SINGAPORE: In what was arguably the most closely watched contest leading up to the May 3 polls, the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) has won at Punggol Group Representation Constituency (GRC), in a battle that saw Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) Gan Kim Yong up against the Workers’ Party’s (WP) “star catch” this election year, Senior Counsel Harpreet Singh Nehal.
The results at Punggol are as follows: 55.17% of the vote was won by the PAP, while the WP received 44.83% of the vote.
The PAP team is made up of DPM Gan, together with Senior Minister of State for Digital Development and Information and Health Janil Puthucheary, 52; Minister of State for Home Affairs and Social and Family Development Sun Xueling, 45; and National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) assistant secretary-general Yeo Wan Ling, 48.
For the WP, Mr Singh, 59, led the team. The other candidates are legal counsel Siti Mattar, 43; Business Development professional Alexis Dang, 39; and senior director of publisher business development at an ad tech company and communications practitioner Jackson Au, 35.
Mr Singh, who certainly came with impressive credentials, was endorsed by influential individuals such as Lee Hsien Yang, the son of founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, and Tan Suee Chieh, the former chief executive officer of NTUC Income. The latter endorsement was particularly relevant, given that last year’s blocked Income-Allianz deal became a hot-button issue during the campaign period, and Mr Tan had posed questions to DPM Gan in an open letter.
At a WP rally on Apr 28, Mr Singh said, “So let me say this to DPM Gan, and I say this respectfully. DPM Gan, will you answer Mr Tan’s questions? Because they are important questions being asked on behalf of all Singaporeans, and DPM, if you will not answer, please tell us why, because this is about accountability.”
“Ask yourself this: If the PAP is so confident that they have won the trust of Punggol residents, why do they have to parachute in DPM Gan at the very last minute?” he also said, referring to Mr Gan being fielded as a candidate at Punggol after having served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Chua Chu Kang since 2006. However, after Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean said he would not contest this year, it became apparent that the PAP needed to bolster its forces at Punggol.
Although the PAP will continue to remain in power in the next five years, this year’s General Election has largely been perceived to be a test of how much ground the opposition will gain. It has also been seen as a test for Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, who was sworn into office on May 15, 2024.
The increased cost of living in one of the most expensive cities in the world was widely reported to be the issue that was foremost in voters’ minds in the run-up to this year’s polls, and support for the opposition appeared to be on the rise, at least among commenters online. /TISG
Read also: Battle for Punggol: Harpreet Singh vs Gan Kim Yong