GE2025: WP approach to town councils a success, can be applied to Tampines GRC, says Pritam Singh

Straits Times

26-04-2025

WP secretary-general Pritam Singh also pointed out how Sengkang Town Council has been very aggressive in submitting proposals for an average of 100 improvement projects each year. ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG
GE2025: WP approach to town councils a success, can be applied to Tampines GRC, says Pritam Singh
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SINGAPORE – Rather than making 'empty promises' in Tampines GRC, the WP, as non-incumbents, will put out detailed constituency plans only after it has 'dug deep' and listened to residents.
This is because it is not yet in charge of the town councils and grassroots organisations, said WP secretary-general Pritam Singh on April 26.
The same approach it took in WP-held Aljunied and Sengkang GRCs has led to both town councils receiving top ratings in the town council management report by the Ministry of National Development in 2024, Aljunied GRC incumbent MP Gerald Giam also pointed out.
Mr Singh was responding to comments that his party was focused only on parliamentary issues, and had not yet released its own five-year-plan for Tampines, unlike the PAP, which has unveiled its Tampines manifesto.
He said: 'You can't take away the work that has been done by the people who've come before you. (In) the same way we can't take away the work that has been done by the PAP in Aljunied before 2011.
'I would rather teams, instead of making empty promises as non-incumbents, dig their roots into the constituency and understand the constituency better before making promises they can't keep.'
In the doorstop interview at Kovan Market and Food Centre, Mr Singh also pointed out how the Sengkang Town Council has been very aggressive in submitting proposals for an average of 100 improvement projects each year, managing to secure funding for a significant proportion of them.
Mr Giam said that the Aljunied-Hougang Town Council (AHTC) has accumulated $2 million in surplus over the past five years, which it will use for projects in Aljunied, such as the upgrading of 659 lifts.
WP chairwoman Sylvia Lim at the Kovan Market & Food Centre.
ST PHOTO: HESTER TAN
The WP AHTC five-year plan, released on April 25, also includes the building of 17 more sheltered linkways and 24 more drop-off points for the town, as well as new playgrounds, fitness corners, community gardens and bicycle racks.
Mr Singh, along with WP chairwoman Sylvia Lim, Mr Giam and new candidates Kenneth Tiong and Fadli Fawzi, were greeted by enthusiastic residents who clapped and crowded around them for photos during the walkabout. They are seeking to continue their winning streak in Aljunied GRC – the first to be won by an opposition party.
The WP is also fielding a team in Tampines, led by WP vice-chairman Faisal Manap, against the incumbent PAP team helmed by Social and Family Development Minister Masagos Zulkifli.
Mr Singh was also asked about WP Tampines candidate Alia Mattar's rally speech, in which she said Singaporeans wanted to meet their MPs to discuss not just bread-and-butter issues, but also 'the effects of certain laws or the Government's positions on certain issues'.
She had also brought up the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Mr Singh said: 'Many Singaporeans, regardless of race and religion, are very sensitive to that issue, and our approach is more of a humanitarian concern.'
As for criticisms faced by candidates like Ms Alia, he said: 'In so far as picking on certain of our candidates, this is par for the political battle.'
On the fourth day of hustings, Mr Singh reiterated that there were no safe opposition constituencies. For him, no vote is taken for granted. 'There are no done deals. Wherever we go, we promise to serve them from our heart and to represent them faithfully in Parliament.'
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