This fear must go

[True Believer]

The scare tactics adopted by the PAP are used to sway voters one way or another: preying on our fears, biases, insecurities and personal beliefs. Through such tactics, many S'poreans may be driven toward the purpose of the ruling party towards a destructive end for the electorate, but the gain of such a govt.

 

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GE2025: Global economic uncertainty is no ordinary storm but tidal wave of change, says DPM Gan​

DPM Gan Kim Yong said the uncertainties the nation is facing will have long-term implications for Singapore as a trading hub.ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM
Ng Keng Gene and Harith Mustaffa
Apr 27, 2025


SINGAPORE – The global economic uncertainty triggered by the United States’ move to impose tariffs on its trading partners is no ordinary storm but a tidal wave of change, said Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong.

Speaking at a PAP rally at Yusof Ishak Secondary School on April 26, Mr Gan questioned critics who said the ruling party’s reaction to the American tariffs is overblown.

He added that the uncertainties the nation is facing will have long-term implications for Singapore as a trading hub.

He said: “Some have said the PAP’s reaction to the US tariff announcement is overblown, that we are sending a message of fear, and there is no need to worry because Singapore has weathered bigger storms before.

“But really, are you sure this is just another storm? This is no ordinary storm. This is a tidal wave of change.”

Singaporeans are worried, and businesses are feeling the impact of market uncertainties, with some multinational corporations (MNCs) rethinking their investment plans and their presence in the country, he added.

“Supply chains may be further reconfigured. And with these uncertainties, businesses have paused their investments and have also slowed down their hiring,” said Mr Gan, 66, who is also the Trade and Industry Minister.

Many people are wondering about job security, but there is no need to fear, he added. The Government, he said, rolled out a “comprehensive Budget” earlier this year to help Singaporeans face the uncertainties ahead.

For instance, Singaporeans looking for jobs can tap schemes like the SkillsFuture Jobseeker Support scheme and career conversion programmes.

Mr Gan said: “We may not be able to save every job, but we intend to protect every worker. We will uplift you, we will help you bounce back stronger than before.

“As Prime Minister Lawrence Wong promised, we will do more if necessary. The PAP has your back.”

Although it is election season, the work of governing Singapore continues, and the PAP government is clear on what it needs to do, added Mr Gan, who chairs the Singapore Economic Resilience Taskforce that aims to help navigate the uncertainties caused by US tariffs.

Trade talks with his American counterparts are ongoing, he said, and this is possible because of the longstanding ties the PAP government has with the US administration.

“They know us and they trust us, and this mutual trust is most critical in times of crisis, for us to be able to come together, to talk with one another and to negotiate.”

He added that the Americans are prepared to find a way to get Singapore’s critical exports to the US.

He did not provide further details on trade talks because of the need for confidentiality.

Mr Gan made his foray into politics in 2001 and is an incumbent Chua Chu Kang GRC MP. He was moved to helm the PAP team in Punggol on Nomination Day, in a last-minute surprise move.

He was the last speaker at the rally, rounding off a slate that included Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean and members of the PAP team for Punggol – Ms Yeo Wan Ling, Ms Sun Xueling and Dr Janil Puthucheary.

They are facing off against a WP team made up of four first-time candidates. They are: senior counsel Harpreet Singh, advertising tech firm senior director Alexis Dang, legal counsel Alia Mattar, and Mr Jackson Au, senior manager of corporate affairs and marketing with the London Stock Exchange Group.

Speaking to reporters after submitting his nomination papers on April 23, Mr Gan said that although he is new to Punggol, he is a “fast learner”, and will “learn as fast as I can”.

He said at the rally that in the last three days of campaigning, he had met residents from all walks of life to better understand their aspirations, desires and concerns, and observed three things about Punggol.

First, it has many multi-generational families. Second, residents have a strong sense of ownership and connection to the town. Third, Punggol has been designed creatively, allowing residents to work, live and play in it.

“Punggol is a ‘wow’ town,” he said.

The town has, in under two decades, become a shining model for the heartland, and a neighbourhood that many young families can be proud to call home.

He said: “We are a young and growing new town. There is much we have done together, but yet there is much more that we can work and do together, with you, and for you.”

For instance, residents have asked him for more covered linkways, he said.

“I will talk to my good friend, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, who is also Finance Minister, to see if we can get more money to build some of these necessary infrastructure,” he said.

The project will involve significant work with various agencies and the town council, he added.


Asking for residents’ support, Mr Gan said Dr Janil, Ms Sun and Ms Yeo have nearly 30 years of combined experience in running a town council, and he brings another 24 years to the mix.

Dr Janil, 52, who is an incumbent Pasir Ris-Punggol MP, said the team does not believe in making unbelievable promises, but has a humble understanding of the hard work and determination to serve the people.

Ms Sun, 45, who has overseen Punggol West since she entered politics in 2015, said there were no facilities in the estate when she became an MP a decade ago.

As she wanted to make sure children in Punggol had as good a start as the other children in the rest of Singapore, she started a container library.

She said: “In Punggol, we spare no effort in galvanising community resources. We want to create conditions for our children to thrive and to flourish.

