Singapore election 2025: WP maintains grip on Sengkang, defeats PAP with 56.31% of votes
This is a more than four percentage-point improvement over the party's vote share in the last election, when the team won with a narrower margin of 52.12 per cent of the votes against the PAP.
The WP team comprises incumbents He Ting Ru, Jamus Lim and Louis Chua, as well as Abdul Muhaimin Abdul Malik, who replaced former MP Raeesah Khan.
They were up against a PAP team comprising former office-holder Lam Pin Min and newcomers Bernadette Giam, Theodora Lai and Elmie Nekmat.
In the 2020 General Election, the WP team of first-time candidates triumphed over a PAP team including two officeholders – Lam and labour chief Ng Chee Meng – in the newly created Group Representation Constituency.
Khan resigned from the party in 2021, after it was discovered that she lied in Parliament regarding allegations that the police mishandled a sexual assault case.
The incident led to a Committee of Privileges investigation, and the committee later found her guilty of abuse of parliamentary privilege.
Khan's lie in Parliament, however, did not feature in the earlier nine-day campaign period. Instead, both the WP and PAP candidates focused on municipal issues and what they can bring to refresh the estates.
For more election coverage, visit our GE2025 microsite
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Times
2 hours ago
- Business Times
PM Wong to deliver National Day Rally speech on Aug 17
[SINGAPORE] Prime Minister Lawrence Wong will deliver his National Day Rally (NDR) speech on Sunday (Aug 17) – his second ever rally speech and the first since the People's Action Party secured a win at the 2025 General Election. The rally will be held at the Institute of Technical Education College Central in Ang Mo Kio, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said on Monday (Aug 11). The rally will be broadcast on local television channels and radio stations, as well as streamed online on the PMO's and PM Wong's YouTube channels. The prime minister will deliver the rally speech in Malay and Mandarin at 6.45 pm. He will then deliver the English speech at 8 pm. The NDR is seen as the most important political speech of the year, when the prime minister addresses the nation and makes key policy announcements. PM Wong is expected to touch on 'new strategies' that Singapore will need to navigate a more fragmented and uncertain world. 'We have to be prepared that the fragmentation will continue, the separation will continue, and it will go beyond just one administration,' he said at an Institute of Policy Studies forum in July. In 2024, PM Wong unveiled a series of policy shifts, including the introduction of 10 additional weeks of mandatory shared parental leave, in his maiden rally as Singapore's fourth prime minister. He also announced measures to support workers, through the SkillsFuture Jobseeker Support scheme, which offers temporary financial assistance of up to S$6,000 for involuntarily unemployed workers.
Online Citizen
2 hours ago
- Online Citizen
Leong Mun Wai says PSP push ‘paid off' as Chee Hong Tat announces review of BTO age limit for singles
On 11 August 2025, Leong Mun Wai, Secretary-General of the Progress Singapore Party (PSP) and former Non-Constituency Member of Parliament, said the party's advocacy has 'paid off' after the government announced a review of Build-to-Order (BTO) eligibility rules for singles. Leong's comments came a day after National Development Minister Chee Hong Tat, in his first in-depth media interview since taking office in May, revealed that the government is studying potential changes to two public housing policies. Chee said the review covers the age at which singles can apply for BTO flats — currently 35 years — and the income ceiling for BTO applicants, presently set at S$14,000 for families. He added that any adjustments would be made 'at an appropriate time' and would depend on whether housing supply could meet potential increases in demand. According to Chee, the Housing and Development Board (HDB) has already recovered from COVID-19 construction delays and surpassed its earlier target of 100,000 new flats from 2021 to 2025, launching 102,300 units in that period. To meet strong demand, the government will launch around 55,000 BTO flats between 2025 and 2027, a 10 per cent increase from the earlier projection of 50,000 units over three years. Chee cautions that lowering singles' age limit could drive surge in housing demand Chee said lowering the singles' age limit or raising the income ceiling would make more people eligible for public housing, inevitably increasing demand. 'It's important for us to create the right conditions to be able to make these policy moves at the appropriate time,' he noted. In his Facebook post, Leong said that he and fellow former NCMP Hazel Poa have repeatedly called in Parliament for singles to be allowed to buy BTO flats from the age of 28, with eligibility for three-room units. These proposals, he said, were central to the PSP's General Election manifesto, aimed at promoting fairness for younger Singaporeans seeking independence. Leong urged the government to implement the change promptly, describing it as 'a significant step forward'. Currently, single citizens aged 35 and older can only apply for 2-room Flexi BTO flats, though they may receive up to S$60,000 in Enhanced CPF Housing Grant. Alternatively, they may buy resale flats from the open market. Leong urges quick release of VERS details Leong also welcomed Chee's announcement that the government will work out details of the Voluntary Early Redevelopment Scheme (VERS) within the current term, saying this has been another long-standing PSP concern. He warned that the absence of