SINGAPORE: An article on Monday morning (Mar 24) in The Straits Times (ST) on the upcoming election caught the attention of many, judging by the hundreds of comments it has received.
Titled “Election Spotlight: Close fight to decide if Workers’ Party keeps Sengkang or PAP wins it,” ST wrote that it was focusing on the “issues and concerns on the ground in Sengkang GRC.”
In the General Election of 2020, the then newly created constituency of Sengkang was narrowly won by the slate from The Workers’ Party (WP), which received 52.12% of the votes. The victory gave the opposition party its second group representation constituency (GRC) and came as a shock to many, as the newbie WP slate won against a heavily stacked People’s Action Party (PAP) team, which had National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) Secretary-General Ng Chee Meng, Senior Minister of State Lam Pin Min, and Senior Parliamentary Secretary Amrin Amin.
The WP’s win also meant that there would be 10 elected opposition Members of Parliament (MPs), and WP chief Pritam Singh was formally designated as Leader of the Opposition after the party’s historic win.
Since then, however, the WP suffered a blow with the resignation of former Sengkang MP Raeesah Khan amid a scandal, although the remaining WP MPs, He Ting Ru, Jamus Lim, and Louis Chua are popular on the ground and are perceived to be doing good work.
The ST piece quotes observers as saying Sengkang will be hotly contested in the upcoming election, with the article’s authors writing that GE2025 could be PAP’s “best chance” to win, as the WP has only held Sengkang for a short time.
One commenter on the ST piece had this to say, “Sengkang is more than just a GRC—it’s a battleground for Singapore’s future. The PAP has long enjoyed a supermajority in Parliament, allowing them to push through any law, raise any tax, and implement policies without real accountability. The few MPs who dare to challenge them from within get sidelined and dropped. This is why we need a strong opposition.”
“Sengkang is interesting. They have had a taste of opposition for a term and are now called to evaluate if they had done rightly or wrongly,” chimed in another.
A number of netizens voiced support for the WP MPs on the ground, with residents commenting on how clean their estates are and how visible Ms He, Assoc Prof Lim, and Mr Chua have been in their wards.
One wrote, “As a Sengkanger, I’m happy to pay for only three MPs and served by eight hard-working ones the last 5 years. Hope to continue with this arrangement.”
Another, however, voiced a different opinion, writing, “WP has worked hard in SK but not enough. Better return SK to PAP or other parties for good outcomes.” /TISG
Read also: Is Abdul Muhaimin taking the Raeesah Khan slot in Sengkang?