Election digest

Tan Cheng Bock says will not take up NCMP seat

PROGRESS Singapore Party (PSP) chief and West Coast GRC candidate Tan Cheng Bock said the expanded Non-Constituency MP (NCMP) scheme is a ploy to entice voters not to vote for the opposition. He added that he would decline an NCMP seat if he was offered it as one of the best-performing losers at the election, although his other party members could take it up if they wished.

MOM clarifies 39,000 local unemployed PMETs

THE Manpower Ministry of Manpower said it is incorrect to say that Singapore has 100,000 local professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMET) who are out of a job. The ministry was refuting a figure cited by PSP candidate Francis Yuen during a TV debate on Wednesday.

Mr Yuen, a candidate in Chua Chu Kang GRC, said that "a lot" of foreign PMETs work in Singapore, while more than 100,000 local PMETs are jobless. MOM clarified that there were 39,000 local unemployed PMETs as at June 2019, citing the Report on Labour Force in Singapore 2019 released this January.

PAP's Sengkang team promises new town council

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THE People's Action Party (PAP) team contesting in Sengkang GRC said they will set up a new town council within three months if they are elected. Some of the areas within the boundaries of the new Sengkang GRC are served by two separate town councils for the time being. The team's first-time candidate, lawyer Raymond Lye, will be in charge of setting up this town council.

RP launches green manifesto

THE Reform Party (RP) has launched a green manifesto calling for Singapore to reduce its absolute emissions to an "ambitious target" of 40 per cent by 2020, and "as close as possible net zero" by 2050. The opposition party also proposed a Response to Climate Change Act - a legal framework for coordinating the government's action towards achieving these targets.