".
Chee, who is helming the PAP's team to contest Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, said: "We have heard proposals from the opposition parties, rolling back GST, exempting certain items from GST, loosening the use of reserves.
"I would like Singaporeans to think about whether these proposals are sustainable and whether it will mean Singaporeans will end up having less now and less for the future."
On housing, Tan pointed out to her party's manifesto, which said that Singaporeans should be required to cover only the construction cost when buying a Build-To-Order flat, instead of the cost of land.
Lim claimed that permanent residents are causing the "surge" in prices for resale flats, which in turn "pulls along" BTO flat prices.
Chee countered that PSP's proposed "affordable housing scheme" is more of a "buy now, pay more" scheme.
"I would like to maybe raise a question to ask Ms Tan, how would you know that it wouldn't crash the market? There is a risk that such a move could have a negative impact on the housing market, affecting existing homeowners."
The party representatives at the roundtable were also asked about immigration, and in particular, foreign workers.
PAR's Lim called the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (Ceca), a free trade agreement between Singapore and India, a "harmful treaty" and wants it abolished.
"We want priority for that Singaporean worker. We want that Singaporean worker to get the best paying jobs. If no Singaporean worker is willing to do the job, we are prepared to allow that employer to employ the foreigner. We are not going to negotiate on that," Lim added.
Philemon, who is leading the party's Nee Soon GRC team, proposed a "citizens first" hiring policy where local employees are given priority over foreign talent.
He also questioned why foreign wives of Singapore citizens only get Long Term Visit Pass (LTVP) and not Permanent Resident (PR) or citizenship.
The moderator from CNA later conducted a fact check before the segment ended and clarified that LTVP is not a prerequisite for PR or citizenship.
Tan, who is contesting Pioneer SMC, proposed tighter controls on Employment Pass (EP) holders — a levy "to ensure that Singaporeans are not displaced from good jobs".
She said: "We are aware that Singapore needs talents from other countries, but in our opinion, it should be done in a way that is complementary to our Singaporean workforce."
Thng spoke about requiring companies to invest in training for potential local employees and mentorship pairing with local and foreign employees for skills transfer.
"We know these are not perfect ways of getting at the problem," he said, but explained such plans would help "measure what's going on a little bit better, and allow us to then shape policy as a consequence of that".
Chee defended the PAP government's immigration and manpower policies, saying that they "do give priority to our citizens".
He acknowledged that it's not possible to preserve all jobs, but pointed out that the "hallmark" of the PAP Government is to balance between offering protection to workers and ensuring that Singapore does not lose its competitiveness.
Chee then emphasised the importance of reskilling and upskilling. He said in the past decade, 382,000 resident PMET (professionals, managers, executives and technicians) jobs added to the economy was more than 10 times the 38,000 increase in EP and S Pass holders.
"We do need to stay open, we do need to welcome complementary international talent to come to Singapore," he said. "We will put in place comprehensive support for those who need a helping hand."
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