MANIFESTO OF THE NATIONAL SOLIDARITY PARTY
This is a brief outline for your perusal. View the FULL manifesto in PDF format here (external link)
A) IDEOLOGY & PRINCIPLES
1) Political Ideology
The National Solidarity Party (NSP) is a democratic, pragmatic and progressive political Party
that treasures nationalistic values towards the building of an Open Society – A Society for All.
2) Party Core Values
NSP believes in the human potential, dignity and rights of all People, regardless of race, language or religion. The Party is committed towards the building of a more open, dynamic, vibrant and inclusive Society through the democratic process. The Party values the contributions of each and every Member towards the promotion of its political cause, and activates its core values through the Motto: Service to Society.
3) Mission Statement
NSP exists to uphold democracy and to provide constructive ideas to benefit the Society. The Party subscribes to the establishment of a multi-partisan political system, and envisions to be a credible and caring government.
4) Party Objectives
NSP shall build a pluralistic democracy by winning seats in parliamentary elections. The Party organizes and maintains an active ground presence with which to understand the People’s needs and concerns, and to provide a credible platform for the People to express their views, with the intention of influencing national policies.
5) Political Rights
All Citizens should have the freedom to choose their political beliefs and association, and the right to vote freely without fear, coercion or discrimination by race, age, gender, occupation or belief. All electoral notifications and changes should be adequately publicized at least six months before the subsequent political election.
B) POPULATION GROWTH
1) Proper Planning
Singapore should only start growing its population gradually (from the current 5 million) when its infrastructure is ready. The mistake of sudden population growth without proper planning should never be repeated.
2) Security Net
To increase our Total Fertility Rate, the Government should reassure hopeful parents by providing a comprehensive security net for their children — up to 18 years old.
C) NATIONAL ECONOMY
1) Economic Policy
1.1 NSP is committed to an open and free competitive economy in which the Government’s economic responsibilities would generally be confined to the formulation of policies to enhance national development and economic growth.
1.2 The Government should refrain from interfering excessively with the market economy either directly or indirectly (except for essential public services), as it would constitute unfair competition to local enterprises, especially the SMEs.
1.3 Whilst a steady inflow of sizeable foreign investments should be sustained consistently, the ratio between foreign versus local investments should be maintained on a balanced keel at all times.
1.4 The Government should be constructive in assisting local enterprises to lower their business costs, increase their productivity and enhance their competitiveness.
2) Taxation
2.1 The personal income tax relief amount is presently insufficient and should be revised regularly in tandem with rising cost-of-living standards.
2.2 In view of the substantial budget surpluses accumulated over the years, the level of Goods & Services Tax (GST) should be reduced proportionally.
2.3 Certain indirect taxes such as the Water Conservation taxes, and the Radio & TV licence fees should be abolished as they impose additional burdens on the People.
2.4 Tax credits should be given to citizens who take care of their parents and school- going children.
3) Privatisation
3.1 The entire privatisation policy should be thoroughly reconsidered by an independent, professional committee. Certain essential industries are an integral part of the national infrastructure and they should be sustained by a responsible government; such industries should not depend on shareholders’ interest alone as is the norm with privatised organisations.
3.2 The Government should provide adequate justification for the privatisation of certain national industries. Its current rationale of making them more competitive fell short because those industries are either monopolies or oligopolies, at present and in the foreseeable future.
4) Employment
4.1 Citizens should be entitled to foremost priority for the engagement of workforce.
4.2 The provision and design of Government-initiated Productivity & Skilled Training programmes should focused more on upgrading of the local workforce.
4.3 The Government should establish a minimum living wage policy to protect low-wage earners from being exploited.
4.4 The current schemes for the employment of foreigners (eg. Employment Pass) are too lax and should be revised in view of the increased local under-employment.
4.5 An Equal Opportunity Commission should be established to prevent employment discrimination.
D) MEDIA, COMMUNICATION & INFORMATION
1) Ideal Society
NSP believes in the dynamics of a Society that is free, fair, open and democratic.
