SINGAPORE: With the cost of living likely to be a key issue in 2022, the Workers’ Party (WP) will track what the Government does to support Singaporeans who require assistance, secretary-general Pritam Singh said in his New Year’s Day message on Friday (Dec 31).
“2022 will be a year of new challenges for Singapore and Singaporeans,” Mr Singh said in the message, posted on the WP Facebook page.
“Apart from the unpredictability of COVID-19, the cost of living is likely to be a major pressure point for many Singaporean households, particularly the low to middle-income, and most acutely, those with both young children and aged parents to care for.”
Mr Singh highlighted several basic needs that “hit the headlines” recently because they will cost more for Singaporeans, including transport, accident and emergency department admission, and medical insurance premiums, and focused on electricity and housing prices.
“The withdrawal of many electricity retailers from the Open Electricity Market has seen many Singaporeans hit with higher electricity bills,” he said.
“HDB BTO prices remain high for younger Singaporeans, with resale flats even further out of reach for many.
“The Workers’ Party will track what the Government does to support Singaporeans who need the most help; and how it upgrades its legacy schemes for the circumstances of today and tomorrow, not yesterday.”
Mr Singh touched on his New Year’s message from 2020 as he summarised WP’s work in Parliament this year.
“In my New Year’s Day message last year, I iterated that the WP will continue in its mission to build a moderate and fair Party that seeks to provide a trusted alternative to voters and act as a balancing force in our political system,” he said.
“In Parliament this year, our MPs have moved motions relating to HDB reform and wider access to HDB rental flats, a role for wealth taxes in our fiscal mix, how to better support our hawkers, eliminate gender discrimination and protect the environment.
“We have also championed policy ideas that are now being actively considered or implemented by the Government, such as anti-discrimination laws in the workplace, effective minimum wage laws and allowing the tudung to be worn in more public service settings.”