Why is the PAP so enamoured with Ng Chee Meng?

SINGAPORE: The ruling party’s confirmed slate for GE2025 is still under wraps but there is little doubt that one name will be featured prominently on that list: former minister Ng Chee Meng. Mr Ng has been increasingly spotted at the new Jalan Kayu SMC, leading to both speculation that he will be fielded at the single member ward and questions as to why the People’s Action Party (PAP) appears to be so enamoured with him.

Mr Ng, a former Chief of Defence Force with decades of military experience under his belt, was fielded as a fresh face in Teo Chee Hean’s six-member team for Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC in the 2015 general election, which took place less than a month after Mr Ng retired from the army. Mr Ng coasted to victory and was elected to Parliament.

The first-term MP was one of a rare few in Singapore’s history to be appointed as a cabinet minister as soon as he joined Parliament. As part of the PAP’s fourth-generation (4G) cohort of leaders, Mr Ng was made Minister of Education (Schools) and Second Minister for Transport shortly after the election in 2015.

In the Government’s cabinet reshuffle in 2018, Mr Ng was appointed a Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office and became the Government’s labour MP after he was elected Secretary-General of the government-linked labour movement, NTUC.

A day before nominations, on 29 June 2020, Mr Ng was identified as the leader of the PAP team contesting the newly-carved out Sengkang GRC. In a stunning upset, Mr Ng’s team lost Sengkang to the Workers’ Party (WP).

Although he was voted out of political office and lost his ministerial position, Mr Ng retained his role as sec-gen of NTUC even though the role is typically held by an elected ruling party politician and all labour chiefs since 1980 have been PAP Cabinet ministers. NTUC added at the time that it could be better that Mr Ng is no longer a political office-holder since he can now devote all of his attention to the labour movement.

This decision, which was contrary to the norm, has made it clear to some that Mr Ng is still important to the PAP slate and will likely return to the party line-up at the next polls.

And indeed, despite being unseated from Parliament, Mr Ng remains high-profile and continues to be a member of the PAP’s highest decision-making body, its Central Executive Committee (CEC). Interestingly, he had not made the first cut into the CEC during internal elections but was co-opted, not once but twice.

The prominence Mr Ng still enjoys with the party has triggered questions as to why the ruling party appears so keen to have him back. Some critics have asked whether the party has even explored why Mr Ng lost Sengkang – especially since he was facing off with a WP team of newbies, unlike George Yeo, who lost Aljunied GRC to WP giant Low Thia Khiang.

While he was initially seen walking the ground at Sengkang GRC, Mr Ng and his entourage appear to have turned their sights to the new Jalan Kayu SMC. Mr Ng was predictably cryptic when asked whether he would contest the ward, repeating the line that the decision lies with the PM, but some observers feel that fielding him in a single-member ward might go well with voters as he would avoid the accusation of riding back into Parliament on an anchor minister’s coattails.

Noting that Jalan Kayu even contains a part of Sengkang, critics are saying it is clear Jalan Kayu has been earmarked for the former Minister and that the PAP should just come out and say that it wants Mr Ng back instead of playing coy.