My fellow Singaporeans, and voters of East Coast GRC and Fengshan SMC. A very good evening to one and all.
Vannakam!
Para pengundi GRC East Coast dan SMC Fengshan, salam sejahtera!
Keputusan pilihan raya kali ini dijangka sangat sengit. Tolonglah kami untuk mengongsi mesej kami kepada keluarga, teman-teman dan jiran-jiran anda.
Sila berkongsi dengan mereka mengapa anda mengundi Parti Pekerja.
Kongsilah dengan mereka mengapa anda melakukan perkara ini bukan hanya untuk diri anda, tetapi untuk anak-anak anda.
Undilah Parti Pekerja! Memperkasakan masa depan anda!
各位东海岸集选区和凤山单选区的选民，晚上好!
这次大选是新加坡50年来最重要的大选之一。东海岸和凤山是这次的主要战场 。
你们的选票会决定工人党除了后港、阿裕尼和榜鹅东之外，会不会赢得更多的选区。
这次的选战将会非常激烈。请向你们的家人、邻居和朋友们解释，你们为什么支持工人党。
向他们解释，我们在国会里一定要有足够的反对党议员，才能够确保 行动党不可以为所欲为 。
告诉他们，你们投工人党一票，不只是为了自己，而是为了你们的孩子们的未来。
请投工人党一票。掌握民权，把握未来！谢谢。
Mr Khaw Boon Wan said at a PAP rally two days ago: “We all know how much damage a weak government, paralysed by constant debate, can do to the country and to the people.”
I think this sums up very well what the PAP thinks about democracy and debate. They are not interested in debate. They want all of us – including the opposition – to agree with them. Even in Parliament, they get so ‘kancheong’ when just the few of us oppose a Bill that we think is bad for Singapore, even though they have a Parliamentary super-majority to ram anything through. Imagine how much more responsive they will be to you, if we have 12, 18 or 20 Workers’ Party MPs in Parliament?
Don’t worry about “weakening” the PAP. They don’t need so many backbenchers. Some of their backbenchers hardly participate in Parliament. In the last Parliament, there were some PAP backbenchers who didn’t even make one “impactful” speech. We don’t need more cheerleaders in Parliament. We need more representatives who can think out of the PAP box and are bold enough to confront the government with the people’s concerns.
The problem we have in Singapore is not that we have too much debate, but too little debate on government policies that affect your lives. Look at the population policy in the decade before GE 2011. The PAP didn’t table any population white paper for debate in Parliament. They just went ahead and let in one million people within the span of ten years. It took a shock loss of Aljunied for them to realise that our infrastructure was bursting at the seams and that Singaporeans felt they were losing their identity.
My fellow Singaporeans, over the past two weeks, my colleagues and I from the Workers’ Party have put forward many practical policy proposals for improving the lives of Singaporeans. Most of these are from our Manifesto, which forms the blueprint of what we are going to push for in Parliament if we are elected.
I trust that you can see that we are a party that has many serious, well-thought through proposals to bring to Parliament. If more of us are elected, we are confident that Parliament will become a more lively and effective forum for airing Singaporeans’ concerns and arriving at better solutions for our nation’s future.
As this is my final speech of this election campaign, I want to talk to you about more than just policy proposals. I want to talk to you about what this election is really about.
This election is about the future political direction we will take as a nation. The choice is in your hands. We could vote for a Parliament that continues to have a small and under-resourced opposition, or we could vote for a Parliament that has a strong alternative party that is able to give you more bargaining power with the government.
We know the PAP is going to be returned to power on Polling Day. But do you know if there are going to be enough Workers’ Party MPs to be a strong alternative voice for you in Parliament?
Some of you may have received messages from the PAP and its supporters, telling you there is no need to “check” the PAP, because they are doing such a great job. Even if the PAP has done a good job over the past 50 years, can you be sure that future generations of PAP leaders can match the ability and drive of Mr Lee Kuan Yew and his pioneer cabinet colleagues? Looking at the current batch of PAP candidates, do you see any Lee Kuan Yews, Goh Keng Swees and S. Rajaratnams?
So the question is: Are you willing to place the future of your children entirely in the hands of the PAP of 2015?
We need to build up institutions to guard against future government failure. We all know we need to buy insurance before something bad happens, not after. It’s the same for government. We need to slowly build up a credible alternative party so that if the ruling party fails, the alternative can step in to take its place, and Singapore will continue to progress and thrive. This process could take years and many election cycles. The Workers’ Party has started this process of building with your help. In this election, we need to work together to continue to build a credible alternative.
Two is not enough. Seven is not enough. We need many more MPs in Parliament to change the political balance in Singapore.
Voters of East Coast GRC and Fengshan SMC, this is one of the most important elections in Singapore’s short history. It is the first election since Independence where all the constituencies are being contested. It is the first election since the watershed election of GE 2011 where we saw a breakthrough in Aljunied GRC.
East Coast and Fengshan are at the front lines of this battle. We are at the tipping point of political progress in Singapore. Your vote will determine whether the opposition can make inroads beyond Hougang, Aljunied and Punggol East.
The election results are expected to be very close. We ask for your help spread the word to your family, friends and neighbours.
Please share with them why you are voting for Workers’ Party. Share with them why it is important to ensure there are enough credible and responsible opposition MPs in Parliament to check the power of the PAP.
Share with them why this election is our best chance to end the one-party state dominance of PAP.
Share with them why you are doing this not just for yourself, but for your children and their future.
Come September 11th, vote for the Workers’ Party. Empower your future!
Thank you!