Author: Gerald Giam

Gerald Giam is the Member of Parliament for Aljunied GRC. He is the Head of Policy Research of the Workers' Party of Singapore. The opinions expressed on this page are his alone.

HDB should be neutral and stop playing politics

The HDB should stop letting itself become a political tool of the ruling PAP.

I am glad to learn that the opposition held wards of Hougang and Potong Pasir will finally be getting lift upgrading for their HDB blocks. This is a long overdue measure for the residents of the two constituencies, which have been strongholds of the opposition since 1991 and 1984 respectively.

Singaporeans will recall that on the eve of the polling day in 1997, then-Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong warned voters that opposition estates risked becoming “slums” if they continued voting out the PAP. Thus started a pattern of Third World pork barrel politics of the ruling PAP, which culminated in the 2006 election when PAP candidates Eric Low and Sitoh Yih Pin boasted that caretaker National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan had promised the two wards a total of $180 million for upgrading if residents voted for the PAP.

Fortunately, voters were too sophisticated and principled to fall for the PAP’s dirty tactics of using taxpayer money to advance their partisan political ends. Hougang and Potong Pasir voters proved that they could not be so easily swayed by money and election goodies by re-electing Mr Low Thia Khiang (Workers’ Party) and Mr Chiam See Tong (Singapore Democratic Alliance), the former with a record high winning margin.

Continue reading “HDB should be neutral and stop playing politics”

High costs and low wages in Singapore

A comprehensive survey released by UBS has confirmed what economists, academics, opposition politicians and ordinary Singaporeans have known all along: That the Singaporean worker’s wages has decreased over the past 3 years, while the cost of living has shot up.

The Prices and Earnings 2009 survey by the Swiss bank, which the Straits Times did an Insight article on, offers a detailed look at prices for goods and services, and wages and working hours in 73 major cities worldwide. The survey found that:

offers a detailed look
at prices for goods and services, and wages and working
hours for 14 professions in 73 cities worldwide
  • Singapore’s wages after taxes and social security contributions rank us at 41 out of 73;
  • Singapore ranks as the 15th most expensive city, after factoring in the cost of rent (a major expenditure for Singaporeans);
  • Our workers’ purchasing power is ranked 50 out of 73;
  • Three years ago a Singaporean worker had to work 22 minutes to earn enough to afford a Big Mac. Today that same worker has to work for 36 minutes, because his wages have decreased and the cost of living has increased.

The contrast between the ranking of our cost of living (15) and our wages (41) couldn’t be more stark. Yet when asked for their views on these unfavourable survey results, two MPs were dismissive about it.

Continue reading “High costs and low wages in Singapore”

Govt considers covering congenital illnesses under MediShield

MediShield should be run on social principles, to ensure that no child, no adult, no elderly person is left behind because of their inability to pay.

I am glad to read that, in response to the calls from several Singaporeans, including Tan Kin Lian and myself, the government is now considering covering under MediShield, the national health insurance scheme, children with congenital illnesses.

Continue reading “Govt considers covering congenital illnesses under MediShield”

Install fans on MRT platforms

SMRT should install fans at all above-ground MRT station platforms, with LTA co-funding if necessary.

I hope SMRT will seriously consider installing electric fans on all above-ground MRT station platforms. I have written twice to SMRT over the past two years to make this request. Both times I received the same reply: Platforms have sufficient natural breeze and there is no need for fans.

Most of my fellow commuters will attest that this is not always the case. Some above-ground MRT stations are sandwiched between blocks of flats or shopping malls, leaving little chance for much breeze. With the introduction of the new platform safety screens which are made of solid plexiglass, commuters will now have to endure stuffy platforms that are often overcrowded with people.

One of the bugbears of taking public transport in Singapore is getting all sweaty and sticky en route to one’s destination. After walking from one’s flat to the MRT station under the tropical sun, we often end up waiting on wind-less platforms, getting our clothes drenched with sweat. While there’s nothing we can do about Singapore’s weather, I believe it is possible to cool down the waiting areas on the MRT stations with the installation of fans, in order to provide a more pleasant overall commuting experience.

