AS A longtime resident of opposition-held Potong Pasir constituency, PAP member A.K. Lakshmanan wondered if the ruling party had 'abandoned' the constituency after losing again at the 2006 general election.

The Moulmein branch member who has lived in Potong Pasir for 25 years said adjacent PAP-held wards were 'fantastic and marvellous' compared to his estate.

Speaking to the party's executive committee at a dialogue during Sunday's convention in Downtown East, he asked if anything could be done for PAP activists and loyalists who had supported the party all this while, adding that he did not think that any last minute arrangements just before the next general election would help the party win back Potong Pasir.

The recent announcement that several blocks in Potong Pasir have been earmarked for the Lift Upgrading Programme was heartening, he said. But he asked what was being done to win the constituency back from opposition MP Chiam See Tong.

Responding, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that the problem had to be looked at in a 'detached way', and that no easy solution existed.

While there is the need to look after those in Potong Pasir who voted for the PAP, the party must be careful not to be taken advantage of, he said, recalling the 2006 election.

Read the full story in Monday's edition of The Straits Times.