SINGAPORE: Singapore’s opposition parties on Thursday (May 1) called on voters to cast their ballots not with fear but with hope, courage and conviction, as they made their final pitches ahead of Saturday’s General Election.
In rally speeches to close out a nine-day campaign stretch, opposition leaders also seized the chance to make last rebuttals to the ruling People’s Action Party.
Workers’ Party (WP) chief Pritam Singh, his Progress Singapore Party (PSP) counterpart Leong Mun Wai and the Singapore Democratic Party’s (SDP) chairman Paul Tambyah pushed back against Prime Minister Lawrence Wong’s warning that voting in more opposition candidates into parliament would weaken the government.
Mr Singh, taking to the rally stage in the WP’s long-time stronghold Hougang SMC, also sought to turn the PAP’s arguments against them. He singled out Mr Wong’s warning that failing to elect Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong – a candidate in the Punggol GRC hotspot – would land Singapore in trouble, given Mr Gan’s role chairing a task force dealing with the US tariffs situation, among others.
“It was Prime Minister Wong himself who moved Gan Kim Yong out of Chua Chu Kang when he had been there for 14 years … If DPM Gan is indispensable, then if I may use PM Wong's own phrase, moving him was cavalier and irresponsible,” said Mr Singh, referencing terms the Prime Minister earlier used to describe the WP, which is contesting Punggol GRC.
On Thursday night, last rallies were held by five out of 10 opposition parties – and one of two independent candidates – contesting in the polls.
Singapore now heads into a designated Cooling-off Day, with a blackout on all electioneering activities until polls close on Saturday.
The crowd at a Workers' Party rally held at the Anderson Serangoon Junior College on May 1, 2025. (Photo: CNA/Ooi Boon Keong)
A total of 13 WP candidates spoke at a near three-hour long rally at Anderson Serangoon Junior College on Thursday night. A few, including party chair Sylvia Lim, a candidate for Aljunied GRC, called on Singaporeans to base their vote on hope and not fear.
“So tonight, let's make a promise – not just to each other, but to Singapore – that come Saturday, we will vote not out of fear but with conviction and hope for the future that we deserve, that years from now, we can proudly say that we stood up and worked for Singapore as we pass the baton to the next generation,” she said.
Mr Singh spoke last, structuring his speech around what he termed “reality checks” on five points made by the PAP during their campaign trail – the first of which was Mr Wong’s assertion that voting for the opposition weakens the government when it comes to international negotiations.
The WP chief noted that even if every WP candidate in this elections was voted into parliament, the PAP would still have 71 out of 97 seats, or about 73 per cent.
Mr Singh said: “Does the PAP really believe that foreign leaders of democratic countries who meet Prime Minister Lawrence Wong will think: ‘Oh, the Singapore Prime Minister only won 73 per cent of the seats, so lousy! He must come from a lousy school!’?
“Let me tell you, foreign leaders of democracies would give their right arm and right leg for 73 per cent of the seats in parliament.”
Mr Singh then addressed Mr Wong’s comments that having more opposition MPs in parliament would make it difficult for the PAP government to manage the nation.
Mr Singh said the PAP “will win 65 or more seats easily” in this election. He then said that no PAP candidates, over the course of the rallies, had wanted to talk “substantively” about key national issues like housing lease decay and the Goods and Services Tax (GST) hike in the midst of a “global inflation storm”.
Mr Singh also took aim at Mr Wong’s remarks on how the opposition was here to stay.
“Make no mistake, the PAP never gives up,” said Mr Singh, adding that “there are never any safe seats for the opposition”.
“Please do not assume that Aljunied, Hougang and Sengkang are in any way safe for the Workers’ Party ... Even Aljunied was nearly lost in 2015,” he said. That year, the WP team held on to the GRC with 50.96 per cent of the vote against a PAP team which garnered 49.04 per cent.
“We must fight for every single vote. Every single vote is precious for the Workers’ Party,” he said.
The final point Mr Singh sought to rebut was Mr Wong’s call for voters to not give the opposition a free pass and to apply the same standard when assessing their candidates.
Mr Singh said that the Group Representation Constituency system has “protected dozens of new PAP MPs” since it was created in 1988.
“For this election, a few PAP candidates never worked the ground until recently. Voters do not know them, but voters are expected to vote for them just because they are in a GRC with an anchor minister,” said the WP secretary-general.
“That is what I call a free pass.”
PSP’s West Coast-Jurong West GRC candidate Leong Mun Wai speaking to rally attendees at Jurong West Stadium on May 1, 2025. (Photo: CNA/Ili Mansor)
Echoing the call from WP, PSP's Mr Leong urged Singaporeans not to let fear hold them back at the ballot box, telling voters: "PAP is not the country – we are."
