GE2025: WP defends strategy; PAP team for Marine Parade-Braddell Heights revels in walkover
The Workers' Party (WP) chief has rebutted criticism from fellow opposition parties for his decision not to contest Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC. WP was expected to field a team, but eventually did not file their papers for the GRC on Nomination Day. Meanwhile, MP-elect Seah Kian Peng says his Marine Parade-Braddell Heights team has hit the ground running to engage residents, some of whom are already mulling travel plans for Polling Day long weekend now that they no longer have to vote. Clare Lee and Alif Amysar report. The Workers' Party (WP) chief has rebutted criticism from fellow opposition parties for his decision not to contest Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC. WP was expected to field a team, but eventually did not file their papers for the GRC on Nomination Day. Meanwhile, MP-elect Seah Kian Peng says his Marine Parade-Braddell Heights team has hit the ground running to engage residents, some of whom are already mulling travel plans for Polling Day long weekend now that they no longer have to vote. Clare Lee and Alif Amysar report.
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CNA
3 days ago
- CNA
Industry group calls for retail lease reforms amid soaring rents, including limits for foreign tenants
SINGAPORE: Optical retail chain managing director Bernard Yang has been hit by a double whammy in recent years – sluggish sales and rising operational costs, including rents. These pressures led Nanyang Optical to make some tough choices at its Marine Parade outlet, like cutting the hours of its part-time staff and downsizing its unit by almost half. 'In our years of running retail in Singapore … (rent has) been going up all the time. It's a question of how much,' Mr Yang told CNA. "If we were to keep the same unit, I think it's going to be very tough moving into the future, because I do see consumers' spending habits changing quite a lot. People are very comfortable buying online, going overseas,' he added. Because of this, the company is focusing on growing its e-commerce platform and could adopt a 'hybrid retail' model in the future. Soaring rental costs – a long-standing pain point for businesses – prompted the Singapore Tenants United for Fairness (SGTUFF), a cooperative representing more than 700 business owners, to release a new white paper in recent weeks. The group noted that rental costs can take up 30 to 50 per cent of revenue for food and beverage as well as retail businesses. 'Without legislative intervention in this area, many of the remaining small local players will not be able to survive,' it said in the white paper. 'Singapore as a whole will also be poorer off when what remains of our local shopping and dining vibrancy and sense of community gets further wiped out.' While retail rents across Singapore stayed stable in the first quarter of the year, falling 0.5 per cent according to the Urban Redevelopment Authority, an average of 450 retail stores shuttered monthly within that period. Last year, more than 3,000 food and beverage (F&B) establishments closed in the country – the highest in almost two decades since 2005. Owners told CNA then that rising operating costs, including rent, took a toll on their business. RENTAL CAP AMONG SUGGESTIONS SGTUFF is calling for retail lease reforms that include a cap on rental lease renewals, more prime spaces for local players, and penalties for landlords if they keep the shops empty for more than three months. It also recommended policies to address what it calls 'new and foreign players' with deep pockets and low-cost supply chains, who are willing to pay premium rents. Among its policy suggestions are an additional property tax for non-local retail tenants, reduced foreign worker quota, and higher levies for foreign workers. It has also called on the government to find ways to release more retail space not just to private landlords, but social enterprise cooperatives or private entities that are not purely for profit. SGTUFF chairperson Terence Yow said the group's idea of a cap on lease renewals came from other developed markets around the world such as Japan and Sweden, where rent renewals for commercial spaces are pegged to a formula or measure like the consumer price index. 'We think that such indexing of rent renewal increases is very fair … and is a fair reflection of market conditions, rather than very arbitrary or mercenary … price increases, which are too much of a shock for businesses today,' he told CNA on Monday (Jun 2). IN TALKS WITH AUTHORITIES Mr Yow also said that while retail leases currently must comply with a code of conduct for fair negotiations between tenants and landlords, this is not enough. 