SINGAPORE: Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Tuesday (Apr 29) described recent attempts by Workers’ Party (WP) chief Pritam Singh to downplay the significance of potentially losing PAP ministers this general election as "ridiculous".
Over the weekend, Mr Singh had said that "we have a very weak PAP already to begin with" if the ruling party were to say that it needs 90 per cent of parliamentary seats to govern properly.
And on Monday, he added that it was a “weak argument” to frame voting in more opposition at the cost of losing key ministers, saying that Singapore’s foreign ministry did not suddenly “lose its bearings” when then-foreign minister George Yeo lost his seat in the 2011 General Election.
The opposition party chief made these comments while responding to Prime Minister Lawrence Wong's rally speech in Chua Chu Kang on Saturday night. Mr Wong had said in the rally that voting in more opposition candidates into parliament could mean losing potential officeholders and weakening the PAP government.
Mr Singh was also replying to Mr Lee’s rally on Sunday night, where the senior minister had said that "losing key ministers", such as Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, in this election, could place Singapore "in quite a lot of trouble".
Mr Gan was deployed at the last minute to helm the slate of PAP candidates in the newly created Punggol GRC. The PAP slate comprising three political office holders will face off against a team of WP candidates which, among others, include Senior Counsel Harpreet Singh.
When asked by reporters on Tuesday about Mr Singh's remarks, Mr Lee's immediate reply was: "It's a ridiculous argument."
Mr Lee said that every team would have some more critical members and other members playing complementary roles.
"If it doesn't matter who is in the team, then there should be no difficulty making a good government with anybody. You don't need to assemble a strong group of people," said Mr Lee.
"But anyway, he has to say that because he wants to knock off Mr Gan Kim Yong, and he can't very well say 'Mr Gan Kim Yong is a very valuable minister, but nevertheless, please vote for me.' So he has to say that."
Mr Lee was speaking to the media on the sidelines of his visit to Aljunied GRC, which WP has held since 2011.
PAP this year is fielding an almost entirely new slate of candidates in the constituency. Ms Chan Hui Yuh, who contested there in 2020, will be leading four fresh faces: unionist Jagathishwaran Rajo, managing director of urban planning consultancy Daniel Liu, company director Adrian Ang and dental surgeon Faisal Abdul Aziz.
They face off against the WP team led by Mr Singh, comprising party chair Sylvia Lim, former MP Gerald Giam, party deputy organising secretary Fadli Fawzi and new face Kenneth Tiong.
WP retained Aljunied GRC with slightly over 59.9 per cent of the vote in the 2020 General Election.
On Monday night, WP candidates at their party’s rally made multiple remarks targeting Mr Gan and his eleventh-hour deployment to Punggol GRC.
WP chief Pritam Singh asked how critical Mr Gan's really was to Mr Wong's, given that Mr Gan was not elected into PAP's central executive committee. Mr Singh also asked rhetorically if there are no others in the Cabinet who can negotiate with the United States on the tariffs issue.
Mr Lee, who helms the PAP team of candidates for Ang Mo Kio GRC, was scheduled to make visits to Aljunied GRC and Tampines GRC.
Separately, Mr Wong, who leads the Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC PAP team, is scheduled to pay a visit to Punggol on Tuesday.
All these constituencies have been identified by some political observers as battlegrounds to watch in this General Election.
When asked by the media why senior PAP leaders and familiar faces were making visits to these areas, Mr Lee said that the constituencies had made the requests and “we were available.”
“And we think that these are important constituencies to show support … to show voters that we take the contest very seriously. And please do not treat this as a light matter,” said Mr Lee.
Mr Lee added that he has also visited single-member wards around his Ang Mo Kio GRC, including Jalan Kayu SMC.
The newly carved out Jalan Kayu is where labour chief and former minister Ng Chee Meng is attempting to make a political comeback, contesting against WP’s new face Andre Low.
“We go where we are most needed. And the fact that we go there, that's a signal,” said Mr Lee.
“The signal is, this fight is important. Please take it very seriously. This is about your future, about Singapore coming through a very troubled period in the world, safely with the best team to help you secure lives, and your future, and your children’s future. Please consider very carefully when you vote on Saturday.”
Mr Lee also made brief comments about municipal and facilities-related issues.
In a pitch to reassure Punggol residents about voting for his party, Mr Singh in his rally on Monday noted that his ward in Eunos will have a new polyclinic and a new general hospital, despite WP winning Aljunied GRC.
“The PAP has learnt through the years that putting opposition wards last for upgrading and last for national projects creates a backlash against them in all constituencies in Singapore. So I have every confidence Punggol will be well served,” said the opposition party chief.
On Tuesday, Mr Lee said that basic facilities and government services “applies across the board, all over Singapore”.
“When you go to … Changi General Hospital, they don’t ask you which constituency you come from. We serve everybody,” said Mr Lee.
“But does the MP in a constituency make a difference? Answer is, yes.”
He asked to consider if an MP represents and speaks for the constituency and is able to work with the government.
“I think the PAP team will be able to do that.”
You can watch livestreams of all rallies on CNA's GE2025 site, CNA's YouTube channel and on mewatch.
