Good evening, Voters of Hougang, Aljunied and fellow Singaporeans!
Tonight, I will address a few points raised by the PAP during this election.
First, Lawrence Wong says a vote for the opposition weakens the government when it negotiates internationally.
Second, he says that more opposition MPs will weaken his government in managing Singapore.
Third, he says that this is a time of crisis, and suggests that if you don’t elect Gan Kim Yong and all the current and potential ministers, we are in big trouble.
Fourth, Lawrence Wong says the opposition is here to stay.
Fifth, he tells voters not to give the opposition a free pass.
Let me take a Reality Checks for each of these points.
These reality checks may give you good reasons to vote for the Workers’ Party.
Point 1
Let me address the first point. Lawrence Wong asks for a strong mandate. He says a weakened mandate would make it harder for him to represent Singapore’s interests internationally. His foreign counterparts will size him up when he negotiates and only if he has a clear mandate can he represent Singapore confidently. By strong mandate, PM Wong means at least 90% of the fully elected seats, and preferably 100%.
Here is Reality Check Number 1.
Even if every Workers’ Party candidate enters Parliament, and that is a very big if, the PAP will still have 71 out of 97 seats, which is 73%.
Does PAP really believe that foreign leaders of democratic countries who meet Lawrence Wong will think, “Oh, the Singapore PM only won 73% of the seats. So lousy. Must have come from a lousy school.” Do you think they will say that?
Only the PAP says such things and thinks like that. Let me tell you: foreign leaders of democracies would give an arm and a leg to get 73%. They would say 73% of seats is a fantastic result!
They will also say that politics in Singapore is stable and more than being an advanced economy, Singapore is finally beginning to look like the participatory democracy promised decades ago by then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong.
Point 2
My second point is on Lawrence Wong saying that voting in more opposition weakens the PAP in governing Singapore.
Reality Check Number 2: Once the PAP forms government, it can pursue its FULL agenda.
Winning a majority of the seats would allow the PAP to pass all the Bills that it wants.
And just 65 seats will give the PAP a two-thirds majority. With that, the PAP will be able to amend almost any part of the Constitution, even if the opposition disagrees. They have been doing that all these years. For example, in creating the Reserved Presidency.
And the reality is that the PAP will win 65 or more seats easily.
How do I know the PAP will win two-thirds? I don’t have a crystal ball. But my first degree was in history. So let’s look at history.
The GRC system started in 1988. It took 18 years for the PAP to lose one GRC in 2011. It took another two elections to lose one more in 2020. It is extremely hard for any opposition party to win a GRC or even an SMC.
And even if the Workers’ Party wins a few more seats, the PAP government will not be weakened.
Let’s look at history again. Before 1980, there were fewer than 70 PAP MPs in Parliament. Yet, the PAP had more than enough people from which to find outstanding 1G ministers. Mr Lee Kuan Yew had far fewer people to choose from than PM Wong does.
If the PAP wins 71 out of 97 seats, is PM Wong saying he cannot find enough good people to fill his Cabinet? Is he telling us that the calibre of his PAP MPs is very low?
And let me add one very important reason why having more Workers’ Party MPs will not weaken Singapore. We do not oppose for the sake of opposing. If laws are in Singapore’s interests, we will vote with the Government.
You know that Workers’ Party MPs are rational and responsible.
So, I call on voters to elect all Workers’ Party candidates. Even if all our candidates are elected, the PAP will have more than two-thirds of the seats. Vote for us and we will work for you in your estate and in Parliament.
I believe two former army generals, one in East Coast GRC and one in Tampines GRC alluded to the point that the opposition just talks and talks and talks. I quite was surprised when I heard this. Why do I say so?
Now about this time last year, before Mr Lee Hsien Loong handed over power to Mr Lawrence Wong, he gave an extended interview to various mainstream media outlets.
In his exchange with Lianhe Zaobao, there was a segment that contrasted talk and action. Zaobao asked Mr Lee Hsien Loong, “why do you say that communication skills are so important? In the past or all along, the PAP would say less and do more. But now, you just mentioned the content of speeches, how to express it well, why are they important?
Mr Lee Hsien Loong replied “we used to say less and do more, but the former Prime Minister, LKY, his speeches were very effective. Through his speeches he mobilized the entire country and led it on many paths. So it is not possible to say that speeches are unimportant.”