a clear plan for lease expiry disadvantages low-income homeowners and pressed for quick release of VERS details to provide certainty and compensation. Chee explained that VERS, unlike the Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS), will be voluntary and offered to precincts when flats reach about 70 years old. Residents will vote on whether to proceed, similar to the Home Improvement Programme (HIP). Compensation terms are likely to be less generous than SERS because the flats will be older. VERS was first announced in 2018 by then-Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, with the aim of redeveloping older HDB towns over 20–30 years. Chee reiterated this week that the scheme would be staged progressively to avoid mass relocation in the 2070s and 2080s when many 99-year leases would otherwise expire. The government aims to identify pilot VERS sites before September 2030, with implementation likely from the first half of the next decade. Chee confirmed there are currently no plans for new SERS projects, with resources focused on VERS. The last SERS project was in Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3, announced in April 2022. Supporting residents outside VERS Chee said residents who choose not to take up VERS will still be able to remain in their flats until leases expire. They will be supported by programmes such as the Silver Upgrading Programme and HIP II, which offers all flats a second upgrade at 60–70 years of age. HIP II will include more extensive works than the original programme, with corrosion-resistant repairs for spalling concrete and microwave scanning to detect hidden damage or water seepage. These technologies have been tested in complex cases and are intended to make flats durable until the end of their leases.
Straits Times
4 hours ago
- Straits Times
S'pore Govt asks inactive political parties including Barisan Sosialis for proof of existence
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Barisan Sosialis, registered in August 1961, was formed by thirteen former PAP assemblymen following their expulsion. SINGAPORE - A total of 14 dormant political parties, including Barisan Sosialis - once Singapore's largest opposition party - have been asked for proof of their existence by the authorities. In a notice published in the Government Gazette on Aug 7, assistant registrar of societies Ravinder Kaur asked for the information, 'having reason to believe that the ceased to exist'. The political parties have three months to furnish proof of their continued existence, failing which the Registrar can then publish another notice in the gazette to declare them as defunct under the Societies Act. Barisan Sosialis, registered in August 1961, was formed by thirteen former PAP assemblymen following their expulsion for abstaining from a Legislative Assembly vote on the confidence of the government. Several of its members, including party leader Lim Chin Siong, were among the more than 100 people arrested in Operation Coldstore - a security swoop against leftists and pro-communists on Feb 2, 1963. At the 1963 general election, the Barisan won 13 of the 46 seats it contested. Following Singapore's separation from Malaysia in 1965, its MPs boycotted Parliament as they deemed the Republic's independence as 'phoney'. The Barisan returned to fight the 1972 general election, but failed to win any seats. It was last represented at an election in 1984, and merged with the Workers' Party in 1988. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Business Keppel to sell M1's telco business to Simba for $1.43b, says deal expected to benefit consumers Business Singtel, StarHub shares fall after announcement of Keppel's M1 sale Opinion Anwar's government: Full house but plenty of empty offices Singapore 79 arrested, over 3kg of heroin seized in 5-day drug blitz Singapore Man's claim amid divorce that his mother is true owner of 3 properties cuts no ice with judge Asia Tourist spots in South Korea face complaints over rude service, price gouging during peak season Singapore Healthy lifestyle changes could save Singapore $650 million in healthcare costs by 2050: Study Among the other parties called upon to provide proof of their existence was the United People's Party (UPP), founded by former PAP leader Ong Eng Guan in July 1961 following his expulsion from the PAP . As with the Barisan, the UPP fielded 46 candidates in the 1963 general election. It won one seat - Hong Lim, where Mr Ong was the incumbent. He left politics in 1965. The only party on the list registered post 2000s was the People's Liberal Democratic Party. The party was registered by former independent candidate Ooi Boon Ewe on May 2, 2006, but the application to set up the party was approved too late for him to run in the election held that year. Dormant political parties here have been revived in the past. At the 2015 general election, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) - which had been inactive for over a decade - formed a joint team with the Singapore People's Party to contest Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC. The PAP won with 73.59 per cent of the vote. The other political parties mentioned in the gazette notice were: Alliance Party Singapura, National Party of Singapore, Partai Rakyat, Singapore State Division, Parti Kesatuan Ra'ayat (United Democratic Party), People's Front, People's Republican Party Persatuan Melayu Singapura, Singapore Chinese Party, Singapore Indian Congress, United National Front and United People's Front. The Straits Times has contacted the Ministry of Home Affairs, which the Registry of Societies comes under, for more information about the Gazette notice, such as the criteria used to judge if a society is defunct.
