SINGAPORE: The People's Alliance for Reform (PAR) has "solutions" to lower the cost of living and provide affordable public housing again, "unlike the People's Action Party (PAP)", said secretary-general Lim Tean in the party's first political broadcast of the General Election.

In his speech on Friday (Apr 25), Mr Lim claimed that Singaporeans are facing the "greatest cost of living crisis in living memory", unaffordable public housing and increasing job insecurity "after 66 years of continuous PAP rule". 

"The government has no solutions to the problems they created, except to give out vouchers and subsidies to tide you by," he said. 

But Singaporeans are not looking for handouts; they are looking for meaningful work that gives them dignity and a purpose in life, said Mr Lim, adding that they would not tolerate a future both for themselves and their children that is "less than what their parents enjoyed".

"It is human nature for each generation to always strive for a brighter future than what the previous generation had."

PAR, a three-party alliance comprising the Democratic Progressive Party, Peoples Voice and the Reform Party, is fielding 13 candidates across four Single Member Constituencies (SMCs) in Queenstown, Potong Pasir, Radin Mas and Yio Chu Kang, and two Group Representation Constituencies (GRCs) in Tanjong Pagar and Jalan Besar.

If elected into parliament, PAR would push for free education, free school meals and free healthcare for every Singaporean child - proposals Mr Lim had previously laid out on Apr 13, prior to Nomination Day. 

This would help lower the cost of living for parents and encourage them to have more children to reverse the "disastrous" total fertility rate of 0.97, he said, stating again that the PAR would "never think" of continuous net immigration as a solution to this. 

"If we continue to go down this path, there will be grave consequences for our societal cohesion in future. Such a path will lead to the atrophy of our national identity and social fracture," said Mr Lim. 

He did not state how PAR's policies would be funded. Instead, he said: "Our country has the money to provide for free education, free meals and free healthcare without the need to tax our people further or dip into our reserves."

The alliance would also fight for the Goods and Services Tax (GST) to be exempted from essential items such as food, groceries, utilities, education, healthcare and medical services. It also called for free public transport for those aged 65 and above. 

Addressing public housing in his speech, Mr Lim said that PAR would fight to stop permanent residents from buying resale Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats, who he claimed had caused an "astronomical surge" in resale prices.

The hike in resale prices has also "pulled the Build-to-Order (BTO) prices along", he said. 

"It is no answer to say that the BTOs are affordable when, for many, they are only within reach with substantial subsidies from the government."

He added that PAR would also champion to gradually reduce the land costs for BTOs so they become affordable for Singaporeans again. 

Closing his speech, Mr Lim asked voters the four questions Ronald Reagan, the 40th president of the United States, had asked Americans during the 1980 presidential campaign.

"Are you better off today than you were five years ago? Is it easier for you to buy things from the shops than it was five years ago? Are you prouder of your nation than five years ago? Are you prouder of your government than you were five years ago?"

The PAR chief said: "We believe large numbers of you will answer these questions in the negative." 

He called voters to "take back" what belongs to them on polling day on May 3 and "reject the PAP", referring to the government as one that has "taken too much from you and given too little in return".

Mr Lim is contesting Potong Pasir SMC in a three-cornered fight against PAP's Alex Yeo and Singapore People's Party Williiamson Lee.