Speaking at the party's final rally at Jurong West Stadium, Mr Leong also challenged recent claims by the PAP that the loss of ministers could weaken the government.
“Has the government been weakened since it lost George Yeo, Lim Hwee Hua and Ng Chee Meng? Could a weak government have raised GST twice during high inflation? Could a weak government have passed laws like POFMA and FICA? Could a weak government have amended the Constitution to create the reserved presidency in 2017?”
Former Workers' Party MP Leon Perera was the emcee for the rally, with nine candidates addressing the crowd on the last day of campaigning.
PSP's 13 candidates are contesting two GRCs – West Coast-Jurong West and Chua Chu Kang – as well as four SMCs – Bukit Gombak, Kebun Baru, Marymount and Pioneer.
Mr Leong called on voters to assess National Development Minister Desmond Lee – who is also contesting West Coast-Jurong West – on whether he has delivered solutions to key housing challenges such as rising prices, long BTO wait times and lease decay.
He also took aim at Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, noting that as the National Development Minister in 2018, Mr Wong had said the government would study the Voluntary Early Redevelopment Scheme (VERS).
“But until today, there is still no sound, no picture,” Mr Leong said.
PSP vice-chairperson Hazel Poa repeated the party's request for the results of the police investigation into an alleged altercation between PAP and PSP volunteers at Bukit Gombak in January.
It is “only fair” for the results to be released before Polling Day, said Ms Poa. “PSP has nothing to hide. Does PAP?"
She also addressed reports of alleged plans to disrupt a PSP walkabout in Taman Jurong, reportedly discussed in a WhatsApp group linked to grassroots volunteers supporting PAP candidate Shawn Huang.
Mr Huang should clarify whether the plans existed and if they were executed, Ms Poa said.
PSP founder and chairman Tan Cheng Bock closed the rally with a personal message to supporters, saying the rally was likely his last.
The 85-year-old thanked voters for their support in 2020. "We may not have won, but you have given us an opportunity to go to parliament by way of Hazel and Mun Wai. They have shown you what the PSP can do in future," said Dr Tan.
"So trust us, and tonight, I ask you to stand with me. Stand with us. Stand with PSP."
SDP chairman Paul Tambyah and secretary-general Chee Soon Juan speaking at a rally at Evergreen Primary School May 1, 2025. (Photo: CNA/Raj Nadarajan)
Similarly, Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) leaders called on electors to vote with courage and pride.
In his last rally speech in this General Election, SDP chief Chee Soon Juan recounted his days from when he joined the SDP in 1992, to becoming bankrupt and not being able to run in two elections.
He paid tribute to his family, saying his children and wife have been “my rock and my sustenance … whenever I felt I could not go on”.
“I know in this long and arduous journey that has taken me three decades, I am not the villain,” he told the rally crowd.
He urged them to vote on Saturday “with joy, because we are about to begin something extraordinary”.
“Do it with courage, because we are forging a community of strength and compassion, and you do it with pride, because you are not just voting – you are making history,” he added.
SDP chairman Paul Tambyah spoke before Dr Chee, addressing comments from Health Minister Ong Ye Kung on Wednesday about the opposition.
“As I mentioned before, the only way to get stronger is to be tested,” Professor Tambyah said.
“Just like gold is tested in fire, muscles are strengthened by resistance testing, otherwise they become flabby and ineffective, which is what some people think is happening with the PAP.”
Dr Chee and Prof Tambyah are contesting in Sembawang West SMC and Bukit Panjang SMC respectively.
Nearly all 11 of the party’s candidates spoke at the rally at Evergreen Primary School, including those contesting in Sembawang and Marsiling-Yew Tee GRCs.
Red Dot United repeated the call for Singaporeans to be treated as first-class citizens in their own country at its final rally, urging for more to be done to tackle issues such as job security and inequality. Its secretary-general Ravi Philemon also questioned the principles of the PAP over recent missteps, stressing that having an “unprincipled” ruling party is dangerous and that it may “go rogue” to stay in power.
At the People’s Power Party’s fourth and last rally for GE2025, the 10 candidates who are contesting in Ang Mo Kio and Tampines GRCs reiterated their campaign messages of having more diverse voices in parliament to speak up on issues such as the cost of living, national vaccination programmes and immigration.
The People's Alliance for Reform, meanwhile, reiterated its campaign calls in an online rally to streamline the influx of foreigners and provide free education for all Singaporean children, as secretary-general Lim Tean urged people to vote for a team or person who could "make your life better" in the next five years.
Independent candidate Jeremy Tan, who held a rally for Mountbatten SMC at Home of Athletics, proposed creating a digital town for the constituency, saying he wants to build a system that'll give 24/7 care to residents.
Additional reporting by Tang See Kit, Abigail Ng, Charmaine Jacob and Loraine Lee.