'We think (it's) ultimately about a very short supply of prime retail spaces versus still existing and new demand,' he noted. 'Whether they are new local players or big foreign players, (they are) continuing to express interest, and are willing to pay and bid for very high rentals and pay well-above pocket prices for local labour.' He said the surge in rental costs is an 'urgent issue' that the group has raised for some time now. But a 'confluence of forces' like labour shortages and lower consumer spending has intensified the situation, prompting renewed calls for action. It is in talks with Enterprise Singapore and hopes to reach some agreements in the coming months. 'We recognise that it is a symbiotic relationship. Tenants need landlords to do well and landlords need tenants to do well,' Mr Yow added. 'So we hope over the next few months, we can quickly come to some agreement on what are the right, urgent, short- and long-term measures, and start to implement some of them.' 'YOU WILL SEE THE BOTTOM FALLING OUT' Analysts said that the problem is unlikely to resolve soon, particularly as more international firms continue entering the Singapore market. 'If it's a safe haven with the geopolitical uncertainties, people will try to look to Singapore to invest, and they do not know the environment - and they are doing it not necessarily for capitalistic reasons alone, and because there's this safe haven element in it,' said Savills Singapore's executive director for research and consultancy Alan Cheong. '(Being in a) safe haven doesn't necessarily mean that you need to eke out a positive economic value-add to themselves and to the economy. 'Consequently, the ecosystem by the local established chains, F&B, retail industries also get affected by this weight of money coming in.' This would lead to foreign brands dominating prime locations in malls, Mr Cheong warned. He suggested that beyond slowing or freezing rent hikes, landlords can help stabilise the market by showing social responsibility rather than chase higher-paying tenants. CNA contacted all major landlords, most of whom declined to comment. Lendlease – the developer behind several malls like 313@somerset and Jem – said it takes a tailored approach to support tenants through different stages and formats, such as pop-up stores. Mr Yow warned that if things do not change on the rental front, 'copycat malls' will start popping up and people will not be incentivised to try their hand at running small businesses. 'I think you will see the bottom falling out. I think you will continue to see … an acceleration of local small players – many of whom have been in business for 5,10, 20, 30, years – continue to drop out from the market because it's just not sustainable,' he said. 'They cannot just keep increasing their prices. It doesn't work that way.'
Online Citizen
4 days ago
- Online Citizen
PAP's Goh Pei Ming tops spending so far as 35 candidates declare S$884,978 from 3 May General Election
SINGAPORE: A total of 35 candidates who contested the General Election on 3 May have declared their election expenses, with combined spending reaching S$884,978. These figures were made publicly available on the Elections Department's (ELD) website on 28 May. Under Singapore's election laws, candidates must declare their expenses and the nature of spending. This process aims to ensure transparency and accountability in campaign financing. Candidates have until 16 June to file their election returns. PAP's Marine Parade–Braddell Heights team spent S$388,756 in sole walkover victory Among those who have submitted so far, People's Action Party (PAP) candidate Goh Pei Ming topped the list with S$104,085 in declared spending. More than half of his expenditure went towards non-online election advertising, including printed materials and physical displays. Goh, a former chief of staff in the Singapore Armed Forces, was part of the PAP team in Marine Parade–Braddell Heights GRC. His team was the only one to win in a walkover on Nomination Day. Their collective campaign expenditure stood at S$388,756 — the highest recorded among the teams that have declared their finances so far. In total, the 35 candidates represented a range of parties, including the PAP, Progress Singapore Party (PSP), National Solidarity Party (NSP), People's Alliance for Reform (PAR), Red Dot United (RDU), and Singapore People's Party (SPP). One candidate each from the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), People's Power Party (PPP), and Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA) also submitted their expenses. Additionally, independent candidates Darryl Lo and Jeremy Tan have declared their financial statements. No candidates from the Workers' Party (WP) have submitted returns to date. This leaves 176 candidates either yet to file or whose submissions are pending announcement in