PAP has to engage a lot more, says Tharman

PAP has to engage a lot more, says Tharman
04:46 AM Apr 05, 2012
by Tan Weizhen
SINGAPORE - The People's Action Party (PAP) in the past had been too "in-your-face" and had taken its incumbency "for granted", Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said yesterday. And while the PAP will evolve, it is also a question of how Singaporeans evolve in their political thinking.
Mr Tharman made this point during a question-and-answer session at the Kent Ridge Ministerial Forum - attended by about 200 undergraduates - held at the National University of Singapore.

During the session, an undergraduate asked what the PAP could do to overcome what he observed as greater "cynicism" towards Government policies among a population which is becoming increasingly educated. An "overly sympathetic press" was cited by the student as one of the factors for the cynicism.
In response, Mr Tharman said: "How the ruling party responds to this is one very important question. I think we have to engage a lot more. We took our incumbency too much for granted in the past, and we were also a bit too in-your-face."
Mr Tharman, who is also the Finance Minister and Manpower Minister, called on Singaporeans to take it upon themselves to increase the level of civic activism.
Adding that civic society here has been more active than given credit for, Mr Tharman said: "If you can keep up the system where people have a say ... they feel they have a role to make things better, then the situation of trust between Government and people would be better preserved, and Singapore would be better for it."
On the mainstream media, he said: "I speak quite frankly as a politician myself - I don't think I get any great advantage from the (mainstream media). The opposition voices that exist get a good spread, second only to online media, which is even more overly sympathetic towards the alternatives."
Responding to a question on whether the result of the General Election last year has influenced this year's Budget initiatives, Mr Tharman noted that, while many things have been done since the GE to reflect sentiments on the ground, the major themes of the Budget had been worked on for the last few years - for example, the expanded ComCare, Workfare and Medifund schemes. "Not everything starts and ends with the GE of 2011, and quite frankly, this has been an oversold story." Mr Tharman said.
Earlier, in his speech, Mr Tharman spoke on the challenges of coping with an ageing population, as well as retaining the social compact amid the growing income disparity faced by countries around the world.
Mr Tharman warned against passing burdens on to succeeding generations. A key strategy for policymakers is to find ways to ensure social mobility among Singaporeans in every generation, he said.
Undergraduates concerned about bread-and-butter issues
by Tan Weizhen
Bread-and-butter issues - jobs, the prices of property and car ownership - were also on the minds of the undergraduates at the ministerial forum.
Responding to a question on housing prices, Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam (picture) acknowledged that "we are not in a very happy part of the cycle ... because prices have risen faster than income in the last four years".
But Mr Tharman reiterated that, compared to other countries, Singapore has done more to intervene in the market. Apart from cooling measures, the Government is also ramping up the supply of Build-to-Order flats. "It takes a bit of time ... My advice to you is, wait a little bit," Mr Tharman told the undergraduates.
Another student expressed concern on the rising Certificate of Entitlement premiums, arguing that the high cost of car ownership has not alleviated the traffic situation.
Mr Tharman replied that the congestion will be "far worse if we didn't have COE and ERP". The challenge is to improve the public transport system over the long term, he added.
On concerns about competition with foreigners in the job market, Mr Tharman reiterated that "whether we have foreigners here with us or not, we are still competing with them" - many companies, including those in the finance, hospitality and manufacturing sectors, are competing on the global stage, he added.
In response to a question, Mr Tharman also spoke of the need to "treat blue-collar workers with respect". Raising the quality and productivity of such jobs will change people's perception, he added.
"We cannot just be a society of insurance agents, real estate agents and bankers and office workers," Mr Tharman said. AMANDA LEE
URL http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC120405-0000100/PAP-has-to-engage-a-lot-more,-says-Tharman
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