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Over the weekend, Mr Singh had said that "we have a very weak PAP already to begin with" if the ruling party were to say that it needs 90 per cent of parliamentary seats to govern properly.
And on Monday, he added that it was a “weak argument” to frame voting in more opposition at the cost of losing key ministers, saying that Singapore’s foreign ministry did not suddenly “lose its bearings” when then-foreign minister George Yeo lost his seat in the 2011 General Election.
The opposition party chief made these comments while responding to Prime Minister Lawrence Wong's rally speech in Chua Chu Kang on Saturday night. Mr Wong had said in the rally that voting in more opposition candidates into parliament could mean losing potential officeholders and weakening the PAP government.
Mr Singh was also replying to Mr Lee’s rally on Sunday night, where the senior minister had said that "losing key ministers", such as Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, in this election, could place Singapore "in quite a lot of trouble".
Mr Gan was deployed at the last minute to helm the slate of PAP candidates in the newly created Punggol GRC. The PAP slate comprising three political office holders will face off against a team of WP candidates which, among others, include Senior Counsel Harpreet Singh.
When asked by reporters on Tuesday about Mr Singh's remarks, Mr Lee's immediate reply was: "It's a ridiculous argument."
Mr Lee said that every team would have some more critical members and other members playing complementary roles.
"If it doesn't matter who is in the team, then there should be no difficulty making a good government with anybody. You don't need to assemble a strong group of people," said Mr Lee.
"But anyway, he has to say that because he wants to knock off Mr Gan Kim Yong, and he can't very well say 'Mr Gan Kim Yong is a very valuable minister, but nevertheless, please vote for me.' So he has to say that."
Mr Lee was speaking to the media on the sidelines of his visit to Aljunied GRC, which WP has held since 2011.
PAP this year is fielding an almost entirely new slate of candidates in the constituency. Ms Chan Hui Yuh, who contested there in 2020, will be leading four fresh faces: unionist Jagathishwaran Rajo, managing director of urban planning consultancy Daniel Liu, company director Adrian Ang and dental surgeon Faisal Abdul Aziz.
They face off against the WP team led by Mr Singh, comprising party chair Sylvia Lim, former MP Gerald Giam, party deputy organising secretary Fadli Fawzi and new face Kenneth Tiong.
WP retained Aljunied GRC with slightly over 59.9 per cent of the vote in the 2020 General Election.
On Monday night, WP candidates at their party’s rally made multiple remarks targeting Mr Gan and his eleventh-hour deployment to Punggol GRC.
WP chief Pritam Singh asked how critical Mr Gan's really was to Mr Wong's, given that Mr Gan was not elected into PAP's central executive committee. Mr Singh also asked rhetorically if there are no others in the Cabinet who can negotiate with the United States on the tariffs issue.
Related:
PAP TAKES ALJUNIED, TAMPINES CONTESTS "VERY SERIOUSLY"
Mr Lee, who helms the PAP team of candidates for Ang Mo Kio GRC, was scheduled to make visits to Aljunied GRC and Tampines GRC.
Separately, Mr Wong, who leads the Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC PAP team, is scheduled to pay a visit to Punggol on Tuesday.
All these constituencies have been identified by some political observers as battlegrounds to watch in this General Election.
When asked by the media why senior PAP leaders and familiar faces were making visits to these areas, Mr Lee said that the constituencies had made the requests and “we were available.”
“And we think that these are important constituencies to show support … to show voters that we take the contest very seriously. And please do not treat this as a light matter,” said Mr Lee.
Mr Lee added that he has also visited single-member wards around his Ang Mo Kio GRC, including Jalan Kayu SMC.
The newly carved out Jalan Kayu is where labour chief and former minister Ng Chee Meng is attempting to make a political comeback, contesting against WP’s new face Andre Low.
“We go where we are most needed. And the fact that we go there, that's a signal,” said Mr Lee.
“The signal is, this fight is important. Please take it very seriously. This is about your future, about Singapore coming through a very troubled period in the world, safely with the best team to help you secure lives, and your future, and your children’s future. Please consider very carefully when you vote on Saturday.”
Mr Lee also made brief comments about municipal and facilities-related issues.
In a pitch to reassure Punggol residents about voting for his party, Mr Singh in his rally on Monday noted that his ward in Eunos will have a new polyclinic and a new general hospital, despite WP winning Aljunied GRC.
“The PAP has learnt through the years that putting opposition wards last for upgrading and last for national projects creates a backlash against them in all constituencies in Singapore. So I have every confidence Punggol will be well served,” said the opposition party chief.
On Tuesday, Mr Lee said that basic facilities and government services “applies across the board, all over Singapore”.
“When you go to … Changi General Hospital, they don’t ask you which constituency you come from. We serve everybody,” said Mr Lee.
“But does the MP in a constituency make a difference? Answer is, yes.”
He asked to consider if an MP represents and speaks for the constituency and is able to work with the government.
“I think the PAP team will be able to do that.”
You can watch livestreams of all rallies on CNA's GE2025 site, CNA's YouTube channel and on mewatch.
Continue reading...