‘You don’t want a govt that is embroiled in paralysis,’ says Ong Ye Kung ahead of GE2025

SINGAPORE - Singapore needs a good and effective government to navigate rising global tensions and economic uncertainty, and this is something Singaporeans are aware of, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said.

He gave this response on March 23 when he was asked about whether a growing desire for more elected opposition in Parliament would destabilise the political balance in Singapore.

He cited the Government’s trust in the people during the pandemic years to keep to the Covid-19 protocols – such as staying at home and testing themselves when unwell – adding that Singaporeans would do what is right for the country.

“We trust that Singaporeans know what to do. So, likewise, in the election, I think it’s the same. Singaporeans know that especially in this geopolitical environment, with so many changes happening, you need a good, effective government,” he said.

“You don’t want a government that is embroiled in paralysis – things cannot go forward. I think Singaporeans are deeply aware of that, and so they will take it, I believe, step by step and do what is right for Singapore.”

Mr Ong acknowledged that people have wanted a larger opposition presence in Parliament across successive elections, adding that he felt the brunt of these desires first-hand when he was fielded and lost as part of the PAP team in Aljunied GRC in the 2011 General Election.

Recounting his experience during that election, he said that after four or five days into the campaign period, he told his fellow candidates and activists that he felt like he was “in quicksand”.

“As much as you try to swim and float, you sink, and the harder you struggle, sometimes the faster you sink. There’s almost nothing you can do about it,” he said of his experience then.

He attributed this to the seemingly inexorable march towards greater opposition representation in Parliament.

But he added that elections are about producing an effective system of government.

“Of course, in people’s minds now... their thinking is a good outcome – a PAP government, but with opposition as a check and balance. That’s a good system of government. I don’t disagree,” he said.

“As to ‘What is the equilibrium?’, I think we are still finding out as a people... To me, it’s a journey that with each successive election we will find out.”

He noted that there were now 12 opposition MPs in Parliament, up from two before the 2011 General Election, but said “it’s not a numbers game”.

The equilibrium is not determined solely by the ratio of ruling party and opposition MPs in Parliament, he added.

Many other factors come into play in deciding where the balance should lie and whether Singapore has become a mature democracy, he said.

Besides looking at the external environment and its impact on Singapore, people will also be looking at the People’s Action Party to see how well it has performed in government and whether it has listened to the people, he added.

“What is the PAP’s attitude? Do they listen to me? Are they arrogant, or are they humble? Do they look like they’re listening more? Taking in my suggestions, acknowledging my problems?” he said.

Voters will also be looking at MPs from both sides of the aisle, such as whether they are people with integrity, whether they want to serve the people or whether they are merely looking out for their own political interests, he added.

“Singaporeans have different aspirations for the country, for politics,” he said.

“When it comes to an election, sometimes it looks as if we are moving further apart. It shouldn’t be. When the dust settles, we still got to be together.” 

Asked where he might be fielded in the upcoming election, Mr Ong turned to the party’s current holding line – that it would be up to Prime Minister Lawrence Wong to decide.

But he said having been an MP in

Sembawang GRC

for 10 years, he would “love to stay in Sembawang until I retire”.

He said the MPs in his team had bonded with residents there, and had worked together with them to develop the constituency, while still retaining its character.

Noting that Sembawang was a swamp before, he said: “Today it’s developed. But we didn’t develop it in a way that makes it look like Tampines or Clementi or Ang Mo Kio. It has a certain character,” he said, noting that features such as the hot spring, the beach and the kampung mosque, Masjid Petempatan Melayu Sembawang, have been preserved. 

Occasionally, some new residents who moved to Sembawang from other parts of Singapore would lament the lack of amenities such as big shopping centres, said Mr Ong.

He would tell them that Sembawang was more “ulu”, he said, using the Malay word for remote.

“Here is the kampung vibe, the sun, the sea, the breeze, the hot spring. So, you really (have) to like the place. But we will not change the character. I’ll try my best not to change the character of the town,” he said.