If cost is an issue for SMRT, I would like to suggest that LTA (Land Transport Authority) co-fund the installation of these fans. If the Government is serious about getting Singaporeans to switch to using public transport, this is a small investment in that could reap surprisingly good returns in the form of increased ridership and improved commuter satisfaction.

(This is the original letter that was sent to TODAY newspaper. It was published on 9 September 2009.)

MediShield should cover congenital illnesses

If CPF Board can cherry pick who to insure and who to reject, then what makes it different from any profit-oriented private insurance company?

Two letters to the Straits Times forum in the past week shed light on a little known fact that our national health insurance scheme, MediShield, does not provide the universal coverage that many Singaporeans would have expected it to.

On September 2nd, a parent wrote in to express dismay that his newborn daughter was refused MediShield coverage because she was born with a suspected cyst in her lungs, a condition diagnosed during pregnancy. He said the CPF Board, which manages MediShield, denied her coverage, citing “the higher insurance risk posed by her pre-existing health condition”.

Continue reading “MediShield should cover congenital illnesses”

Civil servants: Take better care of your Minister’s bosses

Take care of your Minister, by all means. But take better care of your Minister’s bosses: The people of Singapore who elected him, pay his salary (and yours) and can fire him (at the polls) if he performs poorly.

A blog by Straits Times correspondent Christopher Tan (“Pre-empted by the Internet”) revealed some interesting behind the scenes excitement that took place when the big announcement of the revisions to the Off-peak Car (OPC) scheme got leaked on the Net two days before the Minister for Transport could announce it.

The LTA (Land Transport Authority) gave a closed door press briefing last Friday, banning any recording devices and ordering journalists to embargo the news until Transport Minister Raymond Lim announced it in a speech at a grassroots event on Sunday. But lo and behold, the news got leaked on the Internet that very night.

With this leak, the ST wanted to run the story on Saturday, but was not given permission to by the LTA. So it got run on Sunday morning — still ahead of the Minister’s speech.

What I find disconcerting was the journalist’s description that “the authority’s (LTA) panic was palpable. After all, the leak had stolen the thunder from a Minister’s Sunday speech.”

Continue reading “Civil servants: Take better care of your Minister’s bosses”

76-year old cardboard lady in Singapore

This AFP news clip has appeared in several other blogs, but I think it’s worth re-posting it here. It’s so sad to see this. Is this the way our nation treats the people who helped build it?

To provide public assistance to all elderly Singaporeans in this situation will be but a drop in the bucket for the government. Instead the criteria for receiving public assistance is that you have to be completely destitute and without any family who can assist you.

Despite all the need out there like the old lady in the clip, there are only 3,000 people in the whole of Singapore who are receiving public assistance to the tune of $260 a month. That adds up to $780,000 a month, which is  much less than a Minister gets paid in one year.

The necessary privileges of citizenship

I was invited to be a studio guest on Channel NewsAsia’s BlogTV on 27 August 2009. This was my second time on the show. The topic for this discussion was titled, “We want more… privileges!”

This article first appeared in Hammersphere.

I was invited to be a studio guest on Channel NewsAsia’s BlogTV on 27 August 2009. This was my second time on the show. The topic for this discussion was titled, “We want more… privileges!”

Continue reading “The necessary privileges of citizenship”

Suggestions to MINDEF regarding Record V recommedations

The Fifth Committee to Recognise the Contribution of Operationally Ready National Servicemen, or Record V, has made 18 recommendations to MINDEF (Ministry of Defence). As an NSman myself, here are my reactions to them and further suggestions to MINDEF.

The Fifth Committee to Recognise the Contribution of Operationally Ready National Servicemen, or Record V, has made 18 recommendations to MINDEF (Ministry of Defence). As an NSman myself, here are my reactions to them and further suggestions to MINDEF.

Continue reading “Suggestions to MINDEF regarding Record V recommedations”