SINGAPORE: Health Minister Ong Ye Kung has criticised the Singapore Democratic Party’s (SDP) proposals on Monday (Apr 28), saying that the party should “explain honestly” what they are suggesting.
He added that the proposals do not have “a snowball’s chance” of contributing to a thriving Singapore, and are “mere populist calls” aimed at winning seats in parliament, he said at a People’s Action Party (PAP) rally in Sembawang.
Mr Ong highlighted two SDP manifesto policies – healthcare and housing – in his rally speech.
On healthcare, he said the SDP’s proposal made it seem as if the system could easily be redesigned to lower costs. But as someone involved in designing Singapore’s current healthcare systems and policies, he said he could not tell what exactly the opposition party was proposing.
Under the SDP’s proposed healthcare plan, a single-payer system would be introduced, in which the government manages a central healthcare fund.
This fund will be run along the lines of a government-subsidised public insurance scheme to finance compulsory basic health, accident and pregnancy coverage for all citizens and permanent residents residing here for more than six months a year.
To this, Mr Ong said that currently, a hospital bill is mostly paid in three ways: subsidies from the government, claims from MediShield Life and MediSave.
“This is called the S+2M system, and about eight in 10 hospital bills are paid using S+2M.
"A single-payer system means we get rid of two out of the three alphabets. So, my question to the SDP is – which two are you getting rid of?”
Mr Ong said that whichever the case, it would mean the SDP intends to either end all healthcare subsidies or abolish MediShield Life – and that the party should explain its proposals “honestly” to residents.
“If there is no subsidy, all hospital bills must be covered only by insurance, which means MediShield Life premiums are going to shoot through the roof,” he said.
“If there is no MediShield Life, and hospital bills can only be covered by subsidies, then taxes – GST, income tax - are going to shoot through the roof to pay for more healthcare subsidies.
“Should we not ask them for an explanation?”
Mr Ong also said the SDP appeared to suggest that merging the three healthcare clusters
In its healthcare plan, the SDP said that hospital running costs should be funded through taxes, calling it “the only way” to lower the cost of services at the point of use.
It added that the creation of two, then five, and now three healthcare clusters had led to significant wastage and duplication, with multiple C-suites and other administrators, whereas the system had previously been run efficiently under the Ministry of Health.
Mr Ong said that when it sounds “so easy and good”, it is usually "fake”.
“Unless SDP is thinking like a big corporation, sometimes they merge companies, then they slash, cut away a lot of costs, including retrenching many staff ... especially the administrative staff.
“How many administrative staff does the SDP intend to retrench from the clusters when you want to merge them?”
Mr Ong also took aim at SDP chairman Paul Tambyah, noting that as a senior consultant in the infectious diseases division at the National University Hospital – part of one of the healthcare clusters – he would know the answer.
“These are the HR, finance staff, the ones who had to tend to public queries, the chefs, the porters, cleaners. As health minister, I'll never think about retrenching them. In fact, recently we gave them a pay rise,” he said.
Mr Ong was the final speaker of the night. Those who spoke before him were former MP Lim Wee Kiak, the rest of the Sembawang Group Representation Constituency (GRC) candidates Vikram Nair, Mariam Jaafar, Gabriel Lam and Ng Shi Xuan, as well as Sembawang West Single Member Constituency (SMC) candidate Poh Li San.
This election, Mr Ong's PAP team will face off against SDP and the National Solidarity Party (NSP) in a three-cornered fight for the GRC.
As for Sembawang West SMC, it will be a straight fight between PAP's Poh Li San and SDP chief Chee Soon Juan.
The crowd at a PAP rally held for Sembawang GRC on Apr 28, 2025. (Photo: CNA/Lim Li Ting)
Mr Ong also spoke about housing, another policy outlined in the SDP manifesto, saying that the SDP had “taken a leaf” from another opposition party by proposing the removal of land costs from the prices of Build-to-Order (BTO) and Sale of Balance flats.
While it sounds appealing because it would make flats cheaper, he questioned its practicality.
“With new flats being so much cheaper, what is the impact on everyone else who owns a flat? What is going to happen to the resale prices? What's the impact on the resale market?”
Mr Ong also raised a question for new homebuyers: what happens when they reach the minimum occupation period (MOP) and want to sell their flats?
“The SDP says you can sell it back to HDB. I assume you sell it at about the same price as when you bought it.