2) Reliable Information
General information should be independent, non-bias, reflecting both diverse and opposing
views, and are freely and easily available to the public.
3) Mass Media
3.1 The mainstream media should not be in any way controlled or come under the influence of the Government. In particular, the dailies, radio and television should be left opened to free and fair trade competition, but remain free from any form of government ownership.
3.2 Partisan websites and websites on political issues should be free from Government regulation and/or intervention.
4) Freedom of Information
4.1 A legislation on the “Freedom of Information” should be enacted to ensure the availability of sufficient updated inputs on all national issues from the various Authorities, and also to enable Citizens to have unrestricted access to those data without compromising national security.
4.2 All classified data over 30 years should be de-classified and made available in the public domain to promote research and informed debates on matters of public interest.
4.3 There should not be any restriction on the use or ownership of satellite dishes to tap foreign broadcasts.
E) PUBLIC HOUSING
1) Core Responsibility of HDB
HDB should resume its core responsibility in the provision of quality public housing for the masses at cost-plus prices.
2) Transparency
HDB should release a comprehensive detail of the costs (land, construction, development, administrative, etc) of each project on its website before launching it, to allow the market to evaluate its cost efficiency.
3) Review Income Ceiling
HDB should review its income ceiling cap for the purchase of new flats, on a five-yearly basis.
4) Financial Assistance
The Government should render more assistance to those with genuine financial difficulties.
5) Subsidised Rental Flats
The pool of subsidized rental flats should be increased substantially to reduce the waiting time for those Citizens who are in dire needs. Such flats should be prohibited from being used to house foreign workers.
6) Restriction on PRs
HDB flats owned by PRs should be prohibited from resale within 8 years’ of ownership, and any profit realised from the sale thereof should be subject to taxation to prevent speculation. Such flats should also be prohibited from being leased out either wholly or in part.
F) HEALTHCARE
1) Comprehensive Medical Insurance
1.1 The Government should undertake to provide a Comprehensive Medical Insurance (CMI) with coverage to include hospitalisation and outpatient treatments at private or restructured hospitals, polyclinics and affiliated private clinics. It should also cover all pre-existing medical conditions of children.
1.2 The CMI should be made mandatory for all Citizens, with the Government contributing at least 20% of the premiums payable. It should also be extended to foreign workers, PRs and foreigners living in Singapore, but without any Government subsidy.
1.3 Payment of the CMI premiums for those Citizens under Public Assistance should be undertaken by the Government.
1.4 The CMI premiums should be calculated based on the per capital income of the Household involved. The Government should contribute 50% of the premiums for those Citizens who are children or non-working household members.
1.5 Out-patient consultation charges should be paid in full by the patients themselves, but
the CMI should cover medicine costs based on a predetermined drug list which is reviewed periodically.
1.6 The CMI should cover all approved hospitalisation treatments with predetermined costing, but excluding the rental of hospital beds to discourage unnecessary extended stay by the patients.
1.7 The scope and depth of coverage by the CMI should be wide enough to accommodate most medical conditions and medication. Since the current annual pay-out rate of Medishield is less than 55% of the total premiums collected, the Authorities could expand the CMI coverage with additional contributions from the Government.
2) Generic Drugs
The Government should promote the use of generic drugs which are comparatively cheaper. An industry to produce generic drugs should also be developed. Free Trade Agreements that may restrict any rights to use generic drugs should be carefully reconsidered.
3) Aging Population
The Government should not compromise with the needs of the rapidly aging population, but attend to the urgent requirement for more beds, medicine and qualified workforce, according to its projected demands.
G) EDUCATION
1) Extensive Purviews
The current subsidized educational services should be extended to include the nursery and pre-primary levels as well. At the same time, the administration of both Nursery and Pre-primary education should be placed under the purview of the MOE instead of the MCYS.
2) Class Size
NSP had since 1997 pushed for the reduction of class size to an optimal size of 20, to improve the teacher: student ratio to enable better interaction, thereby enhancing the learning process.
