PUBLISHED ONApril 25, 2025 4:20 PMBySyarifah NadhirahProgress Singapore Party (PSP) secretary-general Leong Mun Wai has refuted claims by National Development Minister Desmond Lee that the opposition party is tapping into sentiments it believes are running through the community.
In a rally on Thursday (April 24), Leong and chairman Tan Cheng Bock had remarked how PAP has "lost its way", and called for a GST rollback to seven per cent in addition to exempting essential items like rice, water and milk formula from GST.
Lee said that it is important to be objective as "no scheme, no policy is perfect".
In response to calls for GST exemption, he said PAP wants to "make it progressive" by making sure lower- and middle-income households are supported through targeted measures.
Talking to media at Lakeside MRT on Friday (April 25), Leong said: "We are not playing on sentiments at all. Before we can propose our policies, we would have studied the PAP's policies in detail.
"The issue is not that we didn't study their policies. The issue is when we try to propose our policies — so-called alternative policies — they don't respond to our debate.
"They're just trying to write us off, and then they perpetuate their narrative that opposition parties do not have alternative policies."
Regarding Lee's rebuttal on the proposals for a GST exemption, Leong told AsiaOne: "In other countries where the market and economy are bigger, it is difficult to implement an exemption for these essential items, but in Singapore, we are a much smaller economy, and our whole system is more efficient.
"I'm sure we can implement a GST system whereby we waive the (tax for) essential items. We believe that in Singapore we can do that."
Previously, Manpower Minister Tan See Leng also commented that PSP should “keep up closely” with what the PAP is doing in terms of its policies, rather than accusing the government of having changed, reported CNA.
AsiaOne spoke to residents about how they feel about PSP contesting in their GRC.
Research assistant Lee Jun Sheng Bryan, 30, thinks having a "credible party like PSP" contesting in his ward allows him to put more thought into his votes.
"Inequality has always been a big issue in my heart. In the upcoming days I will continue to monitor what's happening, I want to see what PSP and PAP bring to the table," he said.
A civil servant, 56, who wanted to be know only as Salmah, said that one of her concerns are housing for the younger generation: "They cannot afford to buy a house. As a parent, I worry for my daughter. Can they go far?"
She added: "Every opposition party has the right to be wherever they feel they need be to have their voices heard. They sometimes say things that we (the people) cannot voice out, so they are a representation of us."
Amala Mathivanan, 23, who works in HR, echoed similar thoughts: "As a Singaporean, we all know for the majority, it's still going to be PAP but I think it's good to see other voices as well. They bring up points that us Singaporeans have been trying to say."
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