Political balance kept in GE2025, zero chance of opposition wipeout: Ong Ye Kung
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Health Minister Ong Ye Kung (second from right) speaking on local current affairs podcast The Daily Ketchup.
PHOTO: SCREENGRAB FROM THE DAILY KETCHUP/YOUTUBE
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SINGAPORE – The political balance was maintained in the recent general election, said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung, adding that the results showed there is “zero chance” of an opposition wipeout.
Speaking on local current affairs podcast The Daily Ketchup, Mr Ong said the PAP and the opposition had reached a “workable equilibrium” in the last Parliament, with opposition parties holding 12 seats.
This gave them the opportunity to act as a check on the Government, but also allowed the latter to work, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, he said.
“We could work decisively, and we were also answerable to opposition which could ask all sorts of questions.”
The result of the 2025 General Election, where the opposition once again won 12 seats, showed that the people “felt that this can be given another chance for another five years”, said Mr Ong, who is also Coordinating Minister for Social Policies.
The Workers’ Party won 12 seats, retaining the 10
But the PAP, which won with 65.57 per cent of the popular vote
The people have decided that the opposition is here to stay, Mr Ong noted.
“There is no chance, zero chance, of an opposition wipeout,” he said. “Where the opposition held the seat, they kept it. People want them in. At the same time, they didn’t win new seats, except two NCMPs, which is some progress for them.”
He added: “I think the balance was kept. To me, it is a signal to the PAP that for the next five years: make this work again.”
On the podcast released on Sept 4, Mr Ong also addressed the heightened government measures to stop vaping
When asked if the recently announced harsher penalties would help to curb the spread rather than making it more of a “forbidden fruit”, he said such measures have helped for other drugs.
The Government on Aug 28 announced a slew of moves to tackle the vaping scourge in Singapore
The measures include harsher punishments for Kpod suppliers, sellers and distributors, as well as heftier fines for Kpod and vape abusers.
From Sept 1, those caught importing Kpods will face a mandatory minimum three-year jail sentence and five strokes of the cane. More egregious offenders can be jailed for up to 20 years and face up to 15 strokes of the cane.
Suppliers and traffickers are businessmen, and the new penalties will make them think twice, as they increase the risk of running these operations, Mr Ong said.
He was also asked about measures such as vape disposal bins, which allow abusers to surrender their devices without penalties, and the leniency of this approach.
In response, he said this approach was his call, given how many vape abusers are young people.
To “throw the book at them” with the Misuse of Drugs Act (MDA) would be harmful for their futures and the offences would go on their records, Mr Ong said.
He said he has faith that young people can be persuaded to stop vaping.
“They are a lot more persuadable as opposed to a hardcore drug abuser – it’s very hard to persuade them.”
There has already been a drop in the proportion of vapes that contain etomidate, Mr Ong said.
The substance was from Sept 1 reclassified as a Class C controlled drug
On achieving a balance between punishment and rehabilitation, Mr Ong said the authorities will observe how the current legislation works over the next few months, but there will eventually be new or amended legislation to deal with the problem.
The reclassification of etomidate will lapse on Feb 28, 2026.
He said: “Today we take a bit of powers from the Poisons Act, from MDA, from the Tobacco Act, and then piece them together to form this framework, which is not neat at all.
“So we need something that is fit for purpose, because I think this mode of substance abuse is here to stay.”
