GE2025: PAP wins Sembawang GRC with 67.75% of the vote, Poh Li San wins Sembawang West SMC

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SINGAPORE – Health Minister Ong Ye Kung led a five-member PAP team in Sembawang GRC to a convincing victory, bagging 67.75 per cent of the vote in a three-cornered fight against the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) and the National Solidarity Party (NSP).

Besides Mr Ong, the team comprised Mr Vikram Nair, 46, a lawyer; Ms Mariam Jaafar, 48, managing director and partner at Boston Consulting Group; and two newcomers – Mr Ng Shi Xuan, 35, director of a battery company; and Mr Gabriel Lam, 42, the chief operating officer of a moving company.

The boundaries of Sembawang GRC have changed since the 2020 election, with polling districts from Sembawang GRC being carved out to form the new Sembawang West SMC. The GRC has 134,157 voters.

The SDP secured 29.93 per cent of the vote. The team comprised hospital assistant director Bryan Lim, 49; music publisher Surayah Akbar, 42; research institute director James Gomez, 60; entrepreneur Alfred Tan, 59; and educational consultant Damanhuri Abas, 54.

The NSP team secured only 2.32 per cent of the vote, which means that the five candidates – party chief Spencer Ng, 45; Ms Verina Ong, 46, a polytechnic lecturer; Mr Raiyian Chia, 46, a swimming coach; Mr Lee Wei, 50, an associate lecturer; and Mr Yadzeth Hairis, 62, a business owner – will lose their election deposit of $13,500 each.

Election deposits are forfeited if candidates are not elected and do not secure more than 12.5 per cent of the vote.

Asked about their poor showing, Mr Ng said it was surprising that voters chose a more “radical” party, referring to the SDP, instead of a “centralised party” like theirs. He added that losing their election deposits was “a small sacrifice” to serve Singaporeans.

In the 2020 General Election, the PAP secured Sembawang GRC with 67.29 per cent of the vote against the NSP.

“We’re definitely going to stay in Sembawang GRC and Tampines GRC, and perhaps other constituencies as well. As we can see, this particular GE, opposition unity is an illusion... We are not going to abide by the ‘gentleman’s rules’ anymore, since the opposition party has used this as an excuse to walk over us,” said Mr Ng.

He was referring to how NSP had stepped aside from contesting Sembawang West SMC so that SDP chief Chee Soon Juan could go up against Ms Poh Li San of the PAP in a straight fight.  

Ms Poh had said before the hustings that she was prepared for a tough contest. She eventually prevailed over Dr Chee with 53.19 per cent of the vote.

The senior vice-president at Changi Airport Group attributed her win largely to municipal improvements that had positively impacted the lives of residents.

Ms Poh, 49, who was elected in 2020 as part of a five-member team in Sembawang GRC, had looked after the Sembawang West ward for the past five years. The newly carved-out SMC has 24,206 voters.

To those who had not voted for her, she said: “If I haven’t done a good job to reach out to you in the last five years, please pardon me, I will definitely work harder to serve you better in the next term.”

During the hustings, Mr Ong had warned that a “strong opposition” could lead Parliament into paralysis.

Citing the analogy first used in 2011 of the opposition as co-driver, Mr Ong said at a rally on April 30 that if the co-driver also wanted to steer the car with the ruling party in the driver’s seat, this might result in a crash.

But at a media doorstop after results were announced, he thanked both the NSP and SDP for contesting. He acknowledged the NSP, which ran in Sembawang for the third time, for sticking around and contributing to the community.

He also thanked the SDP and Dr Chee, and said: “They have been very organised, very robust... and put up a very strong contest, and, in so doing, not only given the residents a choice of parties but also a choice of policy directions. To me, that is good democracy.”

Despite delivering his strongest performance in seven elections over 33 years, Dr Chee, 62, did not view the close result as a “silver lining”.

The veteran opposition politician, who runs and co-owns cafe Orange & Teal, said: “We always aimed to win the constituency... Our goal was the win this year.”

With a vote share of 46.81 per cent, Dr Chee narrowly missed out on a Non-Constituency Member of Parliament seat. If fewer than 12 opposition candidates are elected, the best-performing candidates that do not win will be declared as NCMPs to bring the number of opposition MPs to 12.

WP candidate Andre Low who contested in Jalan Kayu SMC and a WP candidate for Tampines GRC will qualify as NCMPs.