GE2025: Opposition's plans to put money in people's pockets lack details on funding, says Grace Fu

Straits Times

28-04-2025

Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu said the proposals by opposition parties stop short of suggesting who will pay for their promises. ST PHOTO: ARIFFIN JAMAR
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SINGAPORE - Opposition parties want to put more money in people's pockets by cutting GST rates, but their proposals stop short of suggesting who will pay for their promises, said Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu on April 28.
Hitting back at Red Dot United (RDU), whose chief Ravi Philemon had, in a televised round-table discussion on April 27, suggested cutting the goods and services tax from 9 per cent to 7 per cent, Ms Fu said: 'It is easy for the opposition to criticise. Our opposition here wants to put more money in everyone's pocket.
'So good, such a lovely idea. But it is hard to pay for. After these nine days, after all the promises that have been made, who in the opposition is here to sign the cheques?' said Ms Fu, who is the anchor minister of the PAP team contesting Jurong East-Bukit Batok GRC.
'Who will pay for their promises? Is it the Government? The Government is only the custodian for Singapore. Ultimately, it is Singaporeans who will pay, either Singaporeans today, like you and me here, or Singaporeans of the future, your children,' she added.
The PAP team will face RDU at the May 3 polls.
Addressing the crowd at a rally at Jurong East Stadium, Ms Fu – who was one of 12 speakers at the event – said the decision to increase the GST was not an easy one.
But the GST allows Singapore to tax tourists, as well as people who have no income here but spend on items like cars and watches, she added.
She said the Government understands the pain caused by the GST on people with low or no income, adding that this is why the GST increase is accompanied by a 'permanent' support system, which includes the GST Voucher programme and other rebates to help the lower- and no-income households.
'We may be taking a chicken wing from you, but we are giving you a whole chicken,' she said.
The GST was raised from 7 per cent to 9 per cent over two years, in 2023 and 2024.
This increase has been a focal point of criticism by many opposition parties on the campaign trail, with the WP, PSP and Singapore Democratic Party calling for a rollback to 7 per cent or less to alleviate cost-of-living pressures.
During RDU's first rally on April 26, the party's candidates zeroed in on other bread-and-butter issues, such as public housing affordability and the cost of living.
Some candidates also portrayed the ruling party as being out of touch with the issues Singaporeans are facing, and said that opposition voices are needed in Parliament so they can speak up for residents.
But Ms Fu said more debates do not give Singaporeans better policies and good governance.
She added: 'We see countries with flowery debates, many different colours, many different parties, long debates in Parliament. Do they give you better policies? They give you policies that lead nowhere.'
Acknowledging residents' concerns about jobs and the rising cost of living, she assured them that her team knows what the residents in Jurong East-Bukit Batok GRC and Jurong Central SMC are going through.
For instance, to alleviate the cost of living for residents in Yuhua, where she was the MP for 20 years, Ms Fu said initiatives such as vouchers, financial assistance, as well as food rescue programmes were rolled out. The Yuhua single seat is now part of Jurong East-Bukit Batok GRC.
'These initiatives give immediate help, practical help; even in the smallest of gestures, they can make a difference in addressing cost-of-living concerns,' Ms Fu said.
She also outlined the PAP's plans for those who worry about employment, which include matching residents to jobs in the community, creating micro-jobs like sewing for stay-at-home residents and holding job fairs for middle-aged workers.
Ms Fu likened the community in Jurong East-Bukit Batok and Jurong Central to a kampung where residents in the community step in to help one another.
'Over the past five years, we have lived through a turbulent time – we had the pandemic, the rise in inflation, and we watched the world become uncertain,' she said.
She also said in Mandarin that the world may be roiled in much uncertainty, but the ruling party has extensive experience in international negotiations.
The PAP also brought the country through the Covid-19 pandemic and has the ability to stabilise the economy, she added.
'Our single-minded focus is to look after and serve you. Not just to get a ticket to Parliament ,' she said.
'And we want to build a Singapore where your hard work matters, where dignity is protected, where no one is left behind.'
During the rally, Ms Fu was joined by her teammates contesting Jurong East-Bukit Batok GRC.
They include Minister of State for Law and Transport Murali Pillai, Minister of State for Health and Digital Development and Information Rahayu Mahzam, political newcomer David Hoe, and Mr Lee Hong Chuang, who contested the Hougang single seat in the 2015 and 2020 elections.
The PAP's candidate for Jurong Central SMC, Mr Xie Yao Quan, who had served the ward since 2020 as a Jurong GRC MP, also made a pitch to residents at the rally, which kicked off with speeches from party volunteers who drummed up support for the PAP's slate.
RDU is fielding a team which has two candidates with political experience in Jurong East-Bukit Batok GRC.
They include entrepreneur and author Liyana Dhamirah, who was an RDU candidate for Jurong GRC in 2020, and waste management company director Osman Sulaiman, who was a Singapore People's Party candidate in 2020.
The RDU team is rounded out by contemporary artist Benjamin Puah, marketing agency director Marcus Neo and principal software engineer Harish Mohanadas.
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