GE2025: ‘Housing reset’ needed to give young couples confidence to stay, says RDU chair
The proposed ‘citizen’s dividend’ will be funded through ‘reforming tax loopholes’, not the reserves
[SINGAPORE] A “comprehensive housing reset” for affordability is needed to convince young couples to stay in Singapore, said Red Dot United (RDU) chair David Foo on Tuesday (Apr 29), at the party’s second rally this general election.
Residents have said that their children are thinking of leaving the country, “not because they do not love Singapore, (but) because they don’t see a future that they can afford”, he said.
“Ask anyone looking at the resale market price of flats today. Prices have surged astronomically. Options are shrinking. Couples want to settle down, but the system has them waiting, struggling and competing.”
The party’s proposed “rent-to-own” scheme lets young people access affordable housing “without being crushed by debt”, said Dr Foo, who is on RDU’s team contesting in Nee Soon GRC. “We must create a Singapore where everyone, especially young couples, feels confident about their future – not one where they feel priced out of their own lives, living from pay cheque to pay cheque.”
In his speech, he added that the party’s proposed cash transfer, dubbed the “citizen’s dividend”, would not come from the Republic’s reserves.
On Monday, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu had criticised the proposed dividend, saying that Singaporeans would be the ones paying the expected cost of between S$2 billion and S$4 billion.
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Fu is leading the People’s Action Party’s Jurong East-Bukit Batok GRC team against the RDU.
On Tuesday, Dr Foo said the proposed citizen’s dividend will instead be funded by “reforming tax loopholes”, ensuring that top earners and large multinational corporations “contribute fairly”.
It will “serve as a permanent financial safety net for all”, he added.
RDU is fielding the second-largest opposition party slate in GE2025, with 15 candidates across three GRCs and one SMC. Though Tuesday’s rally at the School of Science and Technology was for Holland-Bukit Timah GRC, most of the RDU’s candidates spoke – including party chief Ravi Philemon, who is also on the party’s team contesting Nee Soon GRC.
RDU also intends to hold rallies on both Wednesday and Thursday, the final two days of the nine-day campaigning period.
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