SINGAPORE: Progress Singapore Party (PSP) chairman Tan Cheng Bock on Wednesday (Apr 30) called for the outcome of police investigations into harassment allegations – made by the People’s Action Party (PAP) and PSP volunteers in January – to be released to the public within the election campaign period. “We are a country of very educated people. We must behave ourselves. And they know I’m very strict because I don’t like people to shout and fight each other,” said Dr. Tan, speaking on the sidelines of a walkabout at Jurong West Street 91. He was referring to an incident between PSP and PAP volunteers during their walkabouts in Bukit Gombak SMC in January. Dr. Tan was joined on Wednesday morning by fellow candidates from PSP’s West Coast-Jurong West slate: Party secretary-general Leong Mun Wai, first vice-chairperson Hazel Poa, as well as newcomers Sani Ismail and Sumarleki Amjah. Ms. Poa said the allegation that a PSP volunteer had slapped a PAP volunteer is “very serious,” adding: “Since the police has completed the investigation, we urge for the outcome of the investigation to be released to the public so that we can know the truth.” She said that while the party has brought this up before, they have yet to receive a response from the government. Ms. Poa had also touched on the clash in her rally speech last Saturday. CNA has contacted the Attorney-General’s Chambers for comment. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, the PSP candidates also covered various topics, including concerns related to housing and the Goods and Services Tax (GST). Mr. Leong noted that with the hustings drawing to a close, the PAP’s anchor minister for West Coast-Jurong West, National Development Minister Desmond Lee, has yet to respond to several policy questions raised by the PSP. The PSP chief raised concerns about the rising cost of Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats and questioned what the government was doing to rein in public housing prices, beyond ramping up the supply of flats. “Under the current system, HDB prices – including BTO (Build-to-Order) prices – are not going to stop rising, and are not going to stop rising at such a rapid pace. So we have to actually talk about some real solutions,” he said. He also pointed to the PSP’s Affordable Homes Scheme – a policy proposal put forth in its manifesto that advocates removing land costs from the price of public housing – as a possible solution to rising HDB prices. Mr. Leong added that the government had repeatedly “avoided” the topic of HDB lease decay. The government “has to come up with a solution,” given its Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS) and Voluntary Early Redevelopment Scheme (VERS) “no longer works” for residents, he noted. “They cannot be hiding behind … I don’t know what Minister Desmond Lee is doing, maybe he’s still monitoring. But how long do you need to monitor?” Mr. Leong asked, adding that Singaporeans who own HDB flats are “suffering.” He also questioned what the authorities are doing about municipal issues such as lift upgrading. Mr. Leong said: “Minister Desmond Lee likes to talk about local issues all that, but when I start to walk around Jurong Spring, for example, what has the government done on some of the more crucial issues?” Adding that many of the flats in the estate have “very small” lifts which only allow one wheelchair user and one other person to enter at the same time, he called on the minister to provide a “definitive answer.” The GST hikes have also been a hot-button issue throughout the hustings. On this, Mr. Leong said: “The GST is a regressive tax. You cannot run away from that right? What the government has done is that they give GST vouchers to the lowest-income Singaporeans. But it doesn’t alter the fact that GST is a regressive tax.” He also added that while such measures take care of lower-income Singaporeans, the middle-class remains “sandwiched” by such tax hikes. Mr. Leong said it was not necessary for the government to draw revenue from the GST, as it had sufficient reserves to tap on and could also reduce spending in other areas – such as public funding for the SPH Media…
