Better support schemes if PAP wins West Coast-Jurong West GRC: Desmond Lee

He says Govt must manage public finances and ensure long-term stability

- Hariz Baharudin

The PAP team in West Coast-Jurong West GRC will improve on its grassroots networks to strengthen and expand schemes that help residents with cost of living and job security if elected, said National Development Minister Desmond Lee.

This is on top of legislative duties, in debating policies and working with the government of the day to improve them, he said in a media session on April 25.

Mr Lee also addressed opposition criticism that the PAP risks groupthink, as well as calls for the GST to be reduced to 7 per cent. He pointed to the diversity of the PAP's slate, and stressed that the Government must manage public finances in a way that ensures long-term stability.

Making his pitch for the slate he is leading in the constituency, Mr Lee said that efforts to help residents with cost of living and job security issues are already in place in the constituency, along with support schemes for groups such as lower-income families. And they are producing results.

For example, Mr Lee, who is also Minister-in-Charge of Social Services Integration, noted that about 25,000 households in West Coast and Jurong West have benefited over the past five years from local support schemes aimed at easing financial pressures.

Among the initiatives is the Community Shop in Boon Lay run by charity Food from the Heart, which Mr Lee visited earlier that day with fellow slate members Shawn Huang, the Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Finance and Education, and Dr Hamid Razak. The shop provides monthly food support to over 1,000 lower-income families, offering a selection of essentials, including fresh produce, canned food, sauces and beverages.