Latest speeches by Workers’ Party
Members of Parliament in 14th Parliament
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Budget Debate Speech – 27th February 2024 Muhamad Faisal Bin Abdul Manap Sir, in my time as a Member of Parliament representing Kaki Bukit Division of Aljunied GRC, I have had many interactions with Singaporean individuals and families from low-income households. These households have been most affected by the rising costs...
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Budget Debate Speech – 27th February 2024 Sylvia Lim Swee Lian In this Budget, I and others born in or before 1973 have been called “young seniors”. These days, when younger commuters give their seats up to me on the MRT, I no longer feel insulted but accept with grace. That...
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Budget Debate Speech – 27th February 2024 A/P Jamus Jerome Lim Chee Wui Preparing Our Businesses, Workers, and Students for the AI Revolution In his Budget Statement delivered two Fridays ago, DPM Wong spoke about artificial intelligence (AI) as a general-purpose technology, like “electricity, the internal combustion engine, the computer, or the...
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Budget Debate Speech – 27th February 2024 He Ting Ru Mr Speaker The title of this year’s budget statement, “Building our shared future together”, is one which all of us should strive for. In the Workers’ Party 2020 manifesto, “A Singapore For All”, we outlined our vision for a Singapore which has...
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Budget Debate Speech – 26th February 2024 Pritam Singh Mr Speaker, it is not mere coincidence that the slogan of Forward Singapore is "Building Our Shared Future", while that of Budget 2024 is the substantially similar "Building Our Shared Future Together". The Government intends for Budget 2024 to be a step...
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Budget Speech – 26th February 2024 Dennis Tan Lip Fong Mr Speaker, for my Budget Debate speech, I would first like to speak on certain issues relating to the support for our seniors, followed by the issue of support for adults with disabilities and finally, like in my previous years’ Budget...
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Budget Debate Speech – 26th February 2024 Gerald Giam Yean Song Mr Speaker, Fair Competition Singaporean workers aspire towards making a good living and engaging in meaningful work that uplifts not only their own families, but also their communities, their nation and the world. One inescapable reality of work is competition. We have always...
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Budget Speech – 26th February 2024 Chua Kheng Wee Louis Observations on our fiscal position Mr Speaker, as I have shared in my IRAS (Amendment) Bill speech on Budget Day itself, FY2023 did turn out to be another record year of tax collections, after significant increases in IRAS’ tax collections over the...
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Introduction Mr Speaker, I will make three points concerning Singapore’s reserves and then I will set out the Workers’ Party’s (WP) five principles on the reserves. My first point is that the Government should be more open about our reserves and reveal figures not for their own sake, but so as...
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Mr Speaker, Living in Singapore, it can sometimes seem that climate change is a concept that is remote to us and our daily lives. After all, it is not something that you immediately see or feel when you look out the window. Unless you were outside in Ang Mo Kio on...
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Mr Speaker, In our quest to safeguard the Singapore dollar, especially from the volatilities of currency crises, it is important for a country to hold sufficient Official Foreign Reserves (OFR). We've seen the dire consequences of not having enough in the tank during Thailand's ordeal in 1997. The country's struggle,...
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Mr Speaker, my Parliamentary colleagues from The Workers’ Party have set forth our party’s position on the reserves. Under the Net Investment Returns (NIR) framework, the Government can spend up to 50% of the long-term expected real returns on relevant assets. So up to 50% of the net returns from...
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What are reserves? In its broadest form, reserves are the difference between the assets and liabilities of a sovereign people. In principle, this would include not just financial reserves—that which is captured in cash and other financial assets—but all the nation’s endowments: her stock of built capital (the buildings, machinery,...
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Mr Speaker Today, many would rightly acknowledge the work done in improving access to treatments and interventions for those suffering from poor mental health and the breaking down of stigma. I also note that many officeholders, including the DPM, are slated to speak, and this is attention long overdue. However,...
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The CPC Amendment Bill proposes some significant changes to our criminal procedure. I will first talk about what I see as improvements, and then touch on some provisions of concern. Improvements The three improvements I will touch on are Pre-Trial Release on Personal Bond, Codification of Prosecution’s Duty to Disclose Unused...
