SINGAPORE: The Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) launched its manifesto on Sunday (Apr 20), unveiling policies around cost of living, healthcare, housing, education and immigration.
In launching its slogan “Thrive, Not Just Survive" on Saturday, the party called for Goods and Services Tax (GST) to be scrapped for everyday essentials and for medical costs to be lowered, among other proposals.
Its manifesto, launched on Sunday, is split into six sections: economy, healthcare, housing, education, immigration and climate change.
One of its proposals is for the creation of a "simple national health insurance system" that eliminates the "complexities" of MediSave, MediShield, and CareShield.
Party chairman Paul Tambyah launched the manifesto on Sunday, alongside vice chairman Bryan Lim, and Marsiling-Yew Tee Group Representation Constituency (GRC) candidates Jufri Salim and Gigene Wong.
Speaking to reporters at Yew Tee Square, Professor Tambyah said: "The campaign manifesto is a promise, it's a promise that we want you all to hold us accountable to."
These are the key policies in SDP's manifesto:
The SDP reiterated its call to reduce GST and to eliminate it for essentials, such as food and medicines.
It said it was "very hard to understand" increasing the GST from 7 per cent to 9 per cent at a time of global inflation, adding that in some countries, food essentials and primary care healthcare services are exempt from GST.
The party also proposed reducing rents, saying that it is "well within the ability of the government" as it owns most of the land in Singapore. It added that the government's current approach of handouts and vouchers provides "temporary relief and a cushion at best".
The SDP also asked the government to consider a national minimum wage. It said that while the Progressive Wage Model is a "good start", it does not "recognise the realities on the ground".
"Perpetual training is often not possible for some professions, and not all workers are covered," it added.
When workers lose their jobs, retrenchment insurance – paid out of an individual's Central Provident Fund (CPF) account - should be introduced to provide them with support while they look for new jobs, said the party.
The government recently introduced a Jobseeker Support Scheme, but SDP said it was "extremely complex and limited in the support provided".
"Our proposal goes one step further than the diminishing support by providing genuine relief while being sustainable as it does not tap ... the reserves but rather builds up a pool from workers' CPF contributions," it said.
SDP also suggested divesting inefficient government-linked companies that it said are "slowing down" the growth of small- and medium-sized enterprises, while "weaning our economy of its addiction to multinational corporations".
The opposition party said state investment firm Temasek "should be eliminated" and GIC's operations and accounts made transparent.
On helping the elderly, SDP said it "recognises the value" of the Silver Support Scheme, but wants a "much broader scheme" that assists 80 per cent of low-income elderly with S$500 a month to supplement their CPF.
It said this could be funded "out of a very small portion" of the interest income on investment of the reserves.
SDP also said the CPF minimum sum scheme should be abolished, as it is "not only impractical but also immoral", and that people should be able to choose if they want to keep their money in their accounts to gather interest.
The party proposed that maternal and paediatric services should be "largely free" and funded by the government from taxes. This would reduce the cost of having and bringing up children and "potentially address" the problem of falling birth rates, it added.
Primary healthcare services for chronic illnesses should also be paid through a "risk pooling system", so that the costs of running these systems are shared by all in the community, said SDP.
SDP also said the running costs of hospitals must be paid from taxes, and said the creation of healthcare clusters - the National Healthcare Group, the National University Health System, and Singhealth - has resulted in "significant" wastage and duplication, with multiple CEOs and administrators.
It said this system "needs to be abandoned" and called for Singapore to return to a "single unified public healthcare sector".
SDP called for hospice care and home care to also be funded by taxes and donations, instead of being dependent on charity.
In funding these systems, the party called for a "single-payer universal healthcare system", 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.
"No one should risk bankruptcy while seeking life-saving medical treatment," said the party.
Singapore Democratic Party's Jufri Salim speaking to the media at Yew Tee Square on Apr 20, 2025. (Photo: CNA/Syamil Sapari)
Under SDP’s housing policy, the party reiterated its proposal for a Non-Open Market (NOM) scheme for HDB flats. The central idea behind the NOM scheme is to exclude land cost from HDB flat prices.
According to SDP’s proposal, NOM flats would be built on specially zoned land and can only be sold back to HDB at the purchase price minus lease consumption.
Under the scheme, prices for HDB flats with 99-year leases would range between S$90,000 for a two-room flat to S$270,000 for a 5-room flat. Studio apartments with a 30-year lease would cost about S$40,000.
HDB would also hold a buffer stock of flats to enable Singaporeans to obtain their flats with minimal waiting times.
Current owners of open market flats will also have the option of converting to the NOM scheme.
Aside from the NOM scheme, the party also proposed a Young Families Priority Scheme to grant balloting priority for first-timer families with children or couples who are expecting for Balance or BTO flats in non-mature estates.
It also proposed improved rental support for single-parent and low-income families and an enhanced Lease Buy-Back Scheme for senior citizens.
Under its education policy, the SDP is proposing an overhaul of the education system, starting from early childhood with nationalised preschools.
