GE2025: WP bets on Punggol, Tampines GRCs to make further inroads (2025)

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SINGAPORE – As the hustings kick off for the general election, the opposition WP has sent some of its strongest new candidates to Punggol and Tampines GRCs.

After months of speculation on where it would field them for the polls, all was revealed on Nomination Day on April 23.

Senior counsel Harpreet Singh and three other new faces were confirmed on the WP ticket for Punggol GRC.

They will face off at the May 3 polls against a PAP team headed by Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong in the new group representation constituency.

Elsewhere, WP vice-chairman Faisal Manap has left the party’s Aljunied GRC crown jewel to contest Tampines GRC with four others, pitting the team against the PAP and two other opposition parties in a four-cornered fight.

It is apparent that the party has steered more of its new heavyweight candidates into the two GRCs, which are expected to face stiff electoral battles.

Besides sending Mr Singh to Punggol, the party has fielded Institute of Mental Health senior principal clinical psychologist Ong Lue Ping, former diplomat Eileen Chong, and start-up co-founder Michael Thng, a graduate of Harvard University, in Tampines.

Associate Professor Eugene Tan, a political analyst and law don at the Singapore Management University, is of the view that the WP has assessed its prospects – outside of the areas in which it is the incumbent – to be the best in Punggol GRC.

“They are gunning to repeat their famous victory in Sengkang GRC, in Punggol GRC,” said Prof Tan.

In 2020, the WP prevailed over the PAP in the newly created Sengkang GRC, winning 52.12 per cent of the vote.

Conversely, the firepower that the PAP has deployed in Punggol – where it has three political office-holders, DPM Gan, Senior Minister of State Janil Puthucheary and Minister of State Sun Xueling – indicates that the ruling party is “determined to avoid a Sengkang 2.0”, Prof Tan added.

The WP’s slate in Tampines and Punggol has led some to wonder if the opposition party has deprioritised East Coast GRC, which it narrowly lost in the 2020 polls, with 46.61 per cent of the vote.

In the eastern electoral hot spot, the party is fielding former Non-Constituency MP Yee Jenn Jong; payment expert Jasper Kuan; former US Navy administrator Paris V. Parameswari; lawyer Sufyan Mikhail Putra; and second-time candidate Nathaniel Koh, an IT professional.

That said, political watchers do not consider the WP’s East Coast slate to be weak.

Dr Felix Tan, an independent political observer, said the teams the WP has put forward this time round are “all worthy candidates with strong credentials”.

He said those with higher profiles in East Coast GRC include Mr Yee and Mr Kuan, a former Mastercard director who is now the Asia-Pacific product lead for disputes solutions at Visa Worldwide.

In East Coast, Mr Yee could be making another attempt to “redeem himself”, especially as he had contested in Joo Chiat before, added Dr Tan, who is from the Nanyang Technological University’s School of Social Sciences.

In 2011, Mr Yee, an education entrepreneur, squared off against PAP veteran Charles Chong in the former Joo Chiat SMC. Mr Chong won 51.02 per cent of the vote, and Mr Yee was appointed a Non-Constituency MP as the “best loser” in that election.

With Mr Yee leading the team into the 2025 election, Mr Kuan can focus on drawing support from younger voters, said Dr Tan.

Tampines GRC: Master stroke or miscalculation?

Taking some by surprise was the WP’s absence from Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC, which it has contested in the past two elections since 2015.

This led to a walkover on April 23 for the PAP team in Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC – the first at a general election since 2011.

Some sceptics have branded this a miscalculation that could undo the WP’s decade-long progress in Marine Parade.

Yet, between the two constituencies, the ground is more ripe for the picking in Tampines GRC, said analysts.

Associate Professor Bilveer Singh, a political scientist at the National University of Singapore, said it was a “master stroke” for the WP to place bigger bets on Tampines.

“There is no miscalculation in Tampines. If the WP contests Marine Parade, it will be the biggest miscalculation.”

He noted that the absorption of MacPherson SMC into Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC altered the battlefield significantly and made it even harder to win there.

Dr Gillian Koh, a senior research fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies, said the WP’s move was an “acknowledgement that the PAP hold there is strong and this is especially after it incorporated MacPherson SMC”.

The PAP’s Ms Tin Pei Ling won 71.74 per cent of the vote there in 2020.

Aljunied GRC and WP’s broader strategy

In the lead-up to candidate nominations on April 23, there was also talk that WP chief Pritam Singh, chair Sylvia Lim or policy research head Gerald Giam could move out of Aljunied GRC to contest elsewhere.

That did not materialise. The trio has stayed put, seeking to defend the constituency with Mr Kenneth Tiong and Mr Fadli Fawzi.

Dr Koh said it was surprising that none of the most seasoned WP leaders moved to anchor constituencies that the party is seeking to make inroads into.

“It could be that they place a very high premium on the relationships they have on the ground, and that newcomers have to build up their own standing on the ground even if they might not be successful,” she added.

On the whole, the WP is fielding more candidates this election than in the last. Its 26 candidates are being deployed across five group representation constituencies and three single seats.

Besides Punggol, Tampines and East Coast GRCs, it is in the running for Aljunied GRC, which it has held since 2011, and Sengkang GRC. It is also contesting Hougang – a traditional WP stronghold – as well as the new Jalan Kayu and Tampines Changkat seats.

This means it will contest one more GRC and one more SMC in 2025 than it did in 2020. That year, it fielded 21 candidates across four GRCs and two single seats.

This, said SMU’s Prof Tan, indicates an incremental approach to its growth as Singapore’s leading opposition party, and that the party is not seeking to upend the one-party dominant system in a single election.

“For now, it is signalling to voters that they should support WP in the quest for a ‘balanced’ political system,” he said.

• Kenneth Cheng is assistant news editor at The Straits Times. He oversees transport coverage, spanning the land transport, aviation and maritime sectors.
• Wong Pei Ting is a correspondent at The Straits Times. She covers politics and social affairs.

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