I thought it would be useful for me to publish my wish list for Singapore. This is a first draft. I will update this page as needed.

Singapore is my country and I want it to be the best nation on the planet.

Information and Communication:

1. Freedom of Information Act

 

2. Establishment of data.gov.sg

 

3. All data created by tax payers monies will be available to all at no cost

 

4. All government sponsored research shall be made available to all at low-cost.

 

5. All government procurement of ICT must consider open standards/open source FIRST and any considerations of non-open source solutions do be done on a exception basis.

 

6. Explicit outlawing of software patents

 

7. Remove “ban” of personal satellite dishes

 

Education:

1. Reduction of importance of second language in schools. Focus on Science, Math, English as tier one, Singapore/Asian history, Geography as tier two and Languages as tier three.

 

2. [new April 2] Move second language to be a optional subject for admission criteria into polytechnics/universities.

 

3. Full academic freedom at NUS, NTU, SMU and any other publicly funded universities and polytechnics. Full tenure for faculty.

 

4. [new April 2] Waiving of all ‘bonds’ of scholarship recipients, and replacing the terms with a commitment to work in Singapore or for a Singapore-related organization (either public or private) for a period of three years following graduation.

 

Political:

1. Establishment of an independent Elections Commission. The EC subsumes the current Elections Department and move out of the jurisdiction of the PMO.
2. “Party Political Broadcasts” will be of equal time regardless of number of candidates fielded by the parties. Level the playing field.
3. Establishment of a Constitutional Court
4. Full webcasting of parliamentary proceedings and committee meetings all unedited and realtime.
5. Significant reduction of ministerial salaries to reasonable levels. Remove the “magic formula”. Full disclosure of salaries of all MPs (as paid by the state; not what they also get outside/professional engagements)
6. Remove election walkovers.
7. Remove pensions for “retired” MPs
8. Remove the constraints on who can run for President and reinstate the office of the First Lady
9. Appoint a Vice President
10. Removal of party whip and let MPs vote for what’s best for their constituents. The voting records have to be fully public and verifiable.
11. Fixed dates for elections.
12. Removal of GerrymandeRed Constituencies. All become single member constituencies, they way it is supposed to be.
13. [new, April 2] Representation in Parliament of the foreign talent/workers. As long as they comprise more than 10% of the people living in Singapore, the deserve representation in the Parliament.
14. [new April 2] Fixed and flat “election deposit” of S$1000 instead of the moving target it is today.

Societal:

1. Repeal of the Newspapers and Printing Presses Act

 

2. Reinstatement of National Language in schools and the playing of the National Anthem at the start of all events

 

3. Remove 3/4 tank rule. It’s unconstitutional anyway.

 

4. Full free speech rights as per UN declaration of human rights

 

5. To add the Access to the Internet as a basic right.

 

6. [new April 2] National Thanksgiving Day: a day of recognition, expression of thanks and celebration of Singapore and Singaporeans.

 

Economy:

1. Introduce minimum wage

 

2. Increase in government subsidies for Singaporeans at local universities.

 

3. Fund and deploy electric cars systems.

 

4. [new April 2] Switching all property lease lifetimes to freehold. There is no economic value in time-restricted lease schemes (99 year etc).

 

5. [new April 2] Full and complete disclosure of Temasek Holdings and GIC.

 

Judiciary:

1. Strengthening of judicial independence

 

2. Full and complete publication of all legal proceedings, judgments and made available to all at no cost

 

3. [new April 2] Full and complete review within 48 hours of  individuals detained under ISA.

 

4. [new April 2] Establishment of the Office of the Ombudsman.

 

5. [new April 2] Abolishment of the death penalty.

 

Population:

1. Moderate inflow of foreigners

 

2. Invite former Singaporeans to consider returning home

 

3. Forgive NS defaulters and start fresh

 

4. Review NS to accommodate non-uniformed service option

 

5. Publish numbers of new citizens in a constituency every year.

 

6. Publish number of Singaporeans who renounced their citizenship.

 

7. Introduce dual citizenship schemes