SINGAPORE: Halfway into the campaign period for the May 3 polls, The Independent Singapore takes a look at what appear to be the most hotly contested wards for this year’s General Election, based on online buzz.
While the ruling party is expected to retain the majority of seats, exactly how much of a majority the People’s Action Party (PAP) will have when the elections end remains to be seen. In GE 2020, The Workers’ Party (WP) made history, winning a second Group Representation Constituency for 10 elected seats for the opposition. This helped propel WP chief Pritam Singh to become the first designated leader of the opposition in Singapore.
The stakes are higher in this year’s elections, as things could go either way. While some believe that the opposition will continue to gain momentum, others feel that with current global tensions, voters may decide to play it safe.
Whichever way Singaporeans vote, here are the areas where things are heating up.
1. Bukit Panjang SMC
Supporters of Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) chairman Paul Tambyah are no doubt hoping that the second time’s the charm, as he faces off against the PAP’s Liang Eng Hwa at Bukit Panjang SMC yet again. In GE2020, Dr Tambyah came close to a win, securing a very respectable 46.27 per cent of the vote against Mr Liang.
Dr Tambyah, a well-respected and internationally known infectious disease specialist with the National University Hospital, has been walking the ground at Bukit Panjang consistently in the past five years. Meanwhile, concerns over the health of Mr Liang, who was diagnosed with early-stage nose cancer in 2023, have also been raised.
2. West Coast GRC
Progress Singapore Party (PSP) brought their A-team to West Coast GRC, showing that they’re not playing around in any way. PSP has put forward its best-known leaders to stand on the West Coast: veteran politician Tan Cheng Bock, and former Non-Constituency Members of Parliament Leong Mun Wai and Hazel Poa, together with newbies, Sani Ismail and Sumarleki Amjah.
The PAP team, meanwhile, is also made up of three seasoned members and two newcomers: Minister for National Development Desmond Lee, former West Coast MP Ang Wei Neng, former Jurong GRC MP Shawn Huang, Hamid Razak, and Cassandra Lee.
In 2020, during PSP’s first year to field candidates, its West Coast team received 48.32 per cent of the votes. Though it has struggled at times to find its footing, the party’s chances this time around may be helped by two things. First, the popularity Mr Leong and, to a somewhat lesser extent, Ms Poa enjoyed, with some online saying they would like to see them elected as MPs. Second, S Iswaran, the convicted former Transport Minister, had been a PAP stalwart at West Coast for decades, which may sway voters in the other direction.
3. Punggol GRC
At the newly-minted Punggol GRC, the face off is between the Worker’s Party’s “star catch” Senior Counsel Harpreet Singh Nehal and a team of new, but well qualified candidates, and the PAP team anchored by Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, who, to everyone’s surprise, was announced to stand at Punggol instead of Chua Chu Kang, which he had represented in Parliament since 2006.
Mr Singh has impressive credentials, and many online have said he would make a good Parliamentarian. His teammate Alexis Dang has also been the subject of many positive comments.
The PAP may have found itself in somewhat of a tight spot in Punggol with the resignation of seven-time MP Teo Chee Hean, and the popularity of Punggol West’s Sun Xueling may not have been enough to carry the team across the finish line, which is likely why Mr Gan was brought in.
Online, commenters have pointed out that Punggol this year is what Sengkang GRC was in GE 2020—an area of young families who chose to elect, though in a very close race, a team of new WP candidates over a much more seasoned PAP team that included three political office-holders. Whether history repeats itself is anyone’s guess. /TISG
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