Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam and former Cabinet Minister Lim Boon Heng say they’ve sensed a change in the mood on the ground in Workers’ Party-held Aljunied GRC since the 2011 General Election. SINGAPORE: The unveiling of the last GRC team to be fielded by the People’s Action Party was the most anticipated: With Aljunied having been the first GRC to be won by an Opposition party in 2011, the five men representing the PAP will come in the unfamiliar position as “underdog”, Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said. Speaking as the team – NTUC assistant secretary-general Yeo Guat Kwang; private banker Chua Eng Leong; insurance firm CEO Victor Lye; lawyer K Muralidharan Pillai; and former school head of department Shamsul Kamar – was introduced to the media, Mr Tharman insisted that despite the lack of a minister in the team, it still stood a “fighting chance” in the Workers’ Party-held constituency. Said Mr Tharman: “I think this team has a fighting chance. They go in with the mindset of the underdog, they go in with the mindset of being humble in everything they do, but they go in with more than a fighting chance. They really want to prove their worth and serve the residents better in Aljunied.” Echoing that view at the press conference was former Cabinet Minister Lim Boon Heng, who has an advisor in the area for the PAP since the 2011 General Election, who said that the party is “quietly hopeful” about its chances in Aljunied. “We cannot assume that these sentiments will translate to votes on Polling Day – we can’t take anything for granted. But what this team offers to the people in Aljunied is that we’re here, we’re willing to serve, work with you to make this a happier place for everyone living in Aljunied,” said Mr Lim. A PAP team that included former Foreign Affairs Minister George Yeo lost the Aljunied vote in 2011, taking 45.28 per cent of the vote against a WP team led by Secretary-General Low Thia Khiang and Chairman Sylvia Lim. Following the loss, PAP representatives on the ground met with a hostile reception, said Mr Lim. “Post-2011 elections, the ground was unfriendly. When they did their rounds, people looked at them questioningly: ‘Why are you here?’ Some were even hostile,” said the former Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office. “But they persisted but gradually it has turned to friendliness. So over the last four years, the comments we have heard have shifted. After a couple of years, people told us that they were disappointed with the performance of WP MPs in Parliament. They didn’t make any major contributions to the debate of national policies. “Recently a lot of people who didn’t quite understand what was happening in the Town Council, but they knew something wasn’t quite right. They told us that the environment wasn’t as clean as it used to be when Cynthia Phua and Yeo Guat Kwang were running the Town Council. They told us that the maintenance sometimes was a little patchy. Some told us to come around more often. “So, it’s from unfriendliness to being welcoming. Some have even told us: We want a change. “We are quietly hopeful.” “WE WANT RESPONSIBLE, HONEST POLITICS” At the press conference, Mr Tharman touched on the lapses identified in the WP’s management of the Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council. “The Town Council issue is for us not a political game. And I can tell you, it is not aimed at putting the Workers’ Party down,” said the Deputy Prime Minister. “All that the Government has wanted to do is ensure we have responsible and honest politics in Singapore, whether by the PAP, individual MPs, GRC teams, the Government as a whole, or by the Opposition – we just want responsible and honest politics. “I think you know me – you know my personality, you know my views. You know that I’ve never been against the idea of an Opposition in Singapore, people know me. So when I speak about an issue, it’s because I’m worried. I’m really worried. It’s not because I’m trying to put the Opposition down, to put the Workers’ Party down. I’m not like that. “It’s because I’m worried and I want to ensure we have responsible, honest politics in Singapore. If the Government gets it wrong, expose us, criticise us, and we must get it right. We expect the same of everyone else.” www.channelnewsasia.com/news/specialreports/sgvotes2015/latest/in-aljunied-underdog-pap/2082706.html

• published: 28 Aug 2015
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