GE2025: Chee Soon Juan says Bukit Batok residents remain in his heart despite move to Sembawang West

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SINGAPORE – The team from the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) presented their plans to rejuvenate Sembawang GRC at a rally on April 26, describing them as putting the “heart” in heartland.

Accusing the PAP of repackaging existing national development plans as constituency-specific promises and accomplishments, the SDP said its plans are human-centric.

They include building community storage facilities and lifts for overhead bridges, and providing microchip services for cats, so owners can be reunited with their lost pets.

In his speech at Evergreen Primary School, which lies within Sembawang West SMC, SDP chief Chee Soon Juan said future plans for Sembawang GRC will be drawn up with residents’ input as well.

Defending his move from the single-seat Bukit Batok constituency to contest Sembawang West SMC, Dr Chee accused the PAP of launching personal attacks against him.

He was responding to Health Minister Ong Ye Kung, who anchors the PAP team contesting Sembawang GRC.

Mr Ong suggested

in a rally speech on April 24

that Dr Chee’s motivations in moving from Bukit Batok SMC were a political strategy, saying the SDP chief had “abandoned Bukit Batok to come to Sembawang West”.

The comments were echoed by Ms Poh Li San, the PAP candidate for Sembawang West, and PAP Marsiling-Yew Tee candidate Alex Yam, who said Dr Chee broke a pledge to remain in Bukit Batok.

Dr Chee, in his rally speech, which was delivered in Mandarin, Hokkien and English, accused the PAP of taking cheap shots at him.

“You don’t work at a place for nearly a decade, put in your heart and soul, and not feel it when they rip it from under you,” he said of Bukit Batok SMC, where he had intended to contest before the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee report saw the single-seat

absorbed into the newly formed Jurong East-Bukit Batok GRC.

He had contested the by-election in Bukit Batok SMC in 2016, and the general election in 2020, losing both times to PAP’s Mr Murali Pillai.

Said Dr Chee of claims that he quit Bukit Batok: “I ask the three of them to stop this nonsense. Don’t let us sink into gutter politics again. You’re all better than that.

“Elections are a time when parties present their policies and platforms and then persuade the people for support,” he said, adding that Bukit Batok residents remain fond in his heart.

He also listed community efforts such as holiday activities for students and gatherings for residents that the SDP had launched with its own funds in Bukit Batok.

Dr Chee was preceded by party chairman Paul Tambyah, who spoke out against foreign interference and rigid ethnic classification, before highlighting the SDP’s commitment to climate action

laid out in its manifesto.

On foreign interference, Professor Tambyah said that while the SDP believes that foreigners are free to write about their opinions and perspectives about Singapore, “they should not try to interfere in the domestic and foreign affairs of our country”.

He was referencing heightened concerns flagged by the authorities and Prime Minister Lawrence Wong around the mixing of politics and religion, in some cases

driven by foreigners.

Among them are Mr Iskandar Abdul Samad, national treasurer of Parti Islam SeMalaysia, a political party in Malaysia.

Mr Iskandar had shared several posts showing support for Malay-Muslim candidates, including SDP Sembawang GRC candidate Damanhuri Abas, who did not speak at the rally on April 26.

Mr Damanhuri had appeared in a TikTok video which showed him calling on Malay/Muslim voters to pick alternative representation so issues surrounding the community can be raised in Parliament rather than behind closed doors.

The rally at Evergreen Primary School also saw two party volunteers hawk a range of party merchandise, including bears, umbrellas and fans, after each speech.

Among the speakers were Dr Gigene Wong, an SDP candidate for Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC.

In her speech, which was delivered in a mix of Mandarin and Hokkien, Dr Wong repeated the party’s claims that major infrastructural plans rolled out by the PAP, including new MRT stations, were derived from national projects where funding was already set aside.

Dr Wong drew laughter from the crowd when she used her terms of endearment for fellow SDP Marsiling-Yew Tee candidate Ariffin Sha, founder of the Wake Up Singapore alternative news site.

She referred to him as “elephant”, instead of Mr Ariffin.

She also called him “keling kia”, adding that the legal executive was the SDP’s Pritam Singh. The term is derogatory, and has been used to demean people of Indian descent.

In her speech, Dr Wong exhorted voters to support the SDP Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC team to help avert a scenario in which the SDP candidates, especially Mr Ariffin, lose their election deposit.

On April 27, Dr Wong apologised in a Facebook post for the comments she made about her fellow candidate Mr Ariffin, saying that she now understands it disrespected him and offended the Indian community.

“My comments were very hurtful and unacceptable. I am fully responsible for them.”

She said the original vetted speech did not include the comments which were uttered impromptu.

“There is no excuse and I am sorry for all the pain and anger that I caused,” she said, adding that she has learned important lessons from the incident.