GE2025: Three-cornered fight at Sembawang GRC; straight contests in Nee Soon and Sembawang West

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SINGAPORE – Sembawang GRC will see a three-cornered fight, with the opposition Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) and National Solidarity Party (NSP) both throwing their hats in the ring against a PAP slate headlined by Health Minister Ong Ye Kung.

Meanwhile, Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam will once again helm the PAP team at Nee Soon GRC, in a face-off with a Red Dot United slate led by its secretary-general Ravi Philemon. There will also be a straight contest in the newly minted Sembawang West SMC, where PAP’s Ms Poh Li San will take on veteran opposition politician and SDP chief Chee Soon Juan.

All three battlelines were formalised at the Chongfu School nomination centre on April 23, where candidates from the ruling party pointed to its record of helping residents, while the opposition parties touched on issues like the rising costs of living.

Speaking to the media, Mr Ong, 55, said: “I believe this is quite an extraordinary election, happening at the time when the global situation is changing, happening also at the time we have a new Prime Minister, and happening at the time when Singaporeans are thinking about what kind of government system we want.”

Mr Ong’s team will include two fresh faces – Mr Ng Shi Xuan, 35, and Mr Gabriel Lam, 42, alongside incumbent MPs Vikram Nair, 46, and Mariam Jaafar, 48. At the last general election, a PAP team led by Mr Ong beat the NSP to take Sembawang with 67.29 per cent of the vote.

This time, the NSP team comprises 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.

Mr Ng said NSP, which contested Sembawang in the last two general elections, had tried to avoid three-cornered fights, but decided to continue running, as it did not want to “abandon” the residents.

NSP had faced calls from some quarters to step back from the GRC in the latest polls, after the SDP announced its intentions to contest there. Mr Ng said earlier that the SDP had offered Holland-Bukit Timah GRC in exchange for Sembawang GRC, but NSP

had turned down the proposal,

as it was akin to the “exchanging of wives”.

SDP’s slate for Sembawang comprises party vice-chair Bryan Lim, 49, treasurer Surayah Akbar, 42, deputy head of policy James Gomez, 60, and party members Damanhuri Abas, 54, and Alfred Tan, 59.

Dr Gomez was among several opposition candidates who raised concerns about the cost of living at Chongfu School, which was the designated nomination centre. He said that in this cost environment, Singaporeans had been hit by GST hikes twice.

It was a theme that RDU’s Mr Philemon also raised, contending that citizens had to grapple with “rising costs of living and shrinking hope”.

“The issues are clear before us. The issues are how much money you have or you don’t have in your pockets,” he said at the podium. “The issue is, do we live with dignity or from voucher to voucher?” 

Mr Philemon later reiterated RDU’s call for a rollback of GST to 7 per cent, coupled with an unconditional cash transfer of $200 for every Singaporean, which he said would provide a more long-term solution to cost of living pressures while requiring less government spending.

Dr Chee, 62, also spoke on rising costs, and said Mr Ong had a lot of explaining to do on why healthcare costs kept rising, especially in the light of the ageing population.

In response to questions from reporters at a doorstop, Mr Ong said it is important that the new government that is elected continues to manage the country well, fiscally. He said: “The best safeguard against higher prices is that the economy continues to grow and incomes continue to rise”, adding that the government will step in to offer help when it is needed.

At a doorstop, Mr Shanmugam also addressed concerns over rising costs, given the global economic situation. He said the Government had rolled out a range of support for Singaporean households, which he will explain to people in the coming days. Assistance schemes with more targeted help have also been introduced at the local level, he added.

Mr Shanmugam, 66, said his team was also aware of the concerns of younger voters over how secure their jobs were and whether they could afford a flat. He noted that eight in 10 first-time BTO owners did not have to service their instalments with cash and that his team would “bring that message across on affordability”.

The other four members of the PAP’s Nee Soon team are new faces: former civil servant Goh Hanyan, 39; former Nominated Member of Parliament Syed Harun Alhabsyi, 40; cleaning service and pest control company director Jackson Lam, 40; and long-time Nee Soon volunteer Lee Hui Ying, 36.

They will go up against an RDU team with Mr Philemon, 56; RDU chair David Foo, 60; private school teacher Syed Alwi Ahmad, 57; tech start-up business director Pang Heng Chuan, 56; and IT consultant Sharon Lin, 40.

While the official campaign period has just started, Mr Shanmugam said any credible party cannot be only starting their campaign now.

“If you haven’t done anything, haven’t gone (to the ground) all this while, and then turn up and say ‘please support us’, I think the people will be very sceptical,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ms Poh, 49, who has been MP for the area that Sembawang West was carved out from, said: “The work has actually been done over the past five years... this period is really the final dash.”

Touching on the fresh faces on the ruling party’s slate, Mr Ong said that for the PAP to continue to govern well, it has to keep refreshing its talent base even if it means saying goodbye to people who can contribute. “Someday, it will be my turn too.”