'No interaction at all': PAR chief Lim Tean slams TV roundtable for being 'unfair'

People's Alliance for Reform (PAR) leader Lim Tean has expressed his unhappiness over the telecast General Election roundtable he participated in.

The roundtable, which took place on Sunday (April 27) evening, saw Chee Hong Tat from the incumbent People's Action Party (PAP) trade verbal blows with Michael Thng from the Workers' Party (WP), Ravi Philemon from Red Dot United (RDU), Stephanie Tan from the Progress Singapore Party (PSP) and Lim.

In a Facebook post on Monday, Lim stated that he's "extremely disappointed and angry" at the roundtable's "very unfair" format.

In particular, he pointed out that the four opposition parties had to share half the total time while PAP was given the remaining half.

"That meant the opposition parties were given only one minute each to make their case!" Lim exclaimed. "This was grossly inadequate compared to the four minutes Chee Hong Tat had for his response to each question."

All participants ought to be given equal response time to maintain fairness, Lim argued.

"There was no interaction at all between the representatives and they were not allowed to question each other," he said, adding that it was "never a debate or even a discussion at all".

Lim further mentioned that he was hoping to cross-examine Transport Minister Chee on PAP's Goods & Services Tax hikes, as well as issues such as housing affordability, immigration and job insecurity.

He also recalled that the roundtable at GE2020 operated with a different format where participants could speak to each other and make queries, questioning the reason for the change in format.

GE2025's roundtable format

Participants of Sunday's roundtable had to address topics related to geopolitics and economy, immigration and jobs, as well as cost of living.

The moderator would pose one question to all representatives, who would then each give their answers, before a subject expert would ask a follow-up question directed at each representative and their stance on the issue.

When the representatives exceeded their allotted time, their microphones would be muted.

Opposition party representatives each had one to two minutes to speak, while Chee was allowed four to eight minutes.

Participants were also not able to speak directly with one another like they did at the GE2020 roundtable.

Highlights from roundtable

On the topic of taxes, Lim argued that GST did not have to be raised from seven to nine per cent, citing the government's budget surpluses of $6.4 billion in 2024.

WP's Thng added that raising GST in 2022 "placed a tremendous burden on the average Singapore family".

Chee defended the decision to raise GST, citing measures such as the Assurance Package and GST vouchers, also inviting Singaporeans to think if alternatives like rolling back GST or loosening the use of reserves would be "sustainable" for the future.

Affordable housing was also discussed at the roundtable, with PSP's Tan stating that Singaporeans should only cover the cost of construction for Build-to-Order (BTO) flats and not the cost of land.

Lim also claimed that permanent residents are the cause for resale flat prices - and by extension BTO flat prices - going up.

Chee responded by questioning Tan's suggestion that it would not "crash the market", highlighting risks that may impact existing homeowners.

Immigration was also a hot topic addressed by the participants, with Lim wanting to abolish the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (Ceca) between Singapore and India.

RDU's Philemon proposed a hiring policy that would place locals first over foreign talent, while Tan suggested tighter controls on Employment Pass holders.

Chee replied in defence of PAP's policies, saying that they "do give priority to our citizens".

He also stressed the importance of upskilling and reskilling, adding: "We do need to stay open, we do need to welcome complementary international talent to come to Singapore. We will put in place comprehensive support for those who need a helping hand."

khooyihang@asiaone.com

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