3) Moral Development
The curriculum across the board should be revised with emphasis on the development of social ethics, moral reasoning and character development, so that the students can be imbued with good, moral standing to better face the tough realities of life.
4) Scholarship Bonds
Government scholarships offered to Citizens should not be bonded to any specific ministry or statutory board, provided that the bond obligations are served out in Singapore. This would help to develop talents for the benefit of the whole economy, instead of being monopolised by the Government.
5) Registration Priority
Admission to Universities and Schools of higher learning should be prioritized in favour of Citizens.
H) CENTRAL PROVIDENT FUND
1) Borrowing from CPF
Citizens should be allowed to borrow temporarily from their own CPF Ordinary Accounts, whenever they are retrenched or in times of hardship. A maximum amount of $1500 per month could be borrowed for a 6-month period, capped at 20% of the Ordinary Account. Such loans should be fully repaid when the Account Holder is gainfully employed.
2) CMI Premiums
A portion of the money held under the Medisave should be used to cover the premiums payable for the Comprehensive Medical Insurance (proposed under Healthcare above).
3) Education Support
To provide a further boost for continuing education in this current knowledge-based economy, the list of CPF-approved tertiary providers should be expanded both in scope and availability.
I) PUBLIC TRANSPORT
1) Transportation Policy
1.1 The importance of public transportation as an essential convenience of modern living should be manifested in terms of availability, accessibility and affordability. It should also be well-maintained to remain safe, convenient and reliable at all times.
1.2 Owing to space constraints, there should be a better balance between vehicle population growth and transport facilities to reduce traffic congestion and minimise commuters’ costs. However, stringent punitive measures should not be used to achieve those objectives.
1.3 The current Vehicle Quota System should be reviewed to prevent COE bidding prices from escalating out of control. High COE prices will inevitably increase business operational costs as they would affect consumer prices.
1.4 The Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) system should not deviate from its original objective of traffic control; it is currently being abused as yet another taxation tool at the expense of road users.
2) Transportation Costs
2.1 The Government has an obligation and a responsibility to ensure that public transportation fares are consistently fair and affordable. Operational viability should thus not hinge solely on the criterion of profitability. Currently, transportation cost per household forms a high percentage of the average household income.
2.2 The operations of public transportation should be monitored closely to prevent any unreasonable fare increment merely for the sake of profitability.
2.3 All handicapped and Public Assistance recipients should be eligible for Concessionary Passes.
2.4 All Concession Pass holders (students, Senior Citizens, handicapped, and Public Assistance recipients) should be allowed to enjoy concession rate at all times.
J) DEFENCE
1) National Defence
1.1 Singapore should maintain a national defence force strong enough to safeguard its sovereignty, independence and security.
1.2 The Nation should adopt a moderate and restrained posture and support regional cooperation and joint defence, in order to contribute to a stable and peaceful environment in the region.
2) Defence Expenditure
The national defence expenditure should be reduced progressively over several years so that it could be capped at a steady 4.5% of the GDP.
3) National Service
The fulltime National Service period should be further reduced from the current 24 months, in view of further technological advancement.
4) Nuclear Free
NSP do not believe in the need to have nuclear armaments to maintain peace and stability in the region. To protect our small city-state from the dangers of nuclear armaments, they should be prohibited within our territorial confines.
K) Internal Security Act
The Internal Security Act should not be abused to suppress political dissidents or to create fear amongst the electorate. All political / security detainees should be entitled to fair trials, within three months after their detention.
Acknowledgements:
This second revision of the NSP Manifesto was initiated by the 12th CEC in 2009 and completed by its 13th CEC in 2010, in its effort to stay relevant to the changing needs of the People and the Nation. The English version is edited by Charter Member & ex-S/G Ken Sun.
Please note: This is a brief outline for your perusal. Due to the constraints of Facebook we have to host the official manifesto elsewhere. View the FULL manifesto in PDF format here (external link)