IN his maiden Budget Speech for FY2022, Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong announced that the goods and services tax (GST) rate increases will be in two equal tranches - 1 percentage-point on Jan 1, 2023, and the other on Jan 1, 2024.

Due to the rising cost of living and inflation, NTUC FairPrice announced on Feb 15, three days earlier, that it will give a 5 per cent discount on 100 essential items every Friday.

I commend NTUC, the labour union, as this is a game-changer, a great turning point and strategic move by them to hit two birds with one stone.

Now, Singaporeans who are against the GST will accept the rate hikes as the 5 per cent rebate will address the oft-repeated request by demagogues for a lower GST rate or zero GST rate on basic daily necessities. Their wish to have a GST system similar to those of other countries have at last been addressed.

Up till now, FairPrice has been giving 2 per cent and 3 per cent rebates on all items to the Pioneer Generation and Merdeka Generation on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

The new 5 per cent rebate will be given to all shoppers - Singaporeans, as well as foreigners and tourists - even though FairPrice has restructured its rebates with emphasis to benefit the poor more by targeting 100 essential items.

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I hope FairPrice will remove the existing two rebates (2 per cent and 3 per cent) on all items that include top-end expensive things that are beyond the consumption reach of the poor.

The lower-income groups will not benefit from such rebates at all compared with the richer shoppers, who have stronger purchasing power to buy more expensive things like fine wines, beer, cigarettes, organic food, groceries, quality rice, sea food like salmon, expensive goods and equipment, and so on.

I hope FairPrice will remove these two existing rebates on all items, and replace them by giving 7 per cent rebates (same as the GST rate) and not 5 per cent on the 100 essential items. This way, hopefully, this proposed change could mean that FairPrice will still give the same total discount in absolute dollars every year.

The lower-income groups will appreciate a higher rebate of 7 per cent, not necessarily on all things. In these difficult times, it is the hope of the poor to stretch their every dollar to buy from among the 100 essential items that they most need.

This is how NTUC can promote and not forget its original cooperative's mission of caring for the less fortunate in our midst.

This way it can help the government build a more cohesive society and nation, leaving no one behind.