PSP Leong Mun Wai: Covid19 Speeches By Lee Hsien Loong And Lawrence Wong Lack Substance

The PAP have made use of the Covid19 pandemic to gain airtime on "national broadcasts" between 7 to 20 June. Even though there are speculations that these speeches are disguised election rallies, many have found these speeches lacking substance about Singapore's plans in a post-Circuit Breaker landscape. Among those who found these speeches wanting in concrete ideas was the Assistant Secretary General of the Progress Singapore Party (PSP) Leong Mun Wai.

On 10 June, Leong Mun Wai called out the speeches by Lee Hsien Loong and Lawrence Wong as being "far short of substance" especially when Singaporeans were hoping to find answers to soothe their anxieties caused by Covid19.

Instead Leong Mun Wai raised 10 points which Lee Hsien Loong or Lawrence Wong could have addressed instead of spewing out empty rhetoric:

1. Singapore may signal the start of Phase 2 when all foreign workers have been swabbed.

2. The living conditions of foreign workers need to be improved. Future construction projects will require longer schedules as Singapore works towards relying less on foreign workers for construction activities.

3. Construction companies which hope to hire foreign workers will depend on their productivity records and how much they have invested in automating their processes.

4. The needs of citizens affected by Covid19 will be looked into first. A General Elections will not be called until there have been zero Covid19 community cases for a month during Phase 2.

5. Singaporeans will be encouraged to maintain the social etiquettes and good hygiene standards practised during this pandemic.

6. The government needs to spend more to redevelop older HDB estates into cleaner and greene living spaces so that these residents can better support each other.

7. Healthcare will reform and focus on preventive care, social medicine and community support.

8. Accelerating digitalisation and improving the quality of childcare centres will enable more Singaporeans to work from home. Having such family-friendly practices will hopefully improve work-life balance and encourage increase total fertility rate.

9. The education system will be reformed so students can do more online studying at their own pace and place, and teachers will take on the role of life and character coaches to motivate students.

10. Singapore needs to set up a defence structure against future pandemics that rivals our defence plans against war and terrorism.

Singaporeans deserve better.