“This means you have no hope of benefiting from the appreciation of your flat. Your BTO flat is no longer an asset. Basically, our HDB policy – their HDB policy – is a rental scheme.”
He added that SDP’s proposals demonstrate a lack of understanding of how public policies work.
The crowd at the PAP rally held in Sembawang on Apr 28, 2025. (Photo: CNA/Lim Li Ting)
Mr Ong also urged residents to preserve the positivity and optimism of Sembawang town, especially during this election season, when negativity can easily take hold.
He said elections are necessary for a democracy, but warned that they can also generate plenty of negativity, distorting “every good thing the government does” to make it seem “uncaring”.
Mr Ong pointed out that during elections, credit for the work done by civil servants and ministers over the years is simply claimed by someone who wants to enter parliament.
“One opposition leader even claimed credit for the government’s COVID-19 response because they say 'as opposition, we supported it!'”
At the community level, Mr Ong pointed out that any minor frustrations blow up into anger.
He cited Meet-the-People sessions (MPS) as an example, noting that it “suddenly became an issue” because residents have to wait in line.
“I suppose SDP, if elected, will abolish MPS.
SDP chief Chee Soon Juan said in a rally speech on Saturday that he would hold regular Meet-the-People sessions, after hearing that residents now have to wait two to three hours to see their MP.
In levelling his criticism of the long wait time, Dr Chee said he was shocked and promised to make arrangements so that residents would not have to waste so much time queuing just to speak to him.
Mr Ong also said that the SDP has an issue with the project to relocate the horses from the Bukit Timah Turf City to Sembawang – a stance he called “as puzzling as not allowing Sembawang West residents to use the Galaxy CC.”
The move to relocate over 100 horses from the turf club was announced in March, when Mr Ong said that it is part of plans to rejuvenate the area.
He added that some of the houses near Sembawang Park are being converted into stables to house the horses, and the facility will be open to the public, offering horse riding as well as animal therapy.
“Everyone I spoke to, and I told them about the project in Sembawang, they are excited by it.
“But the SDP always has something negative to say about it. I don’t even understand how they turned this into something negative. Maybe they think that if you care for horses, you cannot care for humans. I don't know. I really don't know.”
You can watch livestreams of all rallies on CNA's GE2025 site, CNA's YouTube channel and on mewatch.
Continue reading...
He added that the proposals do not have “a snowball’s chance” of contributing to a thriving Singapore, and are “mere populist calls” aimed at winning seats in parliament, he said at a People’s Action Party (PAP) rally in Sembawang.
Mr Ong highlighted two SDP manifesto policies – healthcare and housing – in his rally speech.
On healthcare, he said the SDP’s proposal made it seem as if the system could easily be redesigned to lower costs. But as someone involved in designing Singapore’s current healthcare systems and policies, he said he could not tell what exactly the opposition party was proposing.
Under the SDP’s proposed healthcare plan, a single-payer system would be introduced, in which the government manages a central healthcare fund.
This fund will be run along the lines of a government-subsidised public insurance scheme to finance compulsory basic health, accident and pregnancy coverage for all citizens and permanent residents residing here for more than six months a year.
To this, Mr Ong said that currently, a hospital bill is mostly paid in three ways: subsidies from the government, claims from MediShield Life and MediSave.
“This is called the S+2M system, and about eight in 10 hospital bills are paid using S+2M.
"A single-payer system means we get rid of two out of the three alphabets. So, my question to the SDP is – which two are you getting rid of?”
Mr Ong said that whichever the case, it would mean the SDP intends to either end all healthcare subsidies or abolish MediShield Life – and that the party should explain its proposals “honestly” to residents.
“If there is no subsidy, all hospital bills must be covered only by insurance, which means MediShield Life premiums are going to shoot through the roof,” he said.
“If there is no MediShield Life, and hospital bills can only be covered by subsidies, then taxes – GST, income tax - are going to shoot through the roof to pay for more healthcare subsidies.
“Should we not ask them for an explanation?”
Mr Ong also said the SDP appeared to suggest that merging the three healthcare clusters
In its healthcare plan, the SDP said that hospital running costs should be funded through taxes, calling it “the only way” to lower the cost of services at the point of use.
It added that the creation of two, then five, and now three healthcare clusters had led to significant wastage and duplication, with multiple C-suites and other administrators, whereas the system had previously been run efficiently under the Ministry of Health.
Related:
Mr Ong said that when it sounds “so easy and good”, it is usually "fake”.
