Singapore Democrats
The SDP was out over the weekend bringing lunch to lower-income residents at the Marsiling estate and listening to them as they related to us their concerns.$CUT$
Following lunch, members and volunteers fanned out across the neighbourhood and visited the various blocks in our on-going effort to meet with residents in the wards we intend to contest in the next GE.
As in our previous exercise, we found the public readily voicing their unhappiness about issues that affected them.
One resident who went by the name of Jason was former tank commander in the SAF for 8 years. But due to health reasons he could not continue in his employment. His wife works as a cleaner with a take-home pay of $750 a month.
They had asked for financial assistance from Community Development Council (CDC) but was turned down. The couple lived in a 4-room flat but had to sell it and move into a one-room flat.
The CDC said that their application for assistance was rejected because Jason’s wife’s take home pay and their sales proceeds from their 4-room flat was enough to cover his medical bills.
“I can’t work because of my health and my wife makes barely enough to feed us both, and the CDC won’t help,” Jason said in anguish, “what kind of criteria is that?”
He said that he really wanted the SDP to get into Parliament to speak up for him, adding, “Is this really a First World country?”
Jason’s difficulties are all too common especially with the poorer segment of Singaporeans.
Even the middle-income households are not getting ahead. A recent survey showed that 50 percent of households in Singapore lived from paycheck to paycheck.
If any personal tragedy visits, such as a medical emergency, financial difficulties will start piling up.
The SDP has proposed several alternative policies to reduce the cost of living and bolster the earning power of Singaporeans, and we will take this to the Singaporean people at the next GE. (See here)
In the meantime, we will continue to work hard on the ground and win support from the people to get into Parliament to be your voice.
But we can’t do this alone. We need your support. Please volunteer or donate to our GE campaign. Help us to speak up for you.
More photos of this event at SDP’s facebook photo album.