PA Youth Network Engagements

People’s Association Youth Network (YN) Post-Budget Conversations (26 and 27 March 2022)

People’s Association Youth Network (YN) Post-Budget Conversations (26 and 27 March 2022)

NYC supported two post-Budget conversations organised by Bishan-Toa Payoh YNs and Keat Hong YN on 26 and 27 March 2022 respectively. The following panellists were involved in the conversations. 

Bishan-Toa Payoh YNs

• Mr Chee Hong Tat – Grassroot Advisor to Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC GROs (Jurong West)
• Mr Chong Kee Hiong – Grassroot Advisor to Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC GROs (Bishan East)
• Mr Saktiandi Supaat – Grassroot Advisor to Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC GROs (Toa Payoh East)
• Ms Gan Siow Huang – Grassroot Advisor to Marymount SMC

Here are the key insights of the conversation raised by participants:

Theme 1: Preparing Singapore for a greener and more sustainable future

• Carbon Tax

• • • Participants shared that the adjustment in Carbon Tax aligned with youths’ aspiration for green advocacy, and would mitigate the effects of climate change.
      

• Electric Vehicles (EVs)

• • • Participants suggested normalising the use of EVs by upgrading existing infrastructure to include more charging points and increasing the price of fuel. 
    • They suggested lowering the cost of public transport to encourage usage.
      

• Education and Awareness

• • Participants shared that educating the public on sustainability was important. 
  • They suggested engaging with key community leaders to leverage their influence. 
  • They suggested that schools could go green by digitalising worksheets and recycling textbooks. 

Theme 2: Thriving in a post-Covid world

• Support for Fresh Grads/Young Entrepreneurs

• • Participants shared that job seeking was a key concern and called for the Government to support young entrepreneurs and fresh graduates by implementing more learning journeys and internship opportunities with well-known industry partners such as Google. 
  • Participants suggested strengthening support for local enterprises by providing resources to help them remain globally competitive.
    

• SkillsFuture

• Participants acknowledged that Skillsfuture credits enabled the workforce to remain relevant.
  

• Lower Income Households

• • Participants suggested uplifting lower wage workers by increasing the minimum wage in the Progressive Wage Model. They also acknowledged that the GST voucher scheme was a good way to provide fair rebates to Singaporeans.

Theme 3: Strengthening our social compact to build a fairer and more inclusive home for all

• Support for Lower Income Families

• • They encouraged Singaporeans to leverage available funding and initiate more ground up activities.
  • They suggested implementing higher tax on the wealthy and on profits earned from investments, such as stocks, bonds, and cryptocurrency, to ensure ample reserves for meeting the needs of the less privileged. 

• Support for Mental Wellness
  • Participants suggested availing more resources such as mental wellness workshops and dialogues in schools to reduce the stigma of mental illness. 

• Support for Ageing Population
  • Participants suggested having more Government-initiated inter generational bonding activities.

 

Keat Hong YN

 

• Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim – Grassroot Advisor to Choa Chu Kang GRC GROs (Keat Hong)
• Mr Walter Edgar Theseira – Associate Professor of Economics, School of Business, Singapore University of Social Sciences
• Ms Valerie Gay – Entrepreneur and 2021 President of JCI Mandarin

Here are the key insights of the conversation raised by the participants:

Theme 1: Preparing Singapore for a greener and more sustainable future

• Carbon Tax

• • Participants said that the announcements on the increase in Carbon Tax would incentivise businesses to reduce, and be accountable for their carbon emissions.

• Electric Vehicles (EVs)

• • Participants said that the adoption of EVs could result in fewer cars on the road in the short term due to the cost difference compared to Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) cars. 

• Usage of Technology

• • Participants suggested leveraging smart tech to encourage sustainable habits, such as via better trash management.

Theme 2: Thriving in a post-Covid world

• Support for Fresh Grads

• • Participants requested for more internship opportunities for fresh graduates and suggested having career guidance workshops and networking opportunities in IHLs. 
  • They suggested availing SkillsFuture to all youths once they start working, and for information to be easily available in a user-friendly manner. 

Theme 3: Strengthening our social compact to build a fairer and more inclusive home for all

• Support for Lower Income Families

• • Participants acknowledged that policies such as UPLIFT and KIDStart functioned as social levellers for children from lower income families. 
  • They said that youths could complement the Government’s efforts through ground-up initiatives via Youth Networks, such as providing tuition to children from lower income families.

• GST hike

• • Participants said that the GST increase was timely to help rebalance the tax system. 

• Upskilling

• • Participants said that there had to be a mindset shift that one should constantly upgrade ones’ skills to remain relevant.