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The PAP Story, Told from within
Budget soundbite: S’pore must always remain an egalitarian society
Finance Minister Lawrence Wong said in his Budget roundup speech on Mar 2 that Singapore must remain an egalitarian society with a big heart. Here’s the excerpt. “A lot has been said about the redistributive aspects of the Budget. But in ...
Budget soundbite: Our fair & unique tax system is designed on the principle of collective responsibility
In this excerpt of his Budget roundup speech on Mar 2, Finance Minister Lawrence Wong explained why a tax system where the bulk of the burden is borne by a small group of people at the top end is unsustainable and how
One moves up the ladder only to meet the snake. This is the WP’s suggested tax regime.
People would probably be familiar with two characters in most families: the strict father who instills discipline, tends to lecture a little bit too much during dinner but deep down you know that he cares for your and your siblings’ wellbeing a
Why we can’t spend proceeds from land sales, explained
We’ve heard this one before and we hear this again at the Budget debate this year. Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh again raised the possibility of including a portion of land sales into recurring revenue on the first day of the
Vivian Balakrishnan’s ministerial statement on Ukraine situation and its implications
We are witnessing an unprovoked military invasion of a sovereign State as we speak. Ukraine is a large country with a multilingual and multi-religious population of approximately 44 million people. It has a long history, with complex relations with R ...
Why S’poreans should be concerned with the invasion of Ukraine
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine yesterday (Feb 24) was described as “barbaric” and Europe’s “darkest hour since World War II. In response, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) issued a strongly-worded statement yesterday, ...
The Workers’ Party spoke about everything except what mattered most
After a rigorous 4-hour debate which resulted in dozens of news articles, especially on the topic of integrity and its impact on Singapore’s democracy, it’s safe to say that many Singaporeans spent some time last week revisiting the saga concer ...
How S’poreans will benefit from Budget 2022
Finance Minister Lawrence Wong delivered the Budget 2022 statement today (Feb 18). He opened by saying that Singapore’s economy has rebounded strongly from its worst recession since independence, with unemployment rate coming down to 3.2 per ce ...
Pritam Singh failed democracy by failure in leadership: Carrie Tan
By Carrie Tan, MP for Nee Soon GRC The entire Raeesah Khan incident is very sad, not least because a young woman whom I personally know and have been a friend to suffered greatly in the process, but even more so because of
In a Parliamentary Democracy, incumbent and opposition must be able to check each other
In any democratic parliamentary system, political parties must not only compete on ideas and execution, they must also serve as checks on each other. This is to ensure that the best interests of the country and the people are served, and that
Not our place to fix the opposition, but our duty to address wrongdoings in Parliament
It is often said that the PAP is always looking to “fix” the opposition. While it is understandable why some may feel this way, it is an unfortunate and untrue characterisation of our role and duty as the incumbent political party. The
We must continue to exercise social responsibility during CNY: PM Lee
In his annual Chinese New Year message, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong reminded everyone about exercising social responsibility during the festive period and as marriages have returned to pre-pandemic levels, he hoped that marriage and birth numbers ...
To weather the Omicron wave, we must remember the past
In his bestselling book The Order of Time, Italian physicist Carlo Rovelli wrote that memory is a key ingredient in the foundation of our identity: Humans use memories of the past to predict the future. For instance, we will move our hand
Comment: Women’s Charter remains an important guardrail for marriage and family in S’pore
By Sun Xueling, Minister of State (Ministry of Social and Family Development and the Ministry of Education) Strong families are the foundation for a resilient nation. And strong marriages make for strong families. The recent amendments to the Women’s ...
For policies to make impact, S’pore can’t afford to be caught in fractious politics: Ong Ye Kung
At the Singapore Perspectives 2022 forum organised by the Institute of Policy Studies on Jan 13, 2022, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung spoke how Singapore could learn and draw out key lessons from ancient cities (Jericho); political cities (Rome, Chang A ...
The curious case of déjà vu in Parliament
In the seminal masterpiece The Matrix, the protagonist named Neo saw a black cat walked by, shook itself and a split second later, he witnessed an exact black cat walked by and behaved in the same way. He uttered: “Déjà vu,” making
Indranee Rajah reprimands PSP’s Leong Mun Wai for failing to substantiate allegations against teachers
The privilege of being able to speak freely in Parliament must be exercised responsibly.
DPM Heng: Singapore can strengthen China’s connections with Southeast Asian markets
Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat penned this op-ed ahead of the 17th Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) on Dec. 29, 2021. It touches on the significance of this year’s edition, and how Singapore can play a role in China’s econom
Friday soapbox: Dear Singaporeans, it is okay not to be okay
Since it’s the season of giving, we decided that it’s an opportune time to give thanks to our readers and, most importantly, share the importance of giving oneself a break. Yes, it is okay not to be okay. We are almost two
Today’s complex world calls for judgement and discretion
In his maiden Parliamentary speech in 2015, then Acting Education Minister (Higher Education and Skills) Ong Ye Kung spoke about having “Faster legs, stronger hearts and wiser minds”. As the world continues to become increasingly complex, ...