“Recently, I updated our Punggol parents that we will have a new primary school, a new secondary school and a junior college in Punggol.”

Ms Yeo, 48, who is seeking a second term in Parliament, said she has spoken up for platform workers, many of whom live in Punggol.

She said: “They deserve fair compensation, injury protection and adequate CPF contributions. And these issues aren’t abstract policy matters to me.

“They are about real people in Punggol whose dignity and livelihoods are at stake – that is the perspective I bring to Parliament.”

 

[bigozt]

KNNBCCB!! YOU FARKERS POSTING DOCTORATE THESIS IS IT??!

 

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GE2025: PSP’s ‘anti-foreigner rhetoric’ will affect jobs and businesses in S’pore, says SM Teo​

Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean speaking to supporters during the PAP's rally at Jurong West Stadium on April 27.ST PHOTO: BRIAN TEO
Ng Wei Kai and Syarafana Shafeeq
Apr 28, 2025

SINGAPORE – The PSP’s “anti-foreigner rhetoric” will drive away international companies, as well as jobs and businesses for Singaporeans, said Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean.

Singapore’s unity, stable government, and its consistent and rational policies are strong attractions for such companies to operate here, he said at a rally in Pioneer SMC on April 27.

The rally, held at Jurong West Stadium, featured speeches by the party’s candidates for Pioneer SMC and West Coast-Jurong West GRC. In both constituencies, the party faces a challenge from the opposition PSP.

Many companies are now seeking to rebalance their operations and find the best places to locate themselves, he noted.

SM Teo said what the PSP is doing will “make our pie smaller”.

“Instead of spending our energy like the PSP to try to pit one group against another group to snatch more of the pie, let us see how we can work together to make the pie bigger, so that everybody can have a little bit more rather than trying to snatch from each other.”

Singapore needs the politics of unity and not the politics of division, SM Teo said.

He outlined challenges the country faces due to uncertainty over worldwide tariffs introduced by US President Donald Trump.

He said: “The damage to the wider world trading system in the long term can already be seen.”

The World Trade Organisation has forecast that world trade will shrink in 2025, and Singapore’s economists and the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) economists have forecast that Singapore will grow more slowly than earlier predicted, he added.

SM Teo noted that the PSP has called these challenges fearmongering tactics by a PAP trying to retain its power.

“Really, is the PAP really so powerful that it can tell the IMF and the World Trade Organisation how to forecast the world?”

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To try and brush this away is “just totally irresponsible”, SM Teo said.

PSP leaders had earlier in April stated that the Government’s response to the US tariffs was “overblown”, with party chairman Tan Cheng Bock saying that the Government’s rhetoric might be aimed at swaying voters through fear.

PSP chief Leong Mun Wai later said the party had no intention of downplaying the tariffs. Both Dr Tan and Mr Leong are contesting West Coast-Jurong West GRC under the PSP banner.

SM Teo asked: “Has the PSP any solutions to this? Perhaps because the PSP knows that it has no solutions to offer, it tries to sweep aside these real problems with assertions that it is not a real problem.”

He went on to detail the PAP’s efforts to ensure Singaporeans can have good jobs and salaries, including policies aimed at making sure people have avenues to upskill.

He said: “These are real measures to address the real issues that Singaporean workers face, so that for the long term, our workers can continue to have good jobs and salaries that keep up, not just with inflation, but with the better quality of life that Singaporeans want for themselves and their families.”

SM Teo said the PAP does not take risks with Singapore and Singaporeans, and must prepare for all eventualities.

The PAP Government does not have all the answers or the solutions yet, because it does not know the extent and the nature of the problem yet, he pointed out.

“But we still must prepare,” he said.

To do so, Singapore must strengthen itself as much as possible, not only in its financial reserves but also in its “community reserves of social resilience and unity”, he said.

SM Teo began his speech in Malay, saying that the conflict in Gaza has surfaced many emotions among Singaporeans.

“Rather than letting conflict elsewhere divide our community, Singaporeans, regardless of race and religion, have come together as one to send help to the victims in Gaza,” he said.

The Government’s stand is clear, he said, and it condemns the use of violence against innocent civilians, and has voted in support of a two-state solution.

He urged Singaporeans to give Prime Minister Lawrence Wong a strong mandate so that he has the means to negotiate with the leaders of other countries. This will also give investors confidence to invest in Singapore, and create jobs for Singaporeans, he said.

SM Teo, who announced his retirement after 33 years in politics on Nomination Day on April 23, also touched on why he is not contesting the general election.

While he was on walkabouts in Pasir Ris and Punggol – where he was previously anchor minister – residents had asked him to carry on, he said.

He said he told them he did not want to leave them either, but had to be sure that he could commit himself “fully and energetically for the full five years, not just the 10 days of an election campaign”.

“Otherwise it’s not responsible for me to ask you for your vote.”

He added that he hopes his residents will have peace of mind knowing that they have “good, strong teams to help take care of them for the full five years for the future, and not some group that comes along and campaigns for 10 days and says, ‘I will look after you’”.