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In rally speeches to close out a nine-day campaign stretch, opposition leaders also seized the chance to make last rebuttals to the ruling People’s Action Party.
Workers’ Party (WP) chief Pritam Singh, his Progress Singapore Party (PSP) counterpart Leong Mun Wai and the Singapore Democratic Party’s (SDP) chairman Paul Tambyah pushed back against Prime Minister Lawrence Wong’s warning that voting in more opposition candidates into parliament would weaken the government.
Mr Singh, taking to the rally stage in the WP’s long-time stronghold Hougang SMC, also sought to turn the PAP’s arguments against them. He singled out Mr Wong’s warning that failing to elect Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong – a candidate in the Punggol GRC hotspot – would land Singapore in trouble, given Mr Gan’s role chairing a task force dealing with the US tariffs situation, among others.
“It was Prime Minister Wong himself who moved Gan Kim Yong out of Chua Chu Kang when he had been there for 14 years … If DPM Gan is indispensable, then if I may use PM Wong's own phrase, moving him was cavalier and irresponsible,” said Mr Singh, referencing terms the Prime Minister earlier used to describe the WP, which is contesting Punggol GRC.
On Thursday night, last rallies were held by five out of 10 opposition parties – and one of two independent candidates – contesting in the polls.
Singapore now heads into a designated Cooling-off Day, with a blackout on all electioneering activities until polls close on Saturday.
The crowd at a Workers' Party rally held at the Anderson Serangoon Junior College on May 1, 2025. (Photo: CNA/Ooi Boon Keong)
WP "MUST FIGHT FOR EVERY SINGLE VOTE"
A total of 13 WP candidates spoke at a near three-hour long rally at Anderson Serangoon Junior College on Thursday night. A few, including party chair Sylvia Lim, a candidate for Aljunied GRC, called on Singaporeans to base their vote on hope and not fear.
“So tonight, let's make a promise – not just to each other, but to Singapore – that come Saturday, we will vote not out of fear but with conviction and hope for the future that we deserve, that years from now, we can proudly say that we stood up and worked for Singapore as we pass the baton to the next generation,” she said.
Mr Singh spoke last, structuring his speech around what he termed “reality checks” on five points made by the PAP during their campaign trail – the first of which was Mr Wong’s assertion that voting for the opposition weakens the government when it comes to international negotiations.
The WP chief noted that even if every WP candidate in this elections was voted into parliament, the PAP would still have 71 out of 97 seats, or about 73 per cent.
Mr Singh said: “Does the PAP really believe that foreign leaders of democratic countries who meet Prime Minister Lawrence Wong will think: ‘Oh, the Singapore Prime Minister only won 73 per cent of the seats, so lousy! He must come from a lousy school!’?
“Let me tell you, foreign leaders of democracies would give their right arm and right leg for 73 per cent of the seats in parliament.”
Mr Singh then addressed Mr Wong’s comments that having more opposition MPs in parliament would make it difficult for the PAP government to manage the nation.
Mr Singh said the PAP “will win 65 or more seats easily” in this election. He then said that no PAP candidates, over the course of the rallies, had wanted to talk “substantively” about key national issues like housing lease decay and the Goods and Services Tax (GST) hike in the midst of a “global inflation storm”.
Mr Singh also took aim at Mr Wong’s remarks on how the opposition was here to stay.
“Make no mistake, the PAP never gives up,” said Mr Singh, adding that “there are never any safe seats for the opposition”.
“Please do not assume that Aljunied, Hougang and Sengkang are in any way safe for the Workers’ Party ... Even Aljunied was nearly lost in 2015,” he said. That year, the WP team held on to the GRC with 50.96 per cent of the vote against a PAP team which garnered 49.04 per cent.
“We must fight for every single vote. Every single vote is precious for the Workers’ Party,” he said.
The final point Mr Singh sought to rebut was Mr Wong’s call for voters to not give the opposition a free pass and to apply the same standard when assessing their candidates.
Mr Singh said that the Group Representation Constituency system has “protected dozens of new PAP MPs” since it was created in 1988.
“For this election, a few PAP candidates never worked the ground until recently. Voters do not know them, but voters are expected to vote for them just because they are in a GRC with an anchor minister,” said the WP secretary-general.
“That is what I call a free pass.”
PSP’s West Coast-Jurong West GRC candidate Leong Mun Wai speaking to rally attendees at Jurong West Stadium on May 1, 2025. (Photo: CNA/Ili Mansor)
"STAND WITH PSP"
Echoing the call from WP, PSP's Mr Leong urged Singaporeans not to let fear hold them back at the ballot box, telling voters: "PAP is not the country – we are."
Speaking at the party's final rally at Jurong West Stadium, Mr Leong also challenged recent claims by the PAP that the loss of ministers could weaken the government.
