My heartlander friend told me that NDR 2013 was one of the worst speeches Singaporeans have ever heard. I could not disagree.
You see, the PM spoke more on the hardware than on the solutions needed. More important issues were even left out so how could this be called a rally? So much for Our Singapore Conversation which participants must now be convinced was a Wayang all along.
If I were the PM, which of course I am not, I will try to win over disappointed Singaporeans at another rally, preferable this weekend. It will be called NDR 2013 Plus to address all the important issues which were not mentioned.
NDR 2013 Plus – What should be said (to be read with a pinch of salt)
1 Good evening Singaporeans, saudara saudari sekalian, vanakum, ge wei qing ai de tong bao (local Chinese). I thank you all for coming again tonight because there were important issues which I had failed to address last week.
2 The reason for this is due to my incompetent speechwriter’s belief that Singaporeans are as daft as claimed by a previous PM because he only reads propaganda in our local papers. Social media have proven otherwise by highlighting all the issues not mentioned, generating enough noise for the Istana to take notice. Contrary to propaganda, social media participants are not only well-educated but articulate. If not, it would have made a mockery of our educational system under Minister Heng who finally succeeded in getting Singaporeans to open their mouths at the OSC.
3 Unlike CPIB Director who only got a letter of warning for completely eroding public trust in our public institutions, my speechwriter did not even receive any warning letter. Instead, he was given the immediate boot without any chance of re-entry into public service or pro rated bonus. This is to address the issue of accountability which was raised some decades ago and we only recently realised to be important.
4 Even my supporters on REACH say my speech completely missed the forest for the trees. I was surprised to hear the truth for the first time and have accepted their sincere feedback. I would like to take responsibility and will provide a full answer tonight.
5 Housing affordability
a The government can only afford to tackle this issue for the small number of HDB applicants. As you all should know by now, we unintentionally dug into our reserves 55 times during the last 11 years so there is really nothing much left/we can do. Please note we have to take into account the reality of politics - gratitude of successful applicants translates into votes.
For those who prefer to buy resale flat, we will throw some taxpayers’ money to you in the form of grants. Due to the above reason as well as accountability to the public, they may not be much.
b The National Property and Tweaking Division (NPTD) under the PMO has concluded that high property prices must be maintained at all costs. High property prices is the main driver for high cost of labour, goods and services. The reverse happens when property prices drop. We are also very concerned about our GLCs’ and definitely cannot afford to lose face on the international stage when our GDP collapses.
You see, high property prices is the sole reason for our GDP to be at such a stratospheric level, and a well guarded secret until tonight, which other governments are daft not to have implemented such a strategy.
Our GDP figures even fool foreign analysts, who know nuts about the problems here, into giving Singapore a glowing report without fail. Forbes recently reported that it takes less than 10 years for a Singaporean to become a millionaire! link If the journalist was educated under our system, she would have been more objective.
c It is a fact that wealthy immigrants will further fuel property prices, resulting in a vicious circle. Without them, do you think you will have such high-paying jobs when there are no spurs stuck into the hide of Singaporeans? Or would you prefer to have no jobs and our wives and daughters have to become maids in other countries?
There is really no choice but to maintain a relentless pace of growth for our GDP. Trust me one last time, this is not fearmongering.
d Making housing affordable for everyone is just not possible because property prices will then need to fall from 5.5 times the annual median income to 4. A property billionaire has opined that current prices are suicidal but we strongly feel that addressing the affordability issue will also be suicidal. We should not forget about those whose flats provide a regular income stream will be receiving less and may need government assistance. Do you then want our by now peanuts reserves to be drawn for the 56th time? We acknowledge that a 10 per cent drop in housing prices would help many more Singaporeans but we are sorry for having allowed property prices to run away during the last few years. But let’s look forward and try to resolve this issue together instead of complaining all the time.
e A drop in property prices will also translate into huge paper losses for our GLCs and income losses from lower rentals. As Singaporeans also know, the government is also the biggest landlord. Our income is used for the people’s benefit eg. distribution of $80 per NS man for NS45 benefits, generous CPF Medisave top-ups which your dependents will likely inherit, yearly Budget benefits with bigger ones pre election etc. I am sure all of you need all these due to the high cost of living we have created.
f Lower property prices means less GST collected. As you also know, with less income, there will be less for improving infrastructures such as MRT and public housing upgrading. Do you want our MRT to use plywood for sleeper replacement and a repeat of the 2011 breakdown? Or the government to provide $1,100,000,000.00 to ensure the probability of a repeat is not so high? Do you want your HDB flats to become like slums in other countries?
Please trust the government just one last time.
6 Population White Paper (PWP) – there is a valid reason for not mentioning the PWP. Allow me to break from tradition and be really upfront by telling you that increasing the population to 6.9 million and beyond is a necessity. I inherited this successful model and it appears to have worked so there was really no reason to fix something which wasn’t broken. Till we heard it loud and clear from the Istana the noise generated from Hong Lim Park on 16 February.
But our problem was we have already invested billions into building infrastructures. Open your eyes and you can see we did not turn Singapore into the biggest construction site for nothing. Our position is simple, all investments must yield returns and we are not called Singapore Inc for nothing. Do you think the 30 per cent of Singaporeans who qualify for government grants will be able to contribute to all these mega projects in future?
The answer is an obvious ‘no’. We have already planned to continue with our successful immigration policy to achieve the best returns. Recently, you would have experienced a more crowded situation because we have proceeded with the implementation of the PWP despite the protest.
7 COE – the issue of COE cannot be resolved and there was really no point to address it. Looking at the demand and supply of COEs in relation to the number of wealthy immigrants, it is to be expected to breach $100,000 by next year. How can it not when every wealthy immigrant becomes a car owner? As has already been explained in point 4c above, wealthy immigrants are necessary to improve the quality of our life.
Anyway, those who had implemented the COE system have left the government. Nothing can be done about this. What we can do is accept the fact that there will be an increasing number of foreigner drivers vs Singaporean drivers due to our system of meritocracy.
8 I had also announced plans to move Paya Lebar Air Base to Changi and all container ports located in the south of Singapore to be moved to Tuas. This was not mentioned in the URA Concept Plan 2011 but all the cabinet members and a select few were privy to this information. Our plan was to announce this soon after the PWP so that Singaporeans will have trust in a government that really has foresight. This would have greatly impressed the public, the majority who have lost trust in us and did not appreciate our sacrifice in serving them.
What we had not anticipated was the PWP backlash and decided to withhold this well guarded secret for NDR 2013. I hope URA planners will understand that it was never my intention to hijack their glory. We will try to improve our opaque system.
In conclusion, I believe you now have answers to all our pressing issues at this NDR 2013 Plus tonight. As confirmation of a changed government, tonight I would like to extend my apology to all Singaporeans (regardless of race, language, religion, true blue or newly minted) 3 years before the elections instead of only 4 days during the last one. We give you our word that from today on, we will be more upfront and all those caught throwing smoke will not be given any warning.
For issues which continue to persist, please give me another opportunity to address them with upfront answers at NDR 2014.
Let’s build our Singapore dream together. Majulah Singapura.
Phillip Ang
TRS Contributor