Snaking queues that greeted some voters at polling stations last Friday were likely to have swung some votes away from the People’s Action Party (PAP), observers said.
Despite assigned time slots for voters to cast their ballots, crowds bunched up at some polling stations, especially in the morning, and some took to social media to voice their frustration regarding queues that went on for as long as three hours.
Recommended time bands were among the contingency plans the Elections Department (ELD) had put in place for this election to ensure safe voting amid the Covid-19 outbreak, alongside the requirement for voters to sanitise their hands and wear gloves. However, many chose to vote earlier in the day, which led to bottlenecks at some polling stations.
Analysts also suggested that an election amid the pandemic, coupled with long lines, signalled the election would not go well for the PAP. Political observer Derek da Cunha said in a Facebook post on the atmosphere at his polling station that “many gave off vibes that they would rather not be there, but that they got there to quickly vote and get out”.
Workers’ Party chief Pritam Singh on Saturday (July 11) pledged to do his best as the leader of the opposition, responding to the announcement by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong that the WP leader would be appointed to the newly-created position and be given staff and resources.
Posting on Facebook the morning after his party made historic gains at the general election, he wrote: “I look forward to serving as leader of the opposition and will carry out my duties to the best of my abilities. I will endeavour to ensure that the Workers’ Party under my leadership will remain loyal to Singapore and all Singaporeans.”
The WP had won Sengkang GRC in one of the surprise results of election night and it also consolidated its majorities in Aljunied GRC and Hougang SMC.
It was Mr Singh’s first outing as party chief, and he had entered the election aiming to defend the party’s home turf, but by the wee hours of the morning on Saturday, it became clear that he had led his party to another breakthrough.
Speaking to reporters outside his party’s headquarters at Teambuild Centre in Geylang, Mr Singh stressed the need for the party to stay grounded.
One of the early signs that not all may be well came midway in the campaign.
Clad in white, Mr Ng Chee Meng and Mr Amrin Amin went around Sengkang Central, waving and introducing themselves. Usually, residents obliged with a smile or a nod, even if hesitantly.
But there were some who gave the two People’s Action Party (PAP) candidates the cold shoulder, to the point of being outright unfriendly.
“I could tell from their interactions, from their body language, that they were a bit hostile,” said a party volunteer on residents that the candidates had approached.
Alarm bells rang. The PAP team – which also included Senior Minister of State for Transport and Health Lam Pin Min, 50, and lawyer Raymond Lye, 54 – redoubled its efforts.
On social media, there were photographs of Mr Ng, 51, a former defence chief, sprinting up and down Housing Board block corridors, trying to reach as many residents as possible in the remaining days of the campaign.
In the end, it was too little, too late. On Polling Day, Sengkang GRC emerged as the biggest upset of the 2020 General Election.
It is clear the younger generation takes a different approach to race relations and that deserves more attention, said Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam on Saturday (July 11).
Considering how this generation will be the country’s future leaders, he said: “We need to come to a framework that works for Singapore, that takes into account how people feel that there’s a different way of discussing these things beyond the traditional.
“We need to work out what the trade-offs are and see what’s the approach.”
Mr Shanmugam was speaking to reporters the day after the July 10 election during a walkabout to thank residents for the PAP’s win in Nee Soon GRC.
His remarks come in the wake of a closely fought campaign in the new Sengkang GRC, where the Workers’ Party (WP) secured 52.13 per cent of the votes against a People’s Action Party team led by labour chief Ng Chee Meng.
SINGAPORE: Twenty-one new locations, including several malls, have been added to the list of places visited by COVID-19 cases in the community during their infectious period, according to the Ministry of Health on Saturday (Jul 11).
The locations include an OCBC Bank branch at City Square Mall, a KFC outlet at West Mall, Bugis Junction, Tangs department store at Tang Plaza, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) building, Bukit Panjang Hawker Centre and Market, as well as Chinatown Complex and Food Centre.
Those identified as close contacts of confirmed COVID-19 cases would have been notified by MOH, said the ministry.
It added that people who have been at these locations during the specified timings should monitor their health closely for 14 days from their date of visit.
“They should see a doctor promptly if they develop symptoms of acute respiratory infection (such as cough, sore throat and runny nose), as well as fever and loss of taste or smell, and inform the doctor of their exposure history,” said MOH.
“There is no need to avoid places where confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been.”
The National Environment Agency will also engage the management of affected premises to provide guidance on cleaning and disinfection.
Singapore reported 170 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday.
Twenty-four of the new cases are community infections, of which 15 are linked to previous cases or clusters. One case is imported, involving a work pass holder who had returned to Singapore from India.
The remaining cases are work permit holders residing in foreign worker dormitories.
This election should have been a walk in the park for the People’s Action Party (PAP).
Though many voters must have been worried about how Covid-19 was going to affect their lives and livelihoods (by the way, that was a major part of the ruling party’s slogan), they didn’t rush into the arms of Lee Hsien Loong and his team to save them.
As the results trickled in, the voter’s message, especially that of the young, was clear and devastating.