My fellow Singaporeans, it is in the nature of a parliamentary democracy that all of us do not just have to attend Parliament faithfully, we have to speak up for Singaporeans.
The opposition makes its contribution by checking the Government of the day, the same thing Lee Kuan Yew did when he was in the opposition after 1955.
In fact, Lee Kuan Yew would even walk-out of Parliament along with his MPs to make a political point.
He could not be a man of action in terms of executing policies at that point because his job was to check the Government.
And in Parliament, he talked and talked and talked. So I would ask the PAP candidates, have a care for our political system. It is designed to represent all Singaporeans and the WP has to step up for them.
And two days ago, Mr Chan Chun Sing said this election campaign should be about focusing on the core issues. Unlike the PAP, the Workers’ Party has put out a manifesto with a concrete vision. Actionable items for Singaporeans to understand our agenda. Not mere motherhood statements.
But for the whole campaign, on housing for example, no PAP candidate wanted to talk substantively about VERS. No PAP candidates wanted to engage the issue of how land for public housing is valued with a view to explore the prospects of housing affordability. No PAP candidate wants to substantively engage the issue of why GST had to be hiked during a global inflation storm and why it could not be delayed?
Some of these were directly brought up during our rally speeches. Our manifesto and our solutions for Singapore was shared with the public before nomination day.
So why didn’t the PAP engage these core issues? Beyond advocating for a fairer and more just and thoughtful policy in Parliament, we have encapsulated our vision in our manifesto with concrete ideas that envision the type of Singapore we want for our people.
Point 3
Now, my third point. Lawrence Wong says that in this time of severe crisis, if you don’t elect Gan Kim Yong and all his current and potential ministers we are in big trouble. He says we risk our lives and our future if we vote WP.
Reality Check Number 3: It was PM Wong himself who moved DPM Gan out of Chua Chu Kang where he had been for 14 years. DPM Gan is new to the ground in Punggol GRC. PM Wong’s said the move was for “leadership distribution”. This does not make sense because Singapore is so small. We are not America, China or even Malaysia.
In 2020, Ng Chee Meng was moved from Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC to Sengkang GRC and lost. To move a Minister who you claim to be really really important at election time is a risk. And it can deemed reckless when you have other relatively safer constituencies to put him in.
If DPM Gan is indispensable, then, if I may use PM Wong’s own phrase, moving him was “cavalier and irresponsible”. SM Lee Hsien Loong said at a rally that voters should not play dangerous games and vote tactically. But it looks like PM Wong is the one playing dangerous tactical games.
From all this, I can draw only two reasonable conclusions.
First: moving DPM Gan to Punggol was a tactical move to stop the Workers’ Party from winning the GRC. I think this is obvious to everyone.
Second: I believe that Lawrence Wong would not have risked Gan Kim Yong against the Workers’ Party if he is indispensable. PM Wong must be confident that he has enough talent even without DPM Gan. There is no other reasonable conclusion.
If he is not confident that he has enough ministers, would he have allowed four full ministers to retire? Would PM Wong have let Teo Chee Hean, Heng Swee Keat, Ng Eng Hen and Maliki Osman step down if he was short of talent?
Three of these ministers are not just heavyweights – they are super-heavyweights. If PM Wong truly believed there was a risk to Singapore’s future, he would have asked one or more of them to stay on, just as Lee Hsien Loong remained as PM during COVID.
But the Prime Minister Wong let them go. These four ministers who retired are years younger than SM Lee Hsien Loong who remains in Cabinet. Without a single vote being cast, it was not voters or opposition parties, but PM Wong who removed four ministers. But now he says to voters, don’t vote out serving ministers.
Voters and the media should ask him: Is DPM Gan truly indispensable? If so, why did you risk him and risk our future? Why didn’t you keep him in Chua Chu Kang?
In my opinion, the real reason must be this: PM Wong knows that moving DPM Gan was not risking Singapore’s future. DPM Gan is not indispensable.
And that is the simple truth – no one is indispensable.
If DPM Gan is not re-elected, Singaporeans need not feel guilty. After all, you did not put him risk. Who risked him? The PAP!
Even if Gan Kim Yong is not elected, he can still serve Singapore. For example, just like previous ministers, he could be appointed chairman of a GLC.
And if Mr Gan has a good relationship with the US trade negotiator, there is no reason why he cannot continue to be Singapore’s official negotiator or special envoy.
To the Americans and most countries in the world, winning and losing elections is normal. They are used to people losing elections and then representing the US.
