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https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/pofma-challenge-sdp-mom-pmet-agc-judge-verdict-court-12273078 I think this specific case require a separate thread as I really think sdp case is strong. This should be a landmark court case that every singaporean who values freedom of speech should follow. mom is arguing as Long as they can prove one interpretation of your post is false, they can shut you up. I don’t want to live in North Korea. I hope the judge clarifies the law. If the law is so over reaching, I know exactly who to vote for. ps, I not sdp supporter. I think 90% of their suggested policies on their websites are populist destructive policies.

SDP launches '4 Yes, 1 No' election campaign plan to lead S'pore in post-pandemic world source: https://mothership.sg/2020/04/sdp-ge-campaign/ On Apr. 28, the Singapore Democratic Party launched it's campaign for the upcoming general elections. The campaign, "Four Yes, One No" (4Y1N campaign) spells out the party’s vision on how Singapore should recover from the Covid-19 pandemic. Specifically the "Yeses" involve suspending Goods and Services Tax (GST), introducing retrenchment benefits, providing income for retirees, and putting people first. The "No" concerns Singapore growing to a population of 10 million. The SDP’s GE campaign follows up on the party's previous criticisms of the government policies regarding GST and population growth. The 4Y1N campaign, said the party in a media statement, addressed the immediate necessities of Singaporeans during and after the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as ensuring that the longer-term challenges confronting the nation would be dealt with. 1) Yes to suspending GST In their media statement, the SDP proposed cutting GST to zero per cent until the end of 2021. “The GST is a regressive tax and will hurt the poor more than the rich,” said the party. They added that suspension of the tax would stimulate the economy and help businesses, as “it is not smart economics” to raise the tax rate to 9 per cent. The current rate of GST in Singapore is 7 per cent. The government has previously announced that it will be raised to 9 per cent sometime between 2022 and 2025. However, the raise would be preceded by a careful assessment of the “prevailing economic conditions as well as our needs at that point,” according to the Ministry of Finance, which previously hashed out the rationale for imposing GST. 2) "Yes" to paying retrenchment benefits “SDP will fight for retrenchment benefits to be paid to workers retrenched as a result of Covid-19,” said the party. This would involved a programme — deemed RESTART (Re-Employment Scheme and Temporary Assistance for the ReTrenched) — whereby a retrenched worker receives a progressively smaller portion of their last drawn salary over a period of one-and-half years. This involves the government paying: 75 per cent of the last drawn salary for the first six months 50 per cent for the second block of six months 25 per cent for the last block of six months 3) "Yes" to providing income for retirees The third "Yes" involves the SDP pushing for retirees over the age of 65 to receive a monthly income of S$500, a programme the party is calling the Retirement Income Scheme for the Elderly (RISE). This will be extended to the “bottom 80 per cent of retirees, many of whom depend on their working children for financial support and especially those who do not have working children”. The SDP said that the S$500 figure was derived from the Household Expenditure Survey, which showed that the average retiree household received close to that amount from their working children. Therefore, according to the party, the scheme would also reduce the pressure on younger working generations. Responding to queries from Mothership, SDP said the intent is for both RESTART and RISE to be legislated on a permanent basis. 4) "Yes" to putting people first In its final "Yes", the SDP stated its intention to be a check on the People’s Action Party’s priorities. The opposition party criticised the PAP for sacrificing public health by “insisting on calling for a GE” during the pandemic — a move that the SDP said was in line with political interests rather than the interests of public health. There were also shots fired at the government’s initial policy of advising only residents with symptoms to wear surgical face masks and their inaction regarding the living standards of foreign workers. 5) "No" to 10 million population The last element of the 4Y1N campaign involves the SDP decrying massive population growth and the consequential increase in population density. The SDP also invoked the displacement of Singaporean workers by foreigners in its criticism of the government’s plan regarding the population. “Imagine if the PAP gets its wish to jack the number up to 10 million by bringing in more foreigners,” said the SDP. “Already, it cannot competently contain the outbreak of Covid-19 which spreads faster as the population density increases.“ A 2013 government white paper had previously projected Singapore’s population to hit 6.9 million by 2030. According to The Straits Times, figures from 2019 indicated a population of 5.7 million. The figure of 10 million was first proposed by former master planner Liu Thai Ker over a decade ago. It was recently referenced by Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat in Mar. 29. The Straits Times reported that Heng had cited Liu in a ministerial dialogue with students from Nanyang Technological University, urging them to remain open and understanding of foreigners.