“Unless SDP is thinking like a big corporation, sometimes they merge companies, then they slash, cut away a lot of costs, including retrenching many staff ... especially the administrative staff.
“How many administrative staff does the SDP intend to retrench from the clusters when you want to merge them?”
Mr Ong also took aim at SDP chairman Paul Tambyah, noting that as a senior consultant in the infectious diseases division at the National University Hospital – part of one of the healthcare clusters – he would know the answer.
“These are the HR, finance staff, the ones who had to tend to public queries, the chefs, the porters, cleaners. As health minister, I'll never think about retrenching them. In fact, recently we gave them a pay rise,” he said.
Mr Ong was the final speaker of the night. Those who spoke before him were former MP Lim Wee Kiak, the rest of the Sembawang Group Representation Constituency (GRC) candidates Vikram Nair, Mariam Jaafar, Gabriel Lam and Ng Shi Xuan, as well as Sembawang West Single Member Constituency (SMC) candidate Poh Li San.
This election, Mr Ong's PAP team will face off against SDP and the National Solidarity Party (NSP) in a three-cornered fight for the GRC.
As for Sembawang West SMC, it will be a straight fight between PAP's Poh Li San and SDP chief Chee Soon Juan.
The crowd at a PAP rally held for Sembawang GRC on Apr 28, 2025. (Photo: CNA/Lim Li Ting)
HOUSING
Mr Ong also spoke about housing, another policy outlined in the SDP manifesto, saying that the SDP had “taken a leaf” from another opposition party by proposing the removal of land costs from the prices of Build-to-Order (BTO) and Sale of Balance flats.
While it sounds appealing because it would make flats cheaper, he questioned its practicality.
“With new flats being so much cheaper, what is the impact on everyone else who owns a flat? What is going to happen to the resale prices? What's the impact on the resale market?”
Mr Ong also raised a question for new homebuyers: what happens when they reach the minimum occupation period (MOP) and want to sell their flats?
“The SDP says you can sell it back to HDB. I assume you sell it at about the same price as when you bought it.
“This means you have no hope of benefiting from the appreciation of your flat. Your BTO flat is no longer an asset. Basically, our HDB policy – their HDB policy – is a rental scheme.”
He added that SDP’s proposals demonstrate a lack of understanding of how public policies work.
The crowd at the PAP rally held in Sembawang on Apr 28, 2025. (Photo: CNA/Lim Li Ting)
PROTECT POSITIVITY
Mr Ong also urged residents to preserve the positivity and optimism of Sembawang town, especially during this election season, when negativity can easily take hold.
He said elections are necessary for a democracy, but warned that they can also generate plenty of negativity, distorting “every good thing the government does” to make it seem “uncaring”.
Mr Ong pointed out that during elections, credit for the work done by civil servants and ministers over the years is simply claimed by someone who wants to enter parliament.
“One opposition leader even claimed credit for the government’s COVID-19 response because they say 'as opposition, we supported it!'”
At the community level, Mr Ong pointed out that any minor frustrations blow up into anger.
He cited Meet-the-People sessions (MPS) as an example, noting that it “suddenly became an issue” because residents have to wait in line.
“I suppose SDP, if elected, will abolish MPS.
SDP chief Chee Soon Juan said in a rally speech on Saturday that he would hold regular Meet-the-People sessions, after hearing that residents now have to wait two to three hours to see their MP.
In levelling his criticism of the long wait time, Dr Chee said he was shocked and promised to make arrangements so that residents would not have to waste so much time queuing just to speak to him.
Mr Ong also said that the SDP has an issue with the project to relocate the horses from the Bukit Timah Turf City to Sembawang – a stance he called “as puzzling as not allowing Sembawang West residents to use the Galaxy CC.”
The move to relocate over 100 horses from the turf club was announced in March, when Mr Ong said that it is part of plans to rejuvenate the area.
He added that some of the houses near Sembawang Park are being converted into stables to house the horses, and the facility will be open to the public, offering horse riding as well as animal therapy.
“Everyone I spoke to, and I told them about the project in Sembawang, they are excited by it.
“But the SDP always has something negative to say about it. I don’t even understand how they turned this into something negative. Maybe they think that if you care for horses, you cannot care for humans. I don't know. I really don't know.”
Related:
You can watch livestreams of all rallies on CNA's GE2025 site, CNA's YouTube channel and on mewatch.Continue reading...