Some years after Senator John Kerry lost the US presidential election, he was appointed Secretary of State.
US President Jimmy Carter was a one-term president. After losing his second presidential election, he took on many diplomatic roles representing America.
Regardless of what the PAP would have you believe, the Americans will not care that Mr Gan lost the election and is no longer DPM. The Americans and many other countries follow professional practice and deal with the person who is officially appointed. They would happily continue to deal with ex-DPM Gan.
Voters of Punggol GRC, as our candidate in Punggol GRC, Alexis Dang Pei Yuan said in her rally speech, don’t fall for the same trick that was played on East Coast GRC voters in 2020.
And to the voters of Tampines and East Coast. Just as DPM Gan can serve elsewhere, the same goes for Ministers Masagoes and Edwin Tong.
Mr Masagos has worked in senior positions in Singtel. He could easily be the chairman of a GLC or an ambassador, like ex-Minister Lui Tuck Yew.
Mr Edwin Tong is a Senior Counsel. He could be appointed to head the Singapore Institute for Legal Education, or join the Football Association of Singapore to bring Singapore to the FIFA World Cup in 2034.
Point 4
My fourth point concerns Lawrence Wong saying that the opposition is here to stay. He is trying to assure voters that the opposition will be elected.
This is Reality Check Number 4: the PAP wants to win all Parliamentary seats. Teo Chee Hean personally walked the ground with the PAP Aljunied team. He said, and I quote, “We don’t give up any constituency.” Unquote. Make no mistake: the PAP never gives up.
Voters of Aljunied, Hougang and Sengkang and all other constituencies where the WP is contesting, we do not take you for granted. We must fight for every one of your votes. Each vote is very precious for the WP.
To the voters in Tampines, Tampines Changkat, East Coast, Punggol and Jalan Kayu, please do not assume that Aljunied, Hougang and Sengkang are in any way safe for the Workers’ Party. There are no guarantees. Even Aljunied was nearly lost in 2015. The margin was a razor-thin 2%. Even single vote counts – so make your vote count. The PAP is dominant and it always campaigns hard. Vote Workers’ Party to create a more balanced political system.
Point 5
My fifth and final point is on Lawrence Wong’s comment of: “Don’t give a free pass to the opposition.” He said voters should apply the same standards to PAP and opposition candidates.
Here is Reality Check Number 5: the PAP created the GRC system. Since 1988, GRCs have protected dozens of new PAP MPs. 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. That is what I call a free pass!
By saying what he did, PM Wong was treating voters as simpletons. But the last few elections have proven to the Workers’ Party that Singaporean voters are savvy, thoughtful, and patriotic.
Look at the percentages in previous elections. Singapore voters proved to be highly discerning and sophisticated. For example, better and more popular PAP candidates such as Mr Tharman got the highest percentages. When it came to the opposition parties, the range of different percentages depending on which opposition party you compare, can be very significant.
Voters of Singapore, the Workers’ Party trusts your judgement. If you compare the current Workers’ Party candidates to the PAP candidates, I believe you will agree that our batch of candidates is one of the best the WP have put up.
And I would go one step further. The WP candidates offer all the PAP candidates do and more. These people behind me have come forward to run for the opposition, the Workers’ Party. This proves they are brave: they have guts and resilience.
PAP candidates have nothing to lose when they run. Maybe they lose a little privacy. But what other risks do they take? Being PAP candidates and MPs certainly enhance their careers.
In comparison, Workers’ Party candidates have little to gain, and everything to lose!
Actually, I should correct myself. It is not true that Workers’ Party candidates have nothing to gain. They do. By standing as Workers’ Party candidates, they gain the privilege of standing up for Singapore for a more balanced political system and being counted!
My fellow Singaporeans. Be a savvy, thoughtful and patriotic voter. Apply the same standards to our candidates as you do to PAP candidates. When you do, the choice is clear. It is the Workers’ Party’s candidates who are braver, more committed, and the better choice.
They are willing to risk so much more for our country and for the people of Singapore! They have stepped up.
And before you cast your vote in Aljunied, Hougang, Sengkang, East Coast, Jalan Kayu, Punggol, Tampines, and Tampines Changkat remember this – The Workers’ Party are a force for good in Singapore. So…..
Vote Workers’ Party! Working for Singapore!
Thank you!
1 May 2025
Office of the Leader of the Opposition 