SINGAPORE: Former NTUC Income Chief Executive Officer Tan Suee Chieh has issued a pointed appeal to voters in Jalan Kayu SMC, urging residents to hold NTUC Secretary-General Ng Chee Meng accountable for the aborted Income Insurance-Allianz deal, as the ruling party politician mounts a bid to return to Parliament through the single-member ward.

In an open letter published on Facebook this morning (27 Apr), Mr Tan called on residents to question Mr Ng over his leadership role in the controversial attempt to sell Income Insurance to German insurer Allianz last year.

Mr Tan recounted how Mr Ng publicly endorsed the proposed sale on 5 August 2024 — just one day before the first parliamentary debate on the matter — but remained silent in the critical weeks that followed, even as public opposition to the deal intensified.

“Between 6 August and 14 October — when the deal was stopped in Parliament — he did not offer any clarification, even as public concerns mounted,” Mr Tan wrote, “Ultimately, the deal collapsed following widespread public outcry and urgent intervention by the Government.”

The former income chief shared that he had personally raised concerns with Mr Ng and NTUC President K Thanaletchimi in late July 2024 through private letters and numerous social media posts. However, he said, his representations were met with silence.

“Despite these efforts, Mr Ng did not respond to my representations, nor did he publicly engage as scrutiny grew following the parliamentary debates of 6 August 2024,” Mr Tan added, “Between August and October 2024, as national concern deepened, he remained silent on the key issues surrounding governance, mission, and accountability.”

As a member of the NTUC Enterprise Board that approved the deal, Mr Ng must take responsibility for what transpired, Mr Tan argued. He stressed that accountability is crucial, especially now that Mr Ng is seeking public office.

“Now that he seeks the trust and mandate of Jalan Kayu residents, it is fair — and necessary — for citizens to ask him to account for his role and decisions,” he said.

Framing his letter as an act of civic duty, Mr Tan urged Singaporeans to remain vigilant and engaged on decisions that affect national institutions.

“We live in a troubled world. Citizens must speak up on matters that affect our collective future, especially when decisions are taken in our name,” he wrote, “These are not acts of division; they are acts of care for our country and for the institutions we rely upon.”

He added that for a “young democracy like Singapore,” the ability and willingness to speak up are vital to the nation’s resilience.

“It is in this spirit that I write this open letter to the voters of Jalan Kayu,” Mr Tan concluded.

The contest at Jalan Kayu is one of the most closely watched this election season. Mr Ng is facing off with the Workers’ Party (WP) once again, following his defeat at the 2020 general election in Sengkang, after Red Dot United ceded Jalan Kayu to WP at their request, allowing the party to mount a one-on-one contest.

SINGAPORE: An Ang Mo Kio resident has expressed frustration online after waiting in vain for a promised house visit by the People’s Action Party (PAP) candidate for their ward last night (26 Apr).

Taking to Reddit, the resident said that the candidate had announced plans to visit several blocks between 7 pm and 10 pm. Hoping to engage directly and form an open-minded opinion before the polls, the resident said they cancelled plans to attend the Workers’ Party (WP) rally at Temasek Junior College to stay home and meet the candidate.

“I sat by the dinner table once I went home at 6:30 all the way to 10pm,” they wrote. “I watched the WP rally while waiting.”

Despite their patience and hope, the resident said no candidate appeared by 10 pm. “At 9:30pm, I just gave myself the assumption she wouldn’t be showing up but kept some hopes that she would,” he added.

The blocks in question — 519 and 539, along with 533 — consist mostly of HDB maisonette flats, each with around 60 units, the resident noted. They said they would have understood if the candidate had been unable to cover all the blocks due to time constraints, but were nonetheless left feeling “disappointed.”

“This just reinforces the perception that PAP candidates in this area rarely conduct proper house visits,” they wrote, citing past frustrations where MPs only appeared at events like Edusave award ceremonies, Meet-the-People Sessions, and grassroots activities.

The experience left the resident, who stressed they are not a PAP supporter but wanted to give the party a fair chance, feeling “cheated.”

PAP new face, Jasmin Lau, was apparently the no-show

The candidate the resident was expecting was PAP’s new face, Jasmin Lau, who is part of Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s team for Ang Mo Kio. The 42-year-old former civil servant famously said during an introduction video released just a few days ago that she feels paiseh (Hokkien for embarrassing or awkward) when asked what she hopes to champion if elected.

She said, “When you serve, it’s not what you champion or care most about. What I care most about may not be what you care most about. What I want to champion may not be what you need.”

While she says she comes from a place of gratitude, she added, “To come out and say, ‘Here I am, I’m so-and-so. I’m humble, I can do this, I have conviction’, it’s super weird for me and not myself.”

She added that she rejected the PAP when it asked her to put herself up for candidacy a year ago until the party leadership asked her, “If not you, then who?”

Not a new or unique complaint

Interestingly, the criticism against Ms Lau missing the house visit is not unique to her. Residents across Singapore have registered complaints online in recent days that they have not seen their PAP candidate or former MP at promised house visits, being left with only flyers pinned to their doors that claim the candidate visited, but no one was home.

One commenter told the Ang Mo Kio resident, “PAP also used what I assume to be a volunteer to come by all the houses to hang a ‘We came by but no one was home’ hanging flyer thing, but I was in my living room the whole day.  Checked my digital peephole app and I honestly could not even find the fella who placed it on my gate, and it’s set to record after detecting movement after 5 seconds.”

Another commenter appealed, “just abit of compassion is all we ask… what would it take to visit every unit… atleast once every 5 years… they are going to be getting a fat paycheck… atleast working abit hard for one week without using brain also cannot… just go unit to unit also cannot… or atleast just write a handwritten note to say they visited… that also cannot one for sure.. someone else will mass write produce and put everywhere…”

The Ang Mo Kio resident commented that her former MP, Ng Ling Lin,g used to post on social media that she was helping out at house visits at Mr Lee’s Teck Ghee subdivision but was conspicuously missing in action at her own division, leading to deep disappointment.

“Just drop the flyer and fly off”

Another Redditor recently posted security camera footage showing a PAP representative leaving a flyer without ringing their doorbell or knocking on their door.

Revealing that they were home at the time, the resident shared a photo showing the flyer left at their door stated, “Dear Resident, We came by but you were not home. We would like to ask you for your support. Thank you.”

While it remains unclear where this took place, criticism against the PAP mounted online with netizens asserting that such tactics undermine the purpose of house visits and cheapen meaningful engagement to an obligation fulfilled with the lowest amount of effort required.

One netizen commented, “First time? That is one of PAP’s dirty tricks, using one of the traits that they are good at: gaslighting.”

Many commenters said that this tactic is more common than others realise and shared similar experiences they have had. One netizen shared, “I was at home, they dropped a Party booklet at my gate and left without a sound,” while another recounted, “Someone just slot against our gate. It was a drop and go, some volunteers.”