Singapore election 2025 Day 6: PAP, SDP, WP to hold rallies, including lunchtime rally at UOB Plaza

Business Times

28-04-2025

SINGAPORE – It's the sixth day of GE2025 campaigning on Monday (Apr 28), with the People's Action Party (PAP) having held the election's first lunchtime rally at the promenade near UOB Plaza.
Traditionally known as the Fullerton rally, it drew a crowd of office workers to hear Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, alongside Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Indranee Rajah and seven PAP newcomers:
Bernadette Giam
David Hoe
David Neo
Goh Hanyan
Hazlina Abdul Halim
Jagathishwaran Rajo
Syed Harun Alhabsyi, former Nominated Member of Parliament
In case you missed it, here's our livestream of the rally to rewatch at your leisure.
At the rally, PM Wong said that the vote for the opposition is not a 'free vote for more alternative voices', but a vote to weaken the PAP team.
Opposition wins could cause the loss of three or four ministers, which would weaken not just the government but the country, at an already challenging time, he said.
The current economic turbulence 'is not a passing storm', he warned. 'This storm will test us, and if we are not careful, we could lose everything that we have worked so hard to build here in Singapore.'
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If the PAP earns a weak mandate in GE2025, bigger countries might be temped to push Singapore around, he added.
Apart from economic pressures, here's what he said on other issues:
On goods and services tax (GST) hikes: 'The opposition wants foreigners, tourists and higher-income families to pay a lower rate of GST. Would you? I wouldn't. I think it's fair and right of them to pay the full rate. But for lower and middle income Singaporeans – we protect you, we shield you, we give you permanent GST vouchers in cash, which means you pay an effectively lower GST rate.'
On the opposition's idea of a minimum wage: ' It sounds good on paper. But if we implement this by law, companies will have to pay more for their workers. Your costs will go up. Companies can only recover it by raising prices on the goods and services they sell to Singaporeans. So how does this solve cost of living pressures?' Instead, there are existing policies such as the Workfare Income Supplement and Progressive Wage Model, he said.
On opposition manifestos: 'Their manifestos have many details, (and are) a long wish list, but are they feasible, viable and sustainable? Will there be negative outcomes? Please think about it,' he said. 'If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is too good to be true. There is no such thing as a free lunch.'
The PAP will also hold three rallies tonight, while the Singapore Democratic Party and Workers' Party will hold one each. See the lists below for their locations and timings, along livestream links if you'd rather watch online.
Today's election rally sites:
Today's rally livestreams:
People's Action Party (Jalan Besar GRC) * lunchtime Fullerton rally
People's Action Party (Jurong Central SMC)
People's Action Party (Pasir Ris-Changi GRC)
People's Action Party (Sembawang GRC)
Singapore Democratic Party (Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC)
Workers' Party (Punggol GRC)
For more election coverage, visit our GE2025 microsite