Red Dot United's (RDU) Secretary-General, Ravi Philemon, expresses that his one wish for our 59th National Day is for Singapore to remain united. He emphasises that, as the world becomes more polarised and people are increasingly divided by their differences, achieving this will be a tall order unless we make a concerted effort to be fairer and make Singapore more liveable for everyone who calls this little red dot their home.
He draws attention to how recent government policies are increasingly reaching deeper into the pockets of the people, causing them to pay more for everything, from water to electricity to transport. He highlights the disposable carrier bag charge, which takes away 5 cents and sometimes over 20 cents for every plastic bag needed for grocery shopping in supermarkets. He also points out that we will soon be asked to pay an extra 10 to 20 cents as a deposit for drinks in plastic bottles or metal cans on top of the retail price. He states that these measures are overreaches. The biggest polluters of the earth are not the consumers but the large multinational enterprises, and Singapore's carbon footprint on the global scene is minuscule. The people should not be penalised for this. The MNCs and GLCs should bear the bulk of our social cost for carbon emissions, and they should be prevented from passing the cost down to the people.
The increase of 5 cents and 10 cents all adds up, especially considering that prices are already elevated due to the GST increase from 7% to 9%. Many may have received the $850 cash from the GST Voucher Scheme, but is that enough? How many of you have put it into your savings? How many of you have already spent it?
Singapore's Total Fertility Rate (TFR) is at its lowest. We are not reproducing enough to replace ourselves quickly enough. Mr Ravi says, "Fix the situation, make Singapore more liveable, and this dire situation will resolve itself."
Singaporeans are not xenophobic. We have always welcomed foreigners. What we detest is unfair competition for jobs by foreigners, which has a depressing effect on our wages and on the opportunities that should be more available to us.
For Singapore to be united, we must make it fairer and more liveable. That is our wish for the 59th birthday of Singapore.
Happy National Day, Singapore!
6 авг 2024
