GE2025: SDP will contest Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Singapore Democratic Party chief Chee Soon Juan and chairman Paul Tambyah speaking to media at 888 Plaza in Woodlands on March 30.
ST PHOTO: TARYN NG
Follow topic:
SINGAPORE – The Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) has said it will contest in Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC at the upcoming general election.
Doing so will give Singaporeans a chance to vote for the best and most credible alternative candidates, SDP chairman Paul Tambyah said on the sidelines of a food distribution event at 888 Plaza in Woodlands Drive on March 30.
Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC is anchored by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, whose team prevailed against the SDP in the 2020 General Election with 63.18 per cent of the votes.
On potentially contesting against the Prime Minister, Professor Tambyah said: “We don’t know whether he is going to stay in Marsiling-Yew Tee... In any case, our priority is to send in the best team to the constituency.”
Prof Tambyah also noted that Marsiling-Yew Tee is right beside Sembawang GRC and Sembawang West SMC – areas the party also intends to contest.
“It is an opportunity for us to reach out to the three constituencies we are involved in,” he said.
Party chief Chee Soon Juan said the SDP’s key message this election is that the Government has not done enough to help people struggling with the rising cost of living.
He said Singaporeans have told him that the cost of living has hit them hard and, meanwhile, the authorities “keep raising prices and then come up with rebates and vouchers to placate them”.
Dr Chee said: “There is no way PM Lawrence Wong is going to make the case that, oh, handing out these vouchers is going to help them.” He added: “Yes, maybe for that few months. But what then?”
The SDP did not say whom they would field in the four-member Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC.
When asked if party treasurer Surayah Akbar, who has been seen actively engaging residents in Marsiling-Yew Tee, will be part of their team there, Dr Chee said: “We will announce that in due course.”
He said the SDP will put up “a good slate” for the election, consisting of both younger members and election veterans such as party vice-chairman Bryan Lim and Mr Alfred Tan, who was part of SDP’s Holland-Bukit Timah team in GE2020.
“We are going to continue to bring in this good blend of experience and youth,” Dr Chee said.
The SDP has contested in Marsiling-Yew Tee since the group representation constituency was formed in 2015. It garnered 31.27 per cent of the votes in 2015 and 36.82 per cent of the votes in 2020.
The opposition party said a week ago that Dr Chee will be contesting in the newly carved out Sembawang West SMC
Before the redrawn boundaries were announced on March 11, SDP had said it was keen to contest in Holland-Bukit Timah GRC again.
SDP also wanted a rematch in Bukit Batok SMC and Yuhua SMC, but the two single seats have been redrawn into the new Jurong East-Bukit Batok GRC, with part of Yuhua forming the new Jurong Central SMC.
On March 30, SDP leaders did not confirm if the party would be contesting in Holland-Bukit Timah GRC or Jurong East-Bukit Batok GRC, but said they have been talking to other parties ahead of a decision.
At the food distribution event, about 30 SDP members and volunteers distributed 500 sets of dried goods that included cooking oil, powdered drinks and biscuits to residents.
Dr Chee said that running such an event required resources and organisational capability.
“Any time we are called upon to run a town council – consider it done already,” Dr Chee said, adding that the party had previously put out a town council management plan.
