SINGAPORE: In what appears to be the closest fight for GE2025, the People’s Action Party (PAP) has won at the newly created Jalan Kayu Single Member Constituency (SMC), with candidate Ng Chee Meng emerging victorious over the Workers’ Party’s (WP) Andre Low.
Mr Low, 33, received 48.53% of the votes, while Mr Ng won with 51.47%.
It is the WP candidate’s first time to stand for election, while Mr Ng had hoped for a return to politics this year. The one-time Member of Parliament (MP) represented Pasir Ris–Punggol Group Representation Constituency (GRC) in Parliament from 2015 to 2020 and then led the PAP slate at Sengkang, then a new GRC, in 2020. His teammates at the time included two other high-profile political office holders, but they were defeated by a team of relative newcomers from the WP, by a slim margin.
The election at Jalan Kayu this year has been particularly heated, in large part due to the surprising emergence of last year’s blocked Income-Allianz deal, wherein the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) had endorsed the sale of Income insurance to the German multinational financial services company. The issue, as Mr Low and other candidates brought up several times, revolved around accountability, and some Singaporeans appeared to feel that Mr Ng did not address the matter sufficiently.
Meanwhile, a furor of sorts also occurred when leaked Telegram messages from Mr Low were published over social media, wherein the WP candidate swore about a number of issues, ranging from the civil service to fighter jets, as well as a resident he called regarding Meet-The-People Session work. Mr Low issued an apology soon afterward, acknowledging that he made “completely inappropriate” remarks and saying that he took full responsibility for his past actions.
Additionally, at the very end of the campaign, a rather damaging post allegedly concerning a former Minister of Education was published on Reddit and at least one other platform and went viral. It was about a reported 2017 incident with students from the Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) programme of the National Institute of Education at a Minister Dialogue Session. During the session, the then Minister of Education was said to have treated the teachers arrogantly and disrespectfully.
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
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