GE2025: ‘Task force man’ Gan Kim Yong leads PAP to win Punggol GRC

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SINGAPORE – Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong led his PAP team to victory in the newly formed Punggol GRC, beating a team of first-time candidates from the WP with 55.17 per cent of the vote.

The WP claimed 44.83 per cent of the vote. Of the votes cast, 63,589 went to the PAP, 51,663 were for the WP and 822 were rejected.

After the results were announced, Mr Gan, who is also the Minister for Trade and Industry, said that there is still work to be done as Singapore is facing an “imminent crisis”.

“It‘s a global crisis. We have talked about it many times, and it is approaching nearer and nearer, and we need to work together, work in unison. We must stay united so that we are able to face the challenges of tomorrow,” he said.

A close fight had been expected between the two parties since Nomination Day on April 23, when a surprise decision by the PAP for DPM Gan to helm its Punggol team

pit him against WP new face Harpreet Singh, 59

.

DPM Gan, 66, was expected to lead PAP’s slate for Chua Chu Kang GRC, where he had served for three consecutive terms. Mr Singh, a senior counsel, was expected to be fielded in East Coast or Marine Parade-Braddell Heights.

The PAP’s Punggol team for this election also included Senior Minister of State Janil Puthucheary, 52, Minister of State Sun Xueling, 45, and NTUC assistant secretary-general Yeo Wan Ling, 48 – who had previously overseen wards that have been absorbed into the new GRC.

For the WP’s team, besides Mr Singh, the party fielded three other new faces in Punggol – senior manager of corporate affairs and marketing Jackson Au, 35, ad tech firm senior director Alexis Dang, 39, and legal counsel Alia Mattar, 43.

Much of the battle between the two parties centred on Mr Gan contesting the constituency, with the WP candidates making the case to Punggol’s relatively young electorate that the deputy prime minister, who entered politics in 2001, was not a candidate for the future.

WP chief Pritam Singh questioned Mr Gan’s importance, noting that he was not included in the PAP’s central executive committee and that he was placed in what was expected to be a hotly contested constituency.

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong countered by

characterising the WP’s comments as “cavalier and irresponsible”

.

Describing DPM Gan as

Singapore’s “task force man”

, PM Wong pointed to his deputy’s position as co-chair of the task force that tackled the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as his current role chairing the Singapore Economic Resilience Taskforce to handle the uncertainties sparked by US tariffs on Singapore goods.

Speaking to reporters after the results were announced, Mr Gan thanked Punggol residents for their trust and confidence, noting that he was a “newbie” to the town.

“At the same time, we are also reminded that there are still people in Punggol that did not support us but we will continue to reach out to you, to engage you, to find ways to work with you, because together, we can make Punggol much better than what it is today,” he said.

Speaking at Serangoon Stadium, where WP supporters had gathered for the results, Mr Harpreet Singh thanked his “solid, solid team” and asked that the PAP team use its victory to speak up for those who feel that “no one is speaking up for them”. 

“Do not ever, ever forget that tens of thousands of Singaporeans are crying out for fairer politics in our country where every voice, even those that do not agree with the official narrative, must be respected and heard,” he said. 

Ms Dang told The Straits Times that the team will “definitely continue” its work in Punggol.

One of Singapore’s newest constituencies,

Punggol GRC was formed

following the release of the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee report on March 11. It has 123,820 voters.

The four-member GRC was created by carving out estates in Punggol from Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC and merging them with those in Punggol West SMC, both won by the PAP in the 2020 General Election.

In 2020, the PAP won Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC with 64.16 per cent of the vote in a three-cornered fight with the Singapore Democratic Alliance and Peoples Voice.

That year also saw the PAP’s Ms Sun beat WP’s Ms Tan Chen Chen in Punggol West SMC, winning 60.98 per cent of the vote.