“Has the government been weakened since it lost George Yeo, Lim Hwee Hua and Ng Chee Meng? Could a weak government have raised GST twice during high inflation? Could a weak government have passed laws like POFMA and FICA? Could a weak government have amended the Constitution to create the reserved presidency in 2017?”
Former Workers' Party MP Leon Perera was the emcee for the rally, with nine candidates addressing the crowd on the last day of campaigning.
PSP's 13 candidates are contesting two GRCs – West Coast-Jurong West and Chua Chu Kang – as well as four SMCs – Bukit Gombak, Kebun Baru, Marymount and Pioneer.
Mr Leong called on voters to assess National Development Minister Desmond Lee – who is also contesting West Coast-Jurong West – on whether he has delivered solutions to key housing challenges such as rising prices, long BTO wait times and lease decay.
He also took aim at Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, noting that as the National Development Minister in 2018, Mr Wong had said the government would study the Voluntary Early Redevelopment Scheme (VERS).
“But until today, there is still no sound, no picture,” Mr Leong said.
PSP vice-chairperson Hazel Poa repeated the party's request for the results of the police investigation into an alleged altercation between PAP and PSP volunteers at Bukit Gombak in January.
It is “only fair” for the results to be released before Polling Day, said Ms Poa. “PSP has nothing to hide. Does PAP?"
She also addressed reports of alleged plans to disrupt a PSP walkabout in Taman Jurong, reportedly discussed in a WhatsApp group linked to grassroots volunteers supporting PAP candidate Shawn Huang.
Mr Huang should clarify whether the plans existed and if they were executed, Ms Poa said.
PSP founder and chairman Tan Cheng Bock closed the rally with a personal message to supporters, saying the rally was likely his last.
The 85-year-old thanked voters for their support in 2020. "We may not have won, but you have given us an opportunity to go to parliament by way of Hazel and Mun Wai. They have shown you what the PSP can do in future," said Dr Tan.
"So trust us, and tonight, I ask you to stand with me. Stand with us. Stand with PSP."
SDP chairman Paul Tambyah and secretary-general Chee Soon Juan speaking at a rally at Evergreen Primary School May 1, 2025. (Photo: CNA/Raj Nadarajan)
VOTERS "ARE MAKING HISTORY": SDP
Similarly, Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) leaders called on electors to vote with courage and pride.
In his last rally speech in this General Election, SDP chief Chee Soon Juan recounted his days from when he joined the SDP in 1992, to becoming bankrupt and not being able to run in two elections.
He paid tribute to his family, saying his children and wife have been “my rock and my sustenance … whenever I felt I could not go on”.
“I know in this long and arduous journey that has taken me three decades, I am not the villain,” he told the rally crowd.
He urged them to vote on Saturday “with joy, because we are about to begin something extraordinary”.
“Do it with courage, because we are forging a community of strength and compassion, and you do it with pride, because you are not just voting – you are making history,” he added.
SDP chairman Paul Tambyah spoke before Dr Chee, addressing comments from Health Minister Ong Ye Kung on Wednesday about the opposition.
“As I mentioned before, the only way to get stronger is to be tested,” Professor Tambyah said.
“Just like gold is tested in fire, muscles are strengthened by resistance testing, otherwise they become flabby and ineffective, which is what some people think is happening with the PAP.”
Dr Chee and Prof Tambyah are contesting in Sembawang West SMC and Bukit Panjang SMC respectively.
Nearly all 11 of the party’s candidates spoke at the rally at Evergreen Primary School, including those contesting in Sembawang and Marsiling-Yew Tee GRCs.
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OTHER OPPOSITION PARTIES
Red Dot United repeated the call for Singaporeans to be treated as first-class citizens in their own country at its final rally, urging for more to be done to tackle issues such as job security and inequality. Its secretary-general Ravi Philemon also questioned the principles of the PAP over recent missteps, stressing that having an “unprincipled” ruling party is dangerous and that it may “go rogue” to stay in power.
At the People’s Power Party’s fourth and last rally for GE2025, the 10 candidates who are contesting in Ang Mo Kio and Tampines GRCs reiterated their campaign messages of having more diverse voices in parliament to speak up on issues such as the cost of living, national vaccination programmes and immigration.
The People's Alliance for Reform, meanwhile, reiterated its campaign calls in an online rally to streamline the influx of foreigners and provide free education for all Singaporean children, as secretary-general Lim Tean urged people to vote for a team or person who could "make your life better" in the next five years.
Independent candidate Jeremy Tan, who held a rally for Mountbatten SMC at Home of Athletics, proposed creating a digital town for the constituency, saying he wants to build a system that'll give 24/7 care to residents.
Additional reporting by Tang See Kit, Abigail Ng, Charmaine Jacob and Loraine Lee.
Continue reading...