We have matured and grown up – we need a new style of politics and governance, and not one that was made famous by Lee Kuan Yew.
SINGAPORE: The leader of the defeated People’s Action Party (PAP) team for Sengkang GRC, Ng Chee Meng, on Saturday (Jul 11) congratulated his Workers’ Party (WP) opponents on their victory in the 13th General Election.
Mr Ng, who is labour chief, headed the PAP team which includes political office-holders Lam Pin Min and Amrin Amin, as well as new face Raymond Lye.
“Congratulations to the Workers’ Party team in Sengkang. I hope residents will be ably served by them in the new term,” said Mr Ng in a Facebook post.
He added that it has been “wonderful” walking the ground in Sengkang town and speaking to residents in the past few weeks.
“The smiles, the welcoming hellos and especially the kids that I met really warmed my heart,” said Mr Ng.
Reiterating what he said in the wee hours of Saturday after the results were announced, Mr Ng wrote that the PAP’s Sengkang team will “evaluate and regroup to see how we can do better”.
“In the days to come, we will spend some time looking at what may be the plan for the future,” he added.
It was one of the largest upsets for the PAP this General Election.
The WP’s victory in the newly formed Sengkang GRC marks the first time that an opposition party will hold two GRCs. The WP also held on to Aljunied GRC and Hougang SMC, winning a total of 10 seats in Parliament.
Mr Ng previously represented Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC, part of which was carved out to form Sengkang GRC along with the former single seats of Sengkang West and Punggol East.
“For those that voted for us, I humbly thank you for the trust and support for the PAP team,” said Mr Ng.
“A heartfelt thank you to all the different volunteers and activists who have walked the journey with us. You have done your best, you can hold your head up high.”
In a Facebook post, Dr Lam also thanked residents, community leaders and party activists for their support, saying it has been his “greatest privilege and honour” to have been able to serve in Sengkang West for the last 14 years.
He urged Singaporeans to give the PAP Government their support to navigate challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Many lives will be affected. I pray that all Singaporeans will put all our differences aside, come together as One People, and give PM Lee Hsien Loong and his team your fullest support to see us through this difficult and trying period,” said Dr Lam, Senior Minister of State for the health and transport ministries.
The People’s Action Party (PAP) team contesting in Sengkang GRC led by Ng Chee Meng, arrive at St Anthony’s Canossian School on Jun 30, 2020. (Photo: Hanidah Amin)
Mr Amrin, who was from Sembawang GRC, said it has been an “honour” to serve in Parliament in the last five years, while new candidate Mr Lye thanked residents for “the time and grace you’ve shown me and my PAP teammates over the course of this election campaign”.
“I respect the election results and will like to congratulate the Workers’ Party team on their victory. It was a good fight,” Mr Lye added.
“But we will not stay in our comfort zones. We will continue to demand for transparency and accountability. We will continue to work for a diverse and inclusive Singapore. A fair and equitable Parliament. A party that continues be a voice for the voiceless. We will stay grounded and we will go forward together,” she added.
After the results were announced, Dr Lim had thanked voters, promising that they will “work for a brighter future for Sengkang and Singapore”.
Ms He, who led the Sengkang team, thanked voters for their “leap of faith”.
“We will work hard to make sure that this trust is not misplaced,” she added.
Mr Lee Hsien Yang said in a Facebook post on Saturday (July 11) that Singaporeans have shown “it is possible to be loyal, to love Singapore, to recite with pride ‘We the citizens of Singapore’, and to vote for the opposition”.
He said that the crisis election should have been a “piece of cake” for the People’s Action Party, but instead it had its vote share “seriously dented” while the opposition has gained ground in the east and the west.
“The Workers’ Party has performed brilliantly, winning two GRCs and one SMC. It has demonstrated leadership at its best, an ability to transition party leadership, and fielded strong, sparkling, youthful and diverse teams,” said Mr Lee, who is Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s brother.
He also noted that the Progress Singapore party was able to gain some 40 per cent of vote share in the constituencies it contested, describing it as an “extraordinary achievement”.
He might have withdrawn from running in GE2020, but it won’t be the last time we’ll see Ivan Lim, it seems.
In a Facebook Live video early this morning (July 11), the People’s Action Party (PAP) team comprising Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Dr Tan Wu Meng, Rahayu Mahzam, Shawn Huang and Xie Yao Quan took turns to thank voters for their support after winning Jurong GRC with 74.62 per cent of the votes.
However, the sight of a sixth person in a thank-you video for a five-member GRC caught viewers’ eyes.
While many did not expect him to speak, Lim took up the microphone to address the residents of Jurong.
This morning (July 11) saw a surprising win for the Workers’ Party (WP), who not only managed to retain their turf in Aljunied GRC and Hougang SMC but also gained a whole new region: Sengkang GRC.
“Sengkang residents have spoken,” wrote award-winning documentary photographer Edwin Koo, the man who has been shadowing WP candidates during the course of their campaigning this year.
The opposition party won the newly carved-out constituency with 52.13 per cent of the votes against a People’s Action Party (PAP) that included three political office-holders.
