SINGAPORE — Flipping the ruling party’s refrain for Singaporeans to cast their vote with an eye on the country’s future, Opposition candidate Benjamin Pwee said this can be done only by looking at the recent past.

Speaking during a rally at Bishan Stadium last night, Mr Pwee, who is jointly leading a team contesting the Bishan-Toa Payoh Group Representation Constituency (GRC), said the issues plaguing Singapore today, such as the hospital bed crunch, transport woes and the unhappiness with the Central Provident Fund (CPF) system, date back to policy missteps from five to 10 years ago.

“Hospital planning takes at least 10 years, if not more. So, the fact that we have a bed crunch now was because of a policy misstep five, 10 years ago. And if we’re going to fix the policy now, it’s ... five to eight years down the road before you actually see (changes),” said Mr Pwee. “So, we’re struggling with issues today that have got to do with problems that happened five to 10 years ago, when the PAP (People’s Action Party) was in power.”

He also took issue with the PAP’s rebuttal of the call made by several Opposition parties for a minimum wage to be implemented.

“The Government now says that ... all the SMEs (small and medium enterprises) will complain because you raise their costs ... The issue we have today, where businesses cannot afford higher wages, is because they’re used to depressed wages over the years,” said Mr Pwee. “Why? Policy missteps from the past.”

On the CPF, Mr Pwee called for higher interest rates “so that the pot of gold grows more”. He added that countries with a similar national savings scheme have a “wider” range of financial products, namely annuities and endowments.

He also took a jibe at transport issues. Noting that the nationalisation of transport was a hot-button issue in the last General Election, he said: “We’re not talking about (it) anymore because we’re talking about (whether) the MRT (will) break down today. We’re down to operational issues.”

Mr Pwee is part of a joint team fielded by the Singapore People’s Party (SPP) and Democratic Progressive Party.

They are coming up against a PAP slate that includes Dr Ng Eng Hen, who has helmed the Defence, Education and Manpower ministries, and Mrs Josephine Teo, who holds portfolios in the Transport and Finance ministries.

Yesterday, Mr Pwee’s team-mate Bryan Long also provided a laundry list of municipal services they hope to provide, if they are elected. Among them were ideas to have activities at playgrounds, senior activity corners to promote interaction among neighbours as well as the establishment of a S$1 million assistance fund for business owners in the constituency.

Referring to SPP chief Chiam See Tong’s 27-year tenure in the Potong Pasir single seat, Mr Long said: “We hope to be the GRC version of Potong Pasir, when it was under Chiam See Tong, where everybody will be proud of our community spirit.”