PAP’s GRC+1 message, SDP's Chee Soon Juan moves north
Also, will RDU make a splash this year?
Reading time: 5 minutes
Hi everyone,
The electoral boundaries are set and we’re on our way. With our colleagues, we’ll bring you in-depth reads about the constituencies to watch.
Check out the first report on Punggol, Singapore’s newest GRC, and the second that spotlights Marine Parade-Braddell Heights. We’re likely to see a challenge from the Workers’ Party in both areas.
Over the past 13 days since the EBRC report came out, politicians have been out in force telling the public how the new boundaries will affect them and where they may run.
We’re also seeing the start of coordinated campaign messaging, where parties tell voters who they are and what they will do for them.
In this week’s issue, we’ll look at the PAP’s GRC+1 message, SDP chief Chee Soon Juan's election plans and whether Red Dot United will make a splash this year.
Let’s get into it:
The PAP’s GRC+1 strategy
The news: If you live in a new SMC – there are six this round – the PAP has promised that you’ll have municipal issues taken care of by the GRC’s town council you were carved out from. If you vote them in again, that is.
In their words – you’re family.
Jalan Kayu residents have been told they’re part of Ang Mo Kio’s “extended family”, while those in Sembawang West remain “an integral part of the Sembawang family”.
Tanjong Pagar GRC MP Chan Chun Sing also called Mr Eric Chua in Queenstown, “always part of our team of brothers and sisters”.
The take: What’s left unsaid is that these promises will only come true if the PAP candidate wins.
Town councils are led by MPs, meaning they’re organised along party lines. For the delivery of municipal services, SMCs are usually grouped with their GRC neighbours. Think Mountbatten in the PAP’s Marine Parade Town Council, or Hougang in the WP’s Aljunied-Hougang Town Council.
If SMCs fall to the opposition, the new MP will have to sort out town council responsibilities without relying on shared services from the GRC next door.
In short, the PAP is reminding voters that opposition candidates must be able to manage their town, not just provide checks and balances in Parliament.
It’s not a new strategy.
In GE2020, voters in Kebun Baru and Yio Chu Kang – carved out from Ang Mo Kio GRC that year – heard a similar message. So did those in Marymount, carved out from Bishan-Toa Payoh.
Chee Soon Juan goes north
The news: Dr Chee Soon Juan will stand for election in the new Sembawang West SMC.
He’s contested in Bukit Batok SMC in recent years – once during the 2016 by-election and again in GE 2020 – but the ward has been absorbed into Jurong East-Bukit Batok GRC.
In a flyer announcing his move, the Singapore Democratic Party chief said: “I believe that Sembawang West is not just a constituency, but a vibrant community full of promise – one that can shine as a beacon for all of Singapore.”
The take: Chee was the first to chope a constituency. He laid claim to Bukit Batok before the boundaries were redrawn, and even moved his party headquarters there in 2024.
Since his plans were scuppered, the talk was that he might stand in nearby Bukit Gombak SMC or form a team to contest JEBB.
Chee may think he stands a better chance in Sembawang West, where he could be up against first-term backbencher Poh Li San. In Bukit Gombak, he would be challenging three-term MP and political-office-holder Low Yen Ling.
Sembawang West is also densely packed with HDB flats, which are easier to cover in a short campaign. In contrast, Bukit Gombak is largely made up of private estates where he may find it hard to get access to residents in condominiums.
In his note to residents, Chee said SDP is familiar with Sembawang. SDP had contested the GRC in 2006 and 2011, but Chee was not on those teams.
RDU’s coming-of-age moment?
The news: The youthful Red Dot United plans to field quite a few candidates this year.
The opposition party was the baby of the last GE – just three weeks old – and fielded only one team in Jurong GRC.
It now wants to contest six constituencies and says it has “25 candidates who have been training with us since last year”.
The take: The party looks like it wants to make a splash à la PSP in 2020 – by going big and contesting many constituencies. It is led by Ravi Philemon, who is a PSP alumnus.
This could be RDU’s strategy to gain national recognition and distinguish itself from other new, smaller players (Philemon had some sharp comments after being called “fringe” by CNA).
But RDU doesn’t have a brand name like Dr Tan Cheng Bock, a PAP backbencher for 26 years and former presidential candidate.
It appears to be courting opposition figures with some public profile, including former PSP candidate Kala Manickam in Jalan Kayu, and disbarred human rights lawyer M. Ravi. Ravi was from the Reform Party, but said he is an RDU volunteer and not a candidate (yet?).
Fielding this many candidates is also expensive. Each one will have to pay a deposit of $13,500 (the 2020 figure), not to mention the cost of campaigning.
RDU will have to demonstrate it has the financial muscle to compete at this level as well.
We’ll be watching to see how much support the party gets at the polls, and if it is able to sustain this level of participation.
Second Reading:
Another senior civil servant has resigned. Transport Ministry director of private and future mobility Foo Cexiang will leave the service on April 1, and looks set to stand in the election. There will be more, so do watch this space.
The PSP refreshed its leadership last Thursday and will elect a new chief soon – probably this week. It looks like NCMPs Leong Mun Wai and Hazel Poa are the main contenders for secretary-general. If Leong takes back the party’s reins, it will be the fifth time the party has changed leader in its six years.
Ang Mo Kio PAP MP Ng Ling Ling said on Sunday that she doesn’t know if she will stay in the new Jalan Kayu SMC, and that she misses her work in the social sector. Ng’s ward forms most of the new constituency. Her departure could pave the way for labour chief Ng Chee Meng to contest there - he was spotted in the area about a week ago.
Community:
This week, we’d really like to know you better. We’ll be sending out a reader survey through Substack to find out some basic information, and to get a sense of what you might want to read ahead of the GE.
The survey will come in a separate e-mail, or can also be accessed here.
It’s just five questions and completing it will help us out a lot. So thanks in advance.
See you next week!