SINGAPORE: Leong Mun Wai, Non-Constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) from the Progress Singapore Party (PSP), has commended Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat for addressing the shortcomings in the recent SimplyGo saga.
In a recent Facebook post, Mr Leong, PSP Secretary-General, commented on Minister Chee’s recent announcement regarding the U-turn of the Land Transport Authority’s (LTA) original plan to transition to SimplyGo and replace older public transport payment cards after facing public backlash.
Mr Leong conveyed his satisfaction that Minister Chee and the Ministry of Transport have taken steps to acknowledge and address Singaporeans’ concerns regarding digital inclusivity.
“We are heartened by Minister Chee’s apology “for the delays commuters experienced when they tried to convert their existing EZ Link cards” and his acknowledgement of Singaporeans’ concerns regarding the SimplyGo system.”
“It is a breath of fresh air to have a Minister apologise, take charge and reverse a publicly announced decision in response to public feedback, ” he added.
During the Parliamentary motion debate on “Building an Inclusive and Safe Digital Society” on 10 January, Mr Leong posed a supplementary question to Minister for Communications and Information Josephine Teo, seeking a response to the numerous negative feedback from Singaporeans about SimplyGo.
At the time, Mr Leong cautioned that Incidents like SimplyGo will affect the trust in digital systems in the long run.
However, his question went unanswered, as Minister Teo invited Mr Leong to file a separate Parliamentary Question for a proper response.
Mr Leong highlights Minister’s reversal on separate COE category for private-hire cars
In his post, Mr Leong also noted that in a recent interview with Lianhe Zaobao, Minister Chee announced that the Government is now studying the creation of a separate COE category for private-hire cars owned by companies.
He said this appears to be a reversal of his stance in November last year when he rejected similar suggestions raised by MPs.
At the time, Mr Chee emphasized the trade-offs involved, clarifying that reallocating a quota from existing categories to establish a new one could potentially impact COE prices or lead to shortages in point-to-point services.
“As (private-hire car) demand is still evolving and could vary from quarter to quarter, it is difficult to ascertain what is the exact quota required to meet the needs of drivers and commuters. ”
Mr Chee added, “If we move too much of the existing quota from Categories A and B to this new category for (private hire car) companies, it will further reduce the supply in these categories and there is a risk that COE prices may spike further.”
“On the other hand, if we do not move enough quota to the new category, drivers will end up with insufficient vehicles to rent and commuters could be affected by shortages in P2P (point-to-point) services.”
PSP advocates for robust constructive Parliamentary debates to drive positive policy changes
Mr Leong in his post expressed that PSP are encouraged by the recent changes and the Minister’s responses.
“The PSP strongly believes that it is beneficial for Singapore to have a working Parliament, where robust constructive debates between Government and opposition MPs result in positive changes in government policies for the benefit of Singaporeans. ”
Mr Leong stated that they look forward to the Government’s clarification on how the additional S$40 million is being spent to maintain the current ticketing system at the next Parliamentary sitting in February.