SINGAPORE: Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) chairman Paul Tambyah on Tuesday (Apr 29) struck back at Health Minister Ong Ye Kung’s criticism of the party’s policies, which he said do not have a “snowball’s chance” of contributing to Singapore.
“I’m not sure whether he’s referring to a snowball in hell or a snowball in Greenland. The truth is probably closer to the snowball in Greenland,” Professor Tambyah told the crowd at the party's seventh rally in six days.
He reiterated that some of SDP’s policies have been adopted by the People’s Action Party (PAP), including universal healthcare and the abolition of streaming in schools.
“I think you will find that Mr Ong’s snowball is in Greenland. The SDP snowball is slowly gathering strength, building momentum and will grow into a major force on Saturday,” Prof Tambyah added, in reference to Polling Day.
On Monday, Mr Ong had asked for the SDP to “explain honestly” what it was suggesting and said its proposals show the opposition party does not know how public policies work.
He called the party’s proposals “mere populist calls” aimed at winning seats in parliament, while highlighting two SDP manifesto policies – healthcare and housing – in his rally speech.
Mr Ong is leading a PAP team contesting in Sembawang Group Representation Constituency (GRC), where the SDP has fielded a team.
Prof Tambyah is in a straight fight against PAP’s Liang Eng Hwa in Bukit Panjang Single Member Constituency (SMC), where Beacon Primary School - the location of Tuesday's rally - is located.
Both men first faced off in the 2020 General Election, with Mr Liang winning 53.73 per cent of the vote, making it the closest contest among all SMCs in that election.
Also speaking at the rally were Sembawang GRC candidate Alfred Tan and Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC candidate Jufri Salim.
Mr Tan took aim at the health minister, who had highlighted the opposition party's healthcare policy in his rally speech on Monday.
SDP said in its manifesto that the creation of healthcare clusters - the National Healthcare Group, the National University Health System, and Singhealth - has resulted in "significant" wastage and duplication, and asked for the system to be "abandoned".
Singapore Democratic Party‘s candidate for Sembawang GRC Alfred Tan speaking at a rally at Beacon Primary School on Apr 29, 2025. (Photo: CNA/Mak Jia Kee)
Mr Ong on Monday said the SDP appeared to suggest that merging the three clusters would help cut administrative costs and solve healthcare challenges, and that when such a proposal sounds "so easy and good", it is usually "fake".
The health minister also said that such a merger could result in administrative staff being retrenched.
In response to Mr Ong, Mr Tan asked: “You are the one who got the hospital administration bloated, and now you are afraid to clean up the mess?
“You spend and waste resources so freely and now, when asked to clean up, you don’t know what to do?”
He said there are “many positions in Singapore still unfilled”, and suggested retraining these workers to take up those roles.
SDP's Jufri Salim speaks during a rally at Beacon Primary School on Apr 29, 2025. (Photo: CNA/Mak Jia Kee)
Mr Jufri reiterated SDP’s call for a single-payer universal healthcare system, in which the government manages a central healthcare fund.
The party has also proposed removing the “complexities” of MediSave, MediShield and CareShield.
"When someone falls sick in Singapore, their first worry is often not their health, but the cost. That's totally unacceptable," Mr Jufri said.
"So we propose universal health care, a single payer model where no Singaporean has to fear not being able to pay when they need treatment, because we believe that you should be focused on healing, not hospital bills."
Mr Ong said on Monday 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?”
He added that the SDP should explain its proposals “honestly” to residents.
Responding to Mr Ong's comments about the proposals being "mere populist", Mr Jufri said: "What they call populism, we call it putting people first."
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You can watch livestreams of all rallies on CNA's GE2025 site, CNA's YouTube channel and on mewatch.
Continue reading...
“I’m not sure whether he’s referring to a snowball in hell or a snowball in Greenland. The truth is probably closer to the snowball in Greenland,” Professor Tambyah told the crowd at the party's seventh rally in six days.
He reiterated that some of SDP’s policies have been adopted by the People’s Action Party (PAP), including universal healthcare and the abolition of streaming in schools.
“I think you will find that Mr Ong’s snowball is in Greenland. The SDP snowball is slowly gathering strength, building momentum and will grow into a major force on Saturday,” Prof Tambyah added, in reference to Polling Day.
On Monday, Mr Ong had asked for the SDP to “explain honestly” what it was suggesting and said its proposals show the opposition party does not know how public policies work.
He called the party’s proposals “mere populist calls” aimed at winning seats in parliament, while highlighting two SDP manifesto policies – healthcare and housing – in his rally speech.
Mr Ong is leading a PAP team contesting in Sembawang Group Representation Constituency (GRC), where the SDP has fielded a team.
Prof Tambyah is in a straight fight against PAP’s Liang Eng Hwa in Bukit Panjang Single Member Constituency (SMC), where Beacon Primary School - the location of Tuesday's rally - is located.
Both men first faced off in the 2020 General Election, with Mr Liang winning 53.73 per cent of the vote, making it the closest contest among all SMCs in that election.
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HEALTHCARE
Also speaking at the rally were Sembawang GRC candidate Alfred Tan and Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC candidate Jufri Salim.
Mr Tan took aim at the health minister, who had highlighted the opposition party's healthcare policy in his rally speech on Monday.
SDP said in its manifesto that the creation of healthcare clusters - the National Healthcare Group, the National University Health System, and Singhealth - has resulted in "significant" wastage and duplication, and asked for the system to be "abandoned".
Singapore Democratic Party‘s candidate for Sembawang GRC Alfred Tan speaking at a rally at Beacon Primary School on Apr 29, 2025. (Photo: CNA/Mak Jia Kee)
Mr Ong on Monday said the SDP appeared to suggest that merging the three clusters would help cut administrative costs and solve healthcare challenges, and that when such a proposal sounds "so easy and good", it is usually "fake".
The health minister also said that such a merger could result in administrative staff being retrenched.
In response to Mr Ong, Mr Tan asked: “You are the one who got the hospital administration bloated, and now you are afraid to clean up the mess?
“You spend and waste resources so freely and now, when asked to clean up, you don’t know what to do?”
He said there are “many positions in Singapore still unfilled”, and suggested retraining these workers to take up those roles.
SDP's Jufri Salim speaks during a rally at Beacon Primary School on Apr 29, 2025. (Photo: CNA/Mak Jia Kee)
Mr Jufri reiterated SDP’s call for a single-payer universal healthcare system, in which the government manages a central healthcare fund.
The party has also proposed removing the “complexities” of MediSave, MediShield and CareShield.
"When someone falls sick in Singapore, their first worry is often not their health, but the cost. That's totally unacceptable," Mr Jufri said.
"So we propose universal health care, a single payer model where no Singaporean has to fear not being able to pay when they need treatment, because we believe that you should be focused on healing, not hospital bills."
Mr Ong said on Monday 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?”
He added that the SDP should explain its proposals “honestly” to residents.
Responding to Mr Ong's comments about the proposals being "mere populist", Mr Jufri said: "What they call populism, we call it putting people first."
This article will be updated. Please refresh for the latest.
Related:
You can watch livestreams of all rallies on CNA's GE2025 site, CNA's YouTube channel and on mewatch.Continue reading...