SM Teo added that the PSP has said that PM Wong does not need a strong team, as Singapore has overcome crises in the past and will weather this crisis as well. “After all, we also have a very good civil service. This will see us through. Is it so simple? Is this like a driverless car on AI...?”

That is not the way running a country works, SM Teo stressed.

“It requires good leadership, good government and unity of the people... We need a strong government. We need unity.”

 

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GE2025: Good government needed to take Singapore through changed and troubled world, says SM Lee​

PAP Ang Mo Kio GRC candidate SM Lee Hsien Loong speaking at the PAP rally held at Fern Green Primary School on April 27.ST PHOTO: GAVIN FOO
Chin Soo Fang
Apr 28, 2025

SINGAPORE - For Singapore to have a good government in a troubled world, it is important for the country to have a good team of ministers and MPs, said Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

In an election rally speech on April 27, he set out the crucial role that good government plays in Singapore, and the consequences of not having such a team in place.

“The world has changed... It will be harder to make a living, harder to export, harder for our companies to have stable jobs, harder for people to predict what they can do over the next five, 10, 15 years,” he said.

“The problem is not transient. It’s not going to go away, because the world has changed, and we have to be psychologically prepared.”

SM Lee also said voters should not vote against the PAP to give opposition parties “a little bit more votes”, in the hope of getting two or three more opposition MPs into Parliament.

“You will not get it right and we can mess everything up. Just vote according to your heart,” SM Lee said in his 40-minute speech at Fern Green Primary School. “You think PAP is good – vote for it. You think we are bad – vote against us. Don’t play games. It’s very dangerous.”

During the Covid-19 pandemic, lives were saved because Singapore had a strong team in place, he said. Now, Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong is leading Singapore’s response to the American tariff situation. DPM Gan is anchoring the PAP team for Punggol GRC, which will face off against a WP team.

SM Lee pointed out that DPM Gan is in charge of the economy, foreign trade and the Monetary Authority of Singapore. He has also been in talks with the United States Trade Representative, even during the election campaign.

“And he is in charge of our crisis response, to survive whatever tariffs and upheavals and trade wars are to come,” SM Lee said. “You lose him, you can replace him? Somebody cheaper? Are you sure you want to save money like that? It’s very expensive to save money like that,” he added.

“Good government is about good people, good ministers, MPs – a team. And to do that, to have a good team, you must first vote them in, right?” SM Lee said. “We have ministers and MPs and potential office-holders all over Singapore and (in) all the GRCs, including the hotly contested ones.”

He added: “You lose a minister? Well, OK, I make do. I lose two ministers? Harder to make do. I lose three ministers? I’m in some trouble.”

Even opposition MPs know that the PAP has done a good job, he said.

“Because after 60-plus years, they don’t say ‘vote me, change, I will be better’. They say ‘don’t worry, I only got less than one-third of the seats contested, so you are sure to have a strong PAP government after the election’.”

He added: “Everything is correct except the last bit – and that means we have lived up to our responsibilities. We have upheld the trust, we have done the right thing and our conscience is clear by Singaporeans.”

The rally on April 27 was held by the PAP teams for Ang Mo Kio GRC, as well as Jalan Kayu, Kebun Baru and Yio Chu Kang SMCs.

The PAP’s four other Ang Mo Kio GRC team members – new faces Jasmin Lau and Victor Lye, as well as incumbent MPs Darryl David and Nadia Ahmad Samdin – also spoke at the rally.

Other speakers included labour chief Ng Chee Meng, who is the PAP’s candidate for Jalan Kayu SMC, Kebun Baru incumbent MP Henry Kwek, Yio Chu Kang incumbent MP Yip Hon Weng, and Dr Lam Pin Min. Dr Lam, who is helming the PAP’s Sengkang GRC team, started his political career as an MP for Ang Mo Kio GRC.

During his speech, Mr David pushed back against comments that PAP backbenchers are not as effective in Parliament as opposition MPs, as they toe the party line.

The party’s backbenchers are not “yes men and women”, he said. “PAP MPs scrutinise and debate every government policy and Bill. If we feel there is a good reason, we push back, speak up, we challenge.”

Mr Yip also said that over the past five years, he has spoken up more than 500 times and delivered 132 speeches – more than any opposition MP.

“Some may say, ‘Only opposition MPs ask the tough questions. PAP MPs are silent backbenchers’. But let’s be honest – that’s a convenient myth,” he said.

He added: “What they don’t see is that so-called silent backbenchers work even when cameras stop rolling. We speak directly and frankly to ministers. We shape solutions behind the scenes.”

Rounding up his speech, SM Lee urged Singaporeans to focus their attention on the issues that matter in a troubled world.

The PAP has a good team for 60 years now, and is introducing a good mix of experience and fresh young energy this time, bringing a new resolve to take Singapore forward, he said.

Voters need to choose a good government that can take the country through the troubles ahead, SM Lee added.

“One that will bring steady hands and concrete plans to help us all pull through, one that is honest and open with you, that you can trust to fight for you, and fight for your children too,” he added.

“We do not tell lies, and we do not tell lies about not telling lies. We speak the truth to you and to everyone. That is one thing which can keep Singapore special for many years to come.”