GE2025: What is the Fullerton rally?
[SINGAPORE] A lunchtime election rally will be held on Apr 28 for the 2025 General Election, the first to take place at UOB Plaza's promenade in 10 years.
The rally, which in the past has attracted thousands of white-collared workers, is known as the Fullerton rally because of its venue close to Fullerton Square, where Singapore's founding prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew, gave many election campaign speeches from the 1950s to the 1980s.
This year's lunchtime rally, from noon to 3 pm, will see Prime Minister Lawrence Wong taking this stage to address the crowd for the first time in his new role, along with other PAP candidates.
When and where did the first lunchtime rally happen?
Lee held the first rally in 1959 at Fullerton Square, near the old General Post Office, when the Republic became a self-governing state. He used the platform to reach out to the English-educated office crowd and thus bypass the media, which he thought portrayed the PAP then as 'extremists'.
The PAP's lunchtime rally at Fullerton Square in 1959. PHOTO: ST FILE
From the 1950s to the 1980s, the rally was a fixture that attracted a large lunchtime crowd, with people huddled together, shoulder to shoulder, to hear Lee speak.
The Straits Times' archives show that rallies such as this drew large crowds in the past, as the only way for voters to hear and see the candidates in person.
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In 1980, despite a drizzle, a crowd gathered to hear Lee speak on the hot topic of succession. On that occasion, he endorsed the second-generation leaders and urged citizens to help him test them.
Lee Kuan Yew speaking at the PAP's rally at Fullerton Square on Dec 19, 1980. PHOTO: ST FILE
Since 1996, the Fullerton rally has been held at the UOB Plaza promenade in Boat Quay, a short walk from its original location.
Has the lunchtime rally been missed or postponed before?
In 1984, Fullerton Square was nearly abandoned as a rally site as many more buildings had sprung up around it, reducing the standing space. But attempts to find an alternative site were unsuccessful.
It was retained as a rally site just days before the election in December 1984.
Lee Hsien Loong speaking at the PAP's rally at Fullerton Square during his first election in 1984. PHOTO: LEE HSIEN LOONG/FACEBOOK
The first time the rally was skipped was in 1991, when Fullerton Square was not on the list of approved rally sites by the police.
The area had been landscaped, with a small park and circular road replacing the old carpark rally site.
The rally was also halted in October 2001, due to security concerns following the Sep 11 terrorist attacks in the United States that year.
Most recently, the Covid-19 pandemic put paid to in-person rallies, with then Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong holding a virtual lunchtime rally instead in 2020.
When was the last lunchtime rally held?
The last Fullerton rally was held in 2015, five years before the pandemic curtailed all in-person campaign events.
It turned out to be the last as prime minister for Lee, who is now Senior Minister, after having served as PM from 2004 to 2024.
Then Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong greeting supporters at the PAP's lunchtime rally in Boat Quay on Sep 8, 2015. PHOTO: BERITA HARIAN FILE
Does the rally happen only during a general election? Who is allowed to speak at the rally?
Yes, it is only held every four or five years, during campaigning for the election.
The site has seen some of the biggest election rallies over the decades, held by both the PAP and opposition parties on different days.
This includes the 1997 General Election, when the focus was on Cheng San GRC, which was contested by the PAP and WP.
The WP slate included new candidate Tang Liang Hong, a man the PAP labelled a 'dangerous Chinese chauvinist'. In an unexpected turn of events, then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong said at the Fullerton rally that he was so determined to stop Tang from stepping into Parliament that he was personally entering the battle for Cheng San GRC. THE STRAITS TIMES
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