The Singapore Democrats stand by the students of the Nanyang Technological University in their protest against the proposed fee hike. The Party is also concerned about the unreasonable increase in the hostel room-rates by more than 100 percent. Many of the students are not financially well-off and the hefty increase in the fees would put a significant burden on them.
The SDP salutes the students on taking a principled stand and, more important, having the courage to act on it. This is the kind of leadership qualities that cannot be learnt in the classroom but are ones that will put our nation in good stead in the future.
We urge the Government to earnestly look into the grievance of the students, and not to use threats and underhanded tactics to deal with the matter. The SDP will be watching the developments of the protest as will the international community.
Chee Soon Juan
Secretary-General
Singapore Democratic Party