Photos from Facebook
Excitement builds up for the second Paul Tambyah-Liang Eng Hwa showdown at Bukit Panjang
SINGAPORE: With Parliament having been dissolved and the schedule for Nomination Day (Apr 23) and Voting Day (May 3) announced, excitement has been building up for certain constituencies, one of which is Bukit Panjang SMC.
The incumbent is People’s Action Party’s (PAP) Liang Eng Hwa, who’s been representing Bukit Panjang since 2020. Previous to this, he had been an MP for Holland–Bukit Timah GRC for 14 years.
Mounting a challenge will be the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) chairman, Paul Tambyah, a well-respected and internationally known infectious disease specialist with the National University Hospital.
Dr Tambyah, who turned 60 in February, was first fielded by the SDP in 2015, along with party chief Chee Soon Juan, at Holland–Bukit Timah. They lost to the PAP slate led by Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan by a significant margin, having gotten only 33.4% of the votes.
However, the election in 2020 was much closer. Mr Liang won by a slim margin, just over 2,500 votes. A substantial 46.27% of voters in the district chose Dr Tambyah. Even more significantly, the results showed a gain of 14.65 percentage points for the SDP candidate.
After the election, he said, “We can all hold our heads up high. We’ve done a strong campaign considering the circumstances. As I said before, it would be a miracle if we get in, but unfortunately, the miracle did not happen, but we’re grateful for the experiences, and as Dr Chee said, I’m sure we’ll do better the next time.”
In the years that followed, Dr Tambyah has been consistent with activities on the ground at Bukit Panjang. He has also enjoyed a high degree of popularity and respect. He was the first Singaporean to be President of the International Society of Infectious Diseases as well as a recipient of the Commendation Medal and the COVID-19 Resilience Medal of the National Awards awarded by the Prime Minister’s Office.
Early on Apr 15, when Mr Liang was confirmed to be re-contesting his seat, the buzz surrounding his upcoming showdown with Dr Tambyah started to spread.
“Professor Paul Tambyah is a giant on the international medical community and is past president of the (International) Society of Infectious Diseases. By contrast, Liang Eng Hwa is a backbencher who is not known for anything else besides being a banker. If I were in Bukit Panjang, my choice is clear,” wrote one commenter online.
“Hope Paul wins this SMC,” another chimed in, while a Facebook user wrote, “We voters prefer Paul from SDP to get into parliament this GE 2025.”
Another wrote, “We need Paul Tambyah to prompt solutions for our healthcare issues.”
One had a more cryptic take, writing, “New broom sweep clean if you believe in such belief… vote wisely…”
Mr Liang, however, did not lack support from commenters, some of whom identified themselves as residents of Bukit Panjang, although a number urged him to take care of his health, especially since he had been diagnosed with early-stage nose cancer in 2023.
When asked about his health by members of the media on Apr 15, the 61-year-old said that while his lifestyle has changed, his mission and purpose in life have not. /TISG