the Government Gazette. According to the data released, the average expenditure per candidate came to S$25,285. However, spending varied significantly. While some candidates incurred no expenses, others spent over S$100,000. The PAP led the average spending per candidate at S$77,751. This was followed by the PSP with an average of S$32,303 and the NSP at S$24,378. At the lower end, RDU averaged S$1,297 per candidate, while PAR had the lowest average at S$898. Seven candidates report zero spending Seven candidates declared zero expenditure. These included Sharad Kumar, David Foo and Pang Heng Chuan from RDU; Alec Tok from SDP; Harminder Pal Singh from SDA; and Lim Rui Xian and Muhammad Norhakim from SPP. PPP's Samuel Lee reported S$100 in 'other expenses'. He announced via TikTok on 27 May that he had resigned from the party, effective 23 May, to pursue other opportunities. Among independent candidates, Jeremy Tan, who contested Mountbatten, spent S$16,075. His largest cost was for his solo rally at the Home of Athletics on 1 May. Darryl Lo, contesting Radin Mas, spent S$12,213, with most of it going towards printed materials and other non-digital promotional tools. The only other full team to have submitted expenses was NSP's Sembawang GRC team, which reported a total of S$121,888 in spending. In addition to spending, candidates are required to declare any donations received. Among the 35, only RDU's Ben Puah, who contested Jurong East–Bukit Batok GRC, declared donations. He received S$280 from anonymous donors, via six PayNow transactions ranging from S$10 to S$100. Puah spent S$109 in total on his campaign. RDU's Kala Manickam submitted disputed claims Another RDU candidate, Kala Manickam, submitted disputed claims amounting to S$1,365. These included S$404 in food expenses for campaigners, S$66 for transport, and S$895 for printing extra campaign fliers. According to the ELD, such claims are filed when election agents dispute or fail to settle expense claims within the 28-day window. Kala, who contested in Jurong Central SMC during 3 May poll, told The Straits Times that her claims were not reimbursed by the party. She explained that she was advised to submit them as disputed. 'The party told me to raise petty cash to claim back my money, but when I submitted it after the election, they said the spending was not endorsed by the party,' she said. She added that the party also cited her lack of fundraising as a reason for the rejection of her reimbursement request. Kala said she would personally absorb the cost, stating her campaign was driven by a desire to serve Singapore. The ELD allows members of the public to view candidates' declared expenses by logging into its digital service with their Singpass credentials. Further updates are expected as the 16 June deadline approaches.
Independent Singapore
31-05-2025
- Independent Singapore
PAP's Goh Pei Ming is one of the highest election spenders with over S$100K spent, despite getting into Parliament by walkover
SINGAPORE: People's Action Party (PAP) candidate Goh Pei Ming has emerged as the top spender in the first tranche of declared expenses from the 2025 General Election, chalking up S$104,085 on his campaign alone. His spending, more than four times the average of S$25,285 among the 35 candidates who have submitted returns so far, places him well above the rest in a disclosure exercise meant to ensure transparency in political financing. According to figures published by the Elections Department (ELD) on May 28, more than half of Mr Goh's declared expenditure went to non-online election advertising, such as physical banners, posters, pamphlets, and other ground campaign materials. Mr Goh, a former Chief of Staff in the Singapore Armed Forces, contested under the PAP banner in the Marine Parade–Braddell Heights GRC. His team was the only one to win by walkover on Nomination Day, meaning they were elected uncontested. Despite not having to campaign against opposing parties in the polls, the team collectively spent S$388,756 on election-related activities, among the highest totals submitted so far in this year's election cycle. All candidates are required under Singapore law to submit a declaration of their election spending and donations by June 16, as part of efforts to ensure transparency and accountability in political financing. While campaign advertising remained the largest category of expenditure across all submissions, the amount spent by Mr Goh and his team stands out, particularly given the uncontested nature of their win. The remaining 176 candidates who participated in GE2025 have either not yet submitted their returns or are awaiting publication in the Government Gazette. The ELD has made the available declarations accessible via its online portal for public inspection using Singpass credentials.