Key proposals include scrapping the PSLE, reducing class sizes to a maximum of 20 students, introducing a Dedicated-Teacher System where one teacher follows a class for three years and eliminating all forms of school and class ranking.
The party also proposes broadening the primary and secondary school curricula to include student-collaboration projects, speech and drama, and humanities and the arts as well as enhanced digital literacy.
Simultaneously, it recommends reducing the content load of traditional subjects such as mathematics and science.
At the tertiary level, the party is proposing interest-free university loans repayable only upon employment, full academic autonomy and democratically elected university leadership to safeguard academic freedom and inclusivity.
The proposal further recommends centralising special needs education under government management with support from social service agencies.
“To ensure that these proposals are not simply copied but watered down, the SDP needs to have parliamentary representation. We need our children and their teachers taken care of for the future of our country,” said SDP.
Singapore Democratic Party's Gigene Wong speaking to the media at Yew Tee Square on Apr 20, 2025. (Photo: CNA/Syamil Sapari)
"We believe that a government’s approach to population should focus on an immigration mechanism designed to attract and retain the best talents while preserving the obligation to provide citizens with a fair and equitable labour market," said the party.
It called for a talent track system to ensure that "only foreign professionals whose skills and credentials are rigorously verified" may work in Singapore.
Firms looking to hire foreign professionals should also be required to show that the skills they are sekeing are not available within the "Singaporean candidate pool".
SDP said policies that "entrench ethnic and other differences" work against helping citizens and new immigrants feel a sense of belonging and loyalty.
It called for the Ethnic Integration Policy to be abolished, and the race identification on NRICs to be removed.
"Sensible immigration limits will allow Singaporean culture to strengthen and flourish, and facilitate the organic emergence of a Singapore Identity that new immigrants can take pride in being a part of," said the party.
Under its climate policy, SDP’s key proposals include a moratorium on forest destruction and improved support for EV adoption, especially among taxis and buses.
It also proposed a stronger shift to renewable energy through innovation funding and higher fossil fuel taxes.
Singapore Democratic Party's Bryan Lim speaks to the media at Yew Tee Square on Apr 20, 2025. (Photo: CNA/Syamil Sapari)
SDP has said it would embark on a “northern strategy” for the upcoming General Election.
In recent weeks, it has unveiled its potential candidates in Sembawang and Marsiling-Yew Tee GRCs, as well as Sembawang West and Bukit Panjang Single Member Constituencies (SMCs).
Dr Chee will run in Sembawang West while Prof Tambyah is again contesting in Bukit Panjang.
Nomination Day is on Wednesday, and Singaporeans will head to the polls on May 3.
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In launching its slogan “Thrive, Not Just Survive" on Saturday, the party called for Goods and Services Tax (GST) to be scrapped for everyday essentials and for medical costs to be lowered, among other proposals.
Its manifesto, launched on Sunday, is split into six sections: economy, healthcare, housing, education, immigration and climate change.
One of its proposals is for the creation of a "simple national health insurance system" that eliminates the "complexities" of MediSave, MediShield, and CareShield.
Party chairman Paul Tambyah launched the manifesto on Sunday, alongside vice chairman Bryan Lim, and Marsiling-Yew Tee Group Representation Constituency (GRC) candidates Jufri Salim and Gigene Wong.
Speaking to reporters at Yew Tee Square, Professor Tambyah said: "The campaign manifesto is a promise, it's a promise that we want you all to hold us accountable to."
These are the key policies in SDP's manifesto:
ECONOMY
The SDP reiterated its call to reduce GST and to eliminate it for essentials, such as food and medicines.
It said it was "very hard to understand" increasing the GST from 7 per cent to 9 per cent at a time of global inflation, adding that in some countries, food essentials and primary care healthcare services are exempt from GST.
The party also proposed reducing rents, saying that it is "well within the ability of the government" as it owns most of the land in Singapore. It added that the government's current approach of handouts and vouchers provides "temporary relief and a cushion at best".
The SDP also asked the government to consider a national minimum wage. It said that while the Progressive Wage Model is a "good start", it does not "recognise the realities on the ground".
"Perpetual training is often not possible for some professions, and not all workers are covered," it added.
When workers lose their jobs, retrenchment insurance – paid out of an individual's Central Provident Fund (CPF) account - should be introduced to provide them with support while they look for new jobs, said the party.
The government recently introduced a Jobseeker Support Scheme, but SDP said it was "extremely complex and limited in the support provided".
"Our proposal goes one step further than the diminishing support by providing genuine relief while being sustainable as it does not tap ... the reserves but rather builds up a pool from workers' CPF contributions," it said.
SDP also suggested divesting inefficient government-linked companies that it said are "slowing down" the growth of small- and medium-sized enterprises, while "weaning our economy of its addiction to multinational corporations".
The opposition party said state investment firm Temasek "should be eliminated" and GIC's operations and accounts made transparent.
On helping the elderly, SDP said it "recognises the value" of the Silver Support Scheme, but wants a "much broader scheme" that assists 80 per cent of low-income elderly with S$500 a month to supplement their CPF.
It said this could be funded "out of a very small portion" of the interest income on investment of the reserves.
