Singapore Democrats
To campaign against the PAP’s rapacious policies, the SDP is launching its Campaign Against Repression and Exploitation of Singaporeans 2008, or CARES ’08.
CARES ’08 will focus on:
1. Price hikes. The Government must reduce prices and curb runaway inflation which has hit a 26-year high. Prices of basic food items have been increasing at a frightening pace, leaving many people in financial dire straits. Petrol prices and transportation costs have also risen dramatically. All this is worsened by the Government’s increase of the GST by 2 percent last year to 7 percent, allowing it to rake in $6 billion in revenue last year.
2. CPF savings. The Government must return to the people their CPF savings. The PAP has devised several ways to retain the hard-earned money of Singaporeans through ploys like high HDB-flat prices, the Minimum Sum Scheme, Medisave, and now the compulsory annuity plan. Singaporeans are on record as being the highest savers in the world but they end up with one of the lowest retirement savings. The mismanagement and exploitation of CPF funds must stop.
3. Ministers’ salaries. The Ministers’ greed must be stopped. Currently, the Prime Minister earns $3.7 million dollars a year or $300,000 a month (more than six times what the US president earns). Ministers earn $3 million a year. And they still say that this is not enough!
4. Singaporeans first. The indiscriminate taking in of foreign workers to suppress wages have inflicted tremendous financial hardship on Singaporeans. Foreigners are welcome to work and live Singapore. But they brought in by the PAP Government to undercut the wages of Singaporeans so that Singapore can remain economically “competitive”. This policy is flawed and must be rectified. Minimum wage must be introduced to reduce poverty and eradicate exploitation of our working and elderly poor.
The Singapore Democrats will conduct a series of activities in CARES ’08 starting with the Tak Boleh Tahan! protest rally on 15 Mar 08 outside Parliament House.
Future events will be announced as they are organised. These activities will involve you, the people, and we hope that you will actively take part in CARES ’08.
Because if you don’t care, no one else will.
The “Uniquely Singapore” poster series…
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