SINGAPORE — As the drumbeat of the next General Election (GE) gets louder, the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) on Saturday (Sept 28) became the first political party to launch its manifesto for the coming polls.

While the manifesto is largely similar to the one it unveiled during the last GE in 2015, the SDP said that some of its proposals in areas such as healthcare and education have been updated.

For instance, in the area of healthcare, the SDP has proposed that the 3M system — MediSave, MediShield and MediFund — should be replaced with a “single universal healthcare plan”.

While acknowledging that newly-introduced schemes such as MediShield Life and CareShield Life are in line with ensuring universal coverage for all Singaporeans, SDP chairman Paul Tambyah believes that the current system is still lacking.

Speaking to reporters during a media briefing, he cited the MediShield Life deductible as an example of how the principle of universal health coverage has been “watered down” in the Government’s existing schemes. The deductible is the claimable amount that the insured needs to pay first in a policy year before any payout from MediShield Life.

“There is a difference between one single universal healthcare plan, which is what we propose, and the multiple complicated schemes that are currently in place,” Prof Tambyah said.

In the area of education, Mr Benjamin Pwee, who oversees the SDP’s communications division, said that the party has updated its proposals that address the private tuition business.

The SDP has called for the abolishment of the Primary School Leaving Examinations (PSLE) as well as the reduction of class sizes to no more than 20 students per teacher.

Apart from the areas of healthcare and education, the manifesto also puts forth other policy proposals to address cost of living and the economy.

For example, the SDP proposes raising the income tax rate for the top 1 per cent of Singaporeans from 20 per cent to 28 per cent. It also calls for ministerial salaries to be cut to fund assistance schemes for the poor.

The party has also proposed that the Government use a new indicator — the Genuine Progress Indicator — to “comprehensively measure the cost and benefit of economic growth”, instead of relying on Gross Domestic Product growth as an economic indicator.

The manifesto was presented by Prof Tambyah, Mr Pwee — who left the Democratic Progressive Party and joined the SDP earlier this year — and Mr Naresh Subramaniam.

Mr Naresh, 31, who is a member of the party’s Young Democrats Wing, is a partner at a media production company.

SDP chief Chee Soon Juan was also present and fielded questions from the audience.

The SDP has put up the full details of its manifesto and various policy proposals on its website. Separately, it has published a 160-page coffee table book, titled “The Way Forward”, which contains highlights of the party’s key proposals, as well as introductions of its members and pictures of its activities.

Earlier this month, the Prime Minister’s Office announced that the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee (EBRC) has been formed — the clearest indication that the next GE, which must be held by April 2021, could be just months away.

The EBRC was formed last month. It typically takes between two and seven months to release its report on the electoral boundaries after it convenes.

Following the formation of the EBRC, several political analysts had said that there are two likely windows for the next GE: It could take place as soon as the fourth quarter this year, or during the April to June period, after next year’s Budget.