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Tuan, ini adalah rang undang-undang pindaan AMLA yang kedua dalam masa 2 tahun kebelakangan ini. Ia menunjukkan usaha-usaha pembaharuan yang berterusan adalah perlu dalam kepesatan kehidupan dunia hari ini. Saya mengalu-alukan kerja kuat dan keras yang diusahakan bagi terus memperbaiki Akta Pentadbiran Undang-undang Islam Singapura (AMLA) demi untuk kebaikan...
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Mr Speaker, I declare my interest as a practising advocate and solicitor in the Supreme Court of Singapore. Mr Speaker, we are told that this Bill seeks to amend the Precious Stones and Precious Metals (Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing) Act 2019, the Legal Profession Act 1966, the...
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Introduction Mr Speaker, in its press release on the third of November 2023, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) shared that The Significant Investments Review Bill or SIRA as it will be known, is to ensure the continuity of critical entities. Under the new investment management regime, entities that...
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Mr Speaker, the proposed amendments embodied in the Stillbirths and Births Bill will alter the status of stillborn children, in the eyes of the law, by vesting official recognition of these children in allowing their names to be registered. Of course, to the parents of such children, they will...
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Mr Speaker, I had previously spoken, on multiple occasions, about the importance of government policy support to further orient our economy toward knowledge-intensive industries. A few months back, I did so in the context of proposed amendments to the National Productivity Fund, where I stressed how financing for R&D...
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Of inflation rates and the cost of living crisis Mr Speaker, I second the motion as filed by the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Pritam Singh. The discussion on the cost of living crisis which we are facing today, is not complete without a review on the state of inflation...
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COEs: Nice, But No Cigar Car ownership in Singapore Singapore has one of the lowest car ownership rates, among advanced economies, worldwide. In 2022, there were only 149 cars per thousand inhabitants here, a rate less than half that of the UAE or Taiwan, a quarter that of the United Kingdom...
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Mr Speaker, My esteemed WP colleagues have filed the original motion regarding the costs of living in Singapore at a time where many Singaporeans continue to feel the resulting pressures. The impact has been especially severe on lower income households, which I believe the government is to be aware of. I...
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Rethinking Singapore’s public transport model to benefit commuters Mr Speaker, Singapore faces an undeniable upward trend in the cost of living, driven by factors such as global inflation, supply chain disruptions, escalating energy prices and labour shortages. However, contrary to what the Member for Bukit Panjang seems to imply in his...
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Mr Speaker, as MPs, feedback from residents about rising cost of living is not uncommon. However, in the last half a year, the frequency of such feedback has really increased tremendously. I received such feedback not merely from residents who are in the lower income brackets. I also received...
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Mr Speaker, Before speaking on the substantive and amended motions, I would like to recall the perspective of our first Prime Minister, Mr Lee Kuan Yew on the Israel-Palestinian conflict, which he shared in 2013, referring to the larger canvas against which the latest hostilities between Israel and Hamas have...
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Mr Speaker, At the outset, I would like to affirm the Workers’ Party’s support for Israel’s statehood and for the creation of a viable Palestinian state, side by side in peace and security with Israel through a negotiated two-state solution, in line with the relevant United Nations (UN) Security Council...
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Introduction Mr Speaker – electricity is a basic necessity of modern living. However, as a small nation with few natural resources, we are forced to rely on others for our energy needs. According to the Energy Market Authority (“EMA”), 95% of our electricity is generated using imported natural gas. This...
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Introduction Mr Speaker, I beg to move that this House calls on the Government to review its policies so as to lower cost of living pressures on Singaporeans and their families. Mr Speaker, on the occasion of the new year in 2022, the Workers’ Party identified cost-of-living as a major pressure...
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Mr Speaker Over the last few years, one can barely open the headlines without catching a glimpse about various crises facing our planet: ranging from the cost of living crisis that is the subject of this motion, and also the climate crisis, mental health crisis, and crises relating to war...