more like propose … since they can't really launch anything … (disclaimer : this post is not politically motivated) SDP launches housing programme: Non-open market flats to solve the problem of depreciating value of HDB flats Under the programme proposed by SDP, administrative, material, and labour costs will still be included in the price of new HDB apartments, but the land cost will not, resulting in considerably lower prices Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) launched its housing policy on Saturday, April 6, with the proposal for Non-Open Market (NOM) flats to be introduced to the public housing system to address HDB’s 99-year lease crisis. At at the SDP office in Ang Mo Kio, the party’s leaders explained that NOM apartments are those which do not include land costs in their price. The policy, entitled Housing A Nation: Holistic Policies For Affordable Homes, was presented by Party Vice-Chairman John L. Tan, and Treasurer Bryan Lim. They explained that this programme would address the problem of the depreciating value of HDB flats because of the 99-year lease of the land. At the launch, Mr Tan said, “Depreciating values, especially of ageing flats, mean that owners cannot depend on their flats as a nest-egg. The problem is compounded by the fact many Singaporeans have depleted their CPF savings to pay for their flats.” Under the programme proposed by SDP, administrative, material, and labour costs will still be included in the price of new HDB apartments, but the land cost will not. This will result in considerably decreased prices for flats, for example, 2-room apartments would cost around S$70,000, and 5-room flats could cost lower than S$240,000. Bryan Lim pointed out that “As the name implies, however, flats bought under this scheme will not be allowed to be re-sold in the open market,” and that people who wanted to sell their flats would have to sell them again to the HDB. He pointed out that for public housing, the Government should not make a profit from citizens, and that citizens should not use their HDB flats for capital gain. He asserted that as a social good, public housing must be utilized for meeting the ends of the people, and not for profit for either the government or homeowners. According to a statement from the SDP, under the NOM scheme, Singaporeans would only take 9-15 years to pay off their housing loans, given a 3 percent interest rate and using no more than 20 percent of gross income. The SDP says that this reduces the burden on citizens buying homes and that it would free up funds for greater retirement savings. Part of the SDP’s proposal is for existing homeowners to convert their flats under the NOM scheme, which would entail the Government giving back the difference between “between the original price of their flats (as purchased from the HDB) and price of an equivalent NOM flat subject to a cap,” the press statement said. Afterward, the difference would be credited to the homeowner’s CPF or would go toward existing housing loans. “The NOM scheme essentially gives Singaporeans an added option of buying a home at a greatly reduced price. First-time HDB buyers can choose to buy an open market or non-open market flat.”

Maybe too stressful after erection........... http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/sdp-chairman-arrested-for-drug-offence The 51-year-old chairman of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), Mr Jeffrey George, has been arrested for a drug offence, The Straits Times understands. SDP secretary-general Chee Soon Juan told the paper last night that the news of Mr George's arrest came as a shock. "I have known Jeff for many years and all this time he has discharged his duties as an SDP member and leader with professionalism. He is respected and well liked by his party colleagues," he said. The Central Narcotics Bureau, when asked if Mr George had been arrested, said through a spokesman: "A 51-year-old man has been arrested for drug-related offences. Investigations are ongoing." A shipping engineer, Mr George was elected chairman of the opposition party in October 2013. He was an election agent for Dr Chee and SDP vice-chairman John Tan in September's general election. Dr Chee added last night: "At this time, the family members need support as they go through a difficult period. They should be left alone to sort things out." Pearl Lee Joyce Lim