SDP also said the CPF minimum sum scheme should be abolished, as it is "not only impractical but also immoral", and that people should be able to choose if they want to keep their money in their accounts to gather interest.
HEALTHCARE
The party proposed that maternal and paediatric services should be "largely free" and funded by the government from taxes. This would reduce the cost of having and bringing up children and "potentially address" the problem of falling birth rates, it added.
Primary healthcare services for chronic illnesses should also be paid through a "risk pooling system", so that the costs of running these systems are shared by all in the community, said SDP.
SDP also said the running costs of hospitals must be paid from taxes, and said the creation of healthcare clusters - the National Healthcare Group, the National University Health System, and Singhealth - has resulted in "significant" wastage and duplication, with multiple CEOs and administrators.
It said this system "needs to be abandoned" and called for Singapore to return to a "single unified public healthcare sector".
SDP called for hospice care and home care to also be funded by taxes and donations, instead of being dependent on charity.
In funding these systems, the party called for a "single-payer universal healthcare system", 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.
"No one should risk bankruptcy while seeking life-saving medical treatment," said the party.
Singapore Democratic Party's Jufri Salim speaking to the media at Yew Tee Square on Apr 20, 2025. (Photo: CNA/Syamil Sapari)
HOUSING
Under SDP’s housing policy, the party reiterated its proposal for a Non-Open Market (NOM) scheme for HDB flats. The central idea behind the NOM scheme is to exclude land cost from HDB flat prices.
According to SDP’s proposal, NOM flats would be built on specially zoned land and can only be sold back to HDB at the purchase price minus lease consumption.
Under the scheme, prices for HDB flats with 99-year leases would range between S$90,000 for a two-room flat to S$270,000 for a 5-room flat. Studio apartments with a 30-year lease would cost about S$40,000.
HDB would also hold a buffer stock of flats to enable Singaporeans to obtain their flats with minimal waiting times.
Current owners of open market flats will also have the option of converting to the NOM scheme.
Aside from the NOM scheme, the party also proposed a Young Families Priority Scheme to grant balloting priority for first-timer families with children or couples who are expecting for Balance or BTO flats in non-mature estates.
It also proposed improved rental support for single-parent and low-income families and an enhanced Lease Buy-Back Scheme for senior citizens.
EDUCATION
Under its education policy, the SDP is proposing an overhaul of the education system, starting from early childhood with nationalised preschools.
Key proposals include scrapping the PSLE, reducing class sizes to a maximum of 20 students, introducing a Dedicated-Teacher System where one teacher follows a class for three years and eliminating all forms of school and class ranking.
The party also proposes broadening the primary and secondary school curricula to include student-collaboration projects, speech and drama, and humanities and the arts as well as enhanced digital literacy.
Simultaneously, it recommends reducing the content load of traditional subjects such as mathematics and science.
At the tertiary level, the party is proposing interest-free university loans repayable only upon employment, full academic autonomy and democratically elected university leadership to safeguard academic freedom and inclusivity.
The proposal further recommends centralising special needs education under government management with support from social service agencies.
“To ensure that these proposals are not simply copied but watered down, the SDP needs to have parliamentary representation. We need our children and their teachers taken care of for the future of our country,” said SDP.
Singapore Democratic Party's Gigene Wong speaking to the media at Yew Tee Square on Apr 20, 2025. (Photo: CNA/Syamil Sapari)
IMMIGRATION
"We believe that a government’s approach to population should focus on an immigration mechanism designed to attract and retain the best talents while preserving the obligation to provide citizens with a fair and equitable labour market," said the party.
It called for a talent track system to ensure that "only foreign professionals whose skills and credentials are rigorously verified" may work in Singapore.
Firms looking to hire foreign professionals should also be required to show that the skills they are sekeing are not available within the "Singaporean candidate pool".
SDP said policies that "entrench ethnic and other differences" work against helping citizens and new immigrants feel a sense of belonging and loyalty.
It called for the Ethnic Integration Policy to be abolished, and the race identification on NRICs to be removed.
"Sensible immigration limits will allow Singaporean culture to strengthen and flourish, and facilitate the organic emergence of a Singapore Identity that new immigrants can take pride in being a part of," said the party.
CLIMATE
Under its climate policy, SDP’s key proposals include a moratorium on forest destruction and improved support for EV adoption, especially among taxis and buses.
It also proposed a stronger shift to renewable energy through innovation funding and higher fossil fuel taxes.
Singapore Democratic Party's Bryan Lim speaks to the media at Yew Tee Square on Apr 20, 2025. (Photo: CNA/Syamil Sapari)
"NORTHERN STRATEGY"
SDP has said it would embark on a “northern strategy” for the upcoming General Election.
In recent weeks, it has unveiled its potential candidates in Sembawang and Marsiling-Yew Tee GRCs, as well as Sembawang West and Bukit Panjang Single Member Constituencies (SMCs).
Dr Chee will run in Sembawang West while Prof Tambyah is again contesting in Bukit Panjang.
Nomination Day is on Wednesday, and Singaporeans will head to the polls on May 3.
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