Latest speeches by Workers’ Party
Members of Parliament in 14th Parliament
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Mr Speaker, I welcome the move to repeal Section 377A of the Penal Code. For too long, the law has remained in our statutes, explicitly stating that sex between adult men is a crime, even if it’s consensual and done in private. Despite the Government having said multiple times... -
Mr Speaker Like many of us in this House, I am often filled with questions, thinking about the type of world we live in, the world that I want my children to inherit from us. I worry about how I can inculcate in them the right values, the right tools...
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Mr Speaker, as members of this House executing our duties in Parliament, we simultaneously hold three distinct identities. We are, first and foremost, representatives of the people that voted for us. In my view, this is our utmost responsibility: to properly capture and reflect the views of our constituents....
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The Government has decided to repeal section 377A of the Penal Code. Since these plans were first revealed, many Aljunied GRC residents have reached out to me to express their views about this issue. Residents spoke to me during my house-to-house visits, came to my Meet-the-People Sessions, sent me WhatsApp...
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Mr Speaker sir, I’d like to start by asking a simple question. What if you were born into a world where your actions mark you out as being in a minority because most people don’t do what you do. An unpopular minority. What if you were able to live...
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Mr Speaker, today the House is debating the Government’s amendment bill to repeal Section 377A of the Penal Code and a proposed amendment of the Constitution to insert a new Article 156 relating to the institution of marriage. In 2007, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that the Government will...
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Mr Speaker, At the outset, I wish to state that I am in support of the Penal Code Amendment Bill. This is due to the likely unconstitutionality of Section 377A for violating Article 12, especially in the light of recent legal developments. I wish now to focus on the Constitution Amendment...
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Mr Speaker, beyond the bread-and-butter matters of economics and material well-being, Singaporeans must occasionally confront issues that concern our collective values, how we see each other as a citizen-community, and what kind of place we want Singapore to be. Section 377A of the Penal Code—which I will henceforth refer to...
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Mr Speaker, according to the Healthier SG White Paper, all residents will be encouraged to enrol with a family doctor or a family physician, who (I quote the White Paper) “will serve as the point of contact to holistically manage the residents’ health” (unquote), focusing on providing holistic care,...
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Mr Speaker It comes as no surprise that big changes are needed in the way we approach healthcare to keep our care systems sustainable. The plans announced are ambitious, and are meant to address the long-term well-being of an ageing Singapore. As always, the actual execution and implementation of these...
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Healthier SG is a welcome new initiative, even though focusing more on preventive healthcare is something that has been advocated for over the years. In February this year, the Member for Aljunied GRC, Mr Leon Perera, made a very comprehensive adjournment motion speech on rethinking preventive health to generate better...
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Mr Speaker, the proposed amendments to the Business Trusts Act (2004) are predominantly of a technical nature, with the goal of streamlining existing legal stipulations, or to better align the Act with other Acts—in particular, the Companies Act (1967) and the Securities and Futures Act (2001)—or international standards, such...
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Mr Speaker, the Income Tax Amendment Bill will implement tax changes associated with the Government’s 2022 Budget Statement. I will concentrate my remarks on Clause 46, which concern related amendments to the Goods and Services Tax Act. My speech will focus on the spirit of these amendments, and in particular,...
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Mr Speaker sir, the National Symbols Bill makes several important changes. It provides formal statutory recognition to our National Symbols and seeks to clarify and broaden use of the National Symbols by Singaporeans to express national pride and solidarity. The aim of this speech I support the Bill as making meaningful...
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Introduction Mr Speaker I would like to first declare my interest as an equity research analyst in a financial institution, covering the real estate industry. Mr Speaker, the adequacy of HDB housing for singles has arisen in public and parliamentary discussions ever so often, showing this remains an important and evolving...
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Mr Speaker, According to the MHA’s media release for this Bill, there has been a high number of Police reports against debt collection companies and debt collectors for carrying out debt collection activities in a manner that caused alarm and nuisance to members of the public and MHA is instituting...
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Mr Speaker, my speech today will focus primarily on the increasing visibility of debt collection activities in the eye of the broader public, and how this prevalence is now intensifying as such activities are captured and spread on social media by either third parties or the purported debt collectors...
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Mr Speaker sir, I view this Bill as a step in the right direction and do not object to it. My speech will focus on several suggestions to improve our debt collection and management regime. I shall focus my speech on four major points. Firstly, proposals to simplify the regulation of...
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Introduction Mr Speaker, this Bill seeks to enlarge the DNA database at thedisposal of the police by including less serious crimes under itsambit. Individuals under investigation for both registrable crimesand less serious eligible crimes are expected to surrender theirDNA to the police. To the extent that this Bill is aimed...
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According to the Ministry’s media release of 1 August, the rationale for this Billis to enable law enforcement agencies to more effectively carry out theirduties, while safeguarding personal data. The Bill enables more DNA to becollected from suspects, offenders, volunteers and others, in order to have alarger DNA database...
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Mr Speaker, This bill proposes, among other things, to amend the SAF Act 1972 to establish a digital and intelligence service to be led by a new Chief of Digital and Intelligence Services alongside other existing service chiefs., make changes and enhance punishments in the SAF and to permit...
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Mdm Deputy Speaker, I note both Bills – the Constitution Amendment Bill and the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) and Other Matters Bill are being read at the same time. My speech is restricted to the Constitution Amendment Bill. Mdm Deputy Speaker, Clause 2 of the Bill amends article 22...
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Mr Speaker, In my speech today, I will be focusing on the amendments to the Singapore Armed Forces Act to establish a new Digital and Intelligence Service (DIS). MINDEF plans to establish a DIS, which will be a fourth armed service, alongside the Army, Navy and Air Force. This is...
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Mr Deputy Speaker While speaking during the Private Member’s Motion on ‘Justice For All’ raised by my colleague Ms Sylvia Lim in November 2020, I talked about the importance of having the House of Justice possessing strong pillars to ensure that just outcomes are delivered for those guilty of crimes,...
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In November 2020, the Workers’ Party moved a Motion in this House to call for a review of some aspects of the Singapore criminal justice system. This Motion was filed in the wake of the case involving Ms Parti Liyani, a domestic worker whose theft convictions had been overturned...
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Mr Speaker, when I first came across the term stamp duties, I thought to myself, that is a very expensive piece of stamp compared to the twenty to thirty cent ones we stick on envelopes! The second discovery was that much to my disappointment, there was no physical adhesive...
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Mr Speaker, I wish to speak today on how macroeconomic policy can and should play a role in addressing our cost of living challenges. The state of inflation is not good As members on both sides of this House are aware, the state of inflation in Singapore is not good. Since the...
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Mr Speaker sir, the illegal trade in wildlife and endangered species is a major driver of biodiversity loss and species extinction throughout the world. The depletion of biodiversity at commercial scales is contributing to the deterioration of biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services, posing a long-term threat to the...
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For many would-be parents, the little pink plus sign on the home pregnancy test kit is a moment of incredible joy. For other couples, this journey may be prolonged; as this House discussed last month, higher ages for marriage have been accompanied by greater challenges for childbearing, although with...
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Mr Deputy Speaker, I support this Bill. I note that the Bill maintains certain provisions of the existing Act while also codifying certain current practices. I would like to seek clarifications on certain parts of the Bill. Adoption Suitability Assessment Mr Deputy Speaker, this Bill requires that an adoption application must...