We'll leave you to read up on the 125 proposals across 5 policy areas, but here are highlights from the Q&A session.
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NewsTranscript
00:00We put forward this proposal.
00:09I know it's not really a common thing to be putting a proposal on a specific country.
00:15We have proposals on, for example, Myanmar as well.
00:18But on the issue of Palestine, we put that proposal forward
00:21because we felt that this is a very important issue for a lot of Singaporeans.
00:28And particularly since October, the October 23rd attacks on Israel and what happened after that.
00:37And so it's important for us to put forward this position which we feel would help to advance this whole peace process.
00:47And why do I say that?
00:48There have been, in recent months, quite a number of countries, including Western countries,
00:55who have started to recognize Palestine as a state.
00:58Many countries recognize the Palestinian Authority, but not all the countries recognize Palestine as a state.
01:05And we felt that it's important for us to put forward this position because we feel that it would advance the peace process on a more equal keel,
01:16where we have two states negotiating with each other instead of one state negotiating with a non-state actor.
01:22When we put forward our policy proposals, we don't take reference from what the PAP does and say,
01:32OK, let's make a different policy from what the PAP does.
01:35What we do is, firstly, we listen to our constituents on the ground.
01:39And that's the benefit of having elected MPs.
01:41Elected MPs are able to listen to their constituents week in, week out, during meet-the-people sessions, during house visits.
01:49We hear the feedback and inputs from our residents.
01:52And from there, we can make an assessment about whether or not the current policies have gaps.
01:58And if there are gaps, then we'll put forward the policy proposals.
02:01And if they happen to align with the PAPs, well, we make no apologies for that.
02:07And what we would have discovered is that on quite a number of our policies,
02:12for example, our redundancy insurance policy, which we had pushed for many years,
02:18you see them being resurfaced by Labour MPs after a while,
02:23and somehow it makes its way into PAP policy.
02:26So, I don't make any apologies for having similarities with the PAP,
02:32and I think we, in many ways, we are leading the PAP in many of these policies.
02:37Well, thank you for flattering them.
02:41But I would say their real strength is having the courage and the gumption to walk through that door.
02:49And I don't think this is something that is found in very generous quantities in Singapore today.
02:59We hope to normalise it.
03:01We hope to attract more people into the Workers' Party.
03:05And this is something we will continue to do, of course.
03:07In terms of suggesting that there are elites, as I said, it is a broad church of Singaporeans,
03:20people from all walks of life.
03:23And I think that would be represented in Parliament as well,
03:27different perspectives from different groups.
03:29We will not be able to meet that one-third number of candidates
03:38to fill one-third of Parliament with Opposition MPs.
03:45There's too much power centralised in the PAP,
03:48and that will cause the rest of us, the rest of us Singaporeans,
03:51to not be able to have that bargaining power with the government,
03:55because everything the government says they want to do, it will be done.
03:57And we don't want that for Singapore.
04:00So that's why we are taking this approach,
04:02and that's why we are contesting in this election,
04:05why we are putting forward good candidates,
04:07because we want these candidates, these MPs, these potential MPs,
04:11to be able to come up with alternative ideas
04:14that are not subject to the PAP whip,
04:17and that they can be able to speak freely
04:20according to what they feel is important,
04:22according to their consciences,
04:24and to be able to advance policy that way.