GE2025: A losing opposition party member ‘may be lost forever' unlike PAP, says PSP's Leong Mun Wai

Straits Times

01-05-2025

PSP chief Leong Mun Wai speaking at the party's rally at Jurong West Stadium on May 1. ST PHOTO: SHINTARO TAY
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SINGAPORE - A PAP candidate who loses this election can still be appointed as a grassroots advisor or be fielded in the next election, but a losing opposition party member 'may be lost forever', said PSP chief Leong Mun Wai on May 1.
Speaking at a rally on the final night of campaigning, Mr Leong – who is part of the party's slate contesting West Coast-Jurong West GRC – said: 'We have gone through five years of probation and are ready to serve you as elected MPs - to be your voice in Parliament for both national and local issues.'
Mr Leong and PSP's first vice-chair Hazel Poa had entered Parliament after the 2020 General Election as NCMPs, as they were the 'best losers' then. Both the PAP and PSP had faced off in the then West Coast GRC at the 2020 General Election, with the PAP winning 51.68 per cent of the vote.
Mr Leong told residents that voting in an opposition party was 'not an act of ungratefulness'.
'Your vote for the opposition is about renewal,' he said. 'Diversity is the best insurance for long-term survival in this changed world.'
In his speech, he also sought to establish that PSP candidates could focus on both national and municipal issues.
The Government can create five- or ten-year plans for its constituencies, Mr Leong said, but MPs bear the responsibility of highlighting important issues for residents in Parliament.
'A PSP MP will see to that,' he added, pointing out that some municipal issues in the western part of Singapore have not been resolved.
In Jurong Spring, Mr Leong said he was surprised to find that the elevators in older blocks could fit only one wheelchair and two or three more people. 'Elevators are essential facilities for residents, why was this not upgraded earlier?'
Mr Leong was among nine PSP party members who spoke during the May 1 rally at Jurong West Stadium, on the last day of campaigning. Singapore goes to the polls on May 3, and May 2 is Cooling Off Day.
His comments on PSP's ability to tackle municipal issues come after an exchange of views between him and Mr Desmond Lee, the anchor minister for the PAP team contesting West Coast-Jurong West GRC, on the role of an MP.
While on the campaign trail, the PSP team had initially challenged the PAP to a debate on national policies. Mr Lee in turn called on voters to ask contesting parties about their plans for the constituency. The PSP's Mr Leong responded by saying that the main role of an MP is not to manage an estate, but to debate policy in Parliament, a view that Mr Lee disagreed with.
Turning to national issues, the PSP chief said it was reasonable for voters to expect the PAP to make a commitment during this election on how it plans to address high BTO and resale HDB prices, long waiting times for BTO flats, and the lease decay problem.
Dr Tan Cheng Bock (second fro right) and Mr Leong Mun Wai (right) with other party members at Jurong West Stadium on May 1
ST PHOTO: SHINTARO TAY
'Don't you think it's fair that the Government, wanting a strong mandate, should commit itself to what it is going to do to improve public housing?' he asked the crowd. 'The Government may say that it had implemented this or that measure, but have the three problems been resolved?'
He said Singaporeans should assess Mr Lee based on whether he has concrete solutions to the three housing-related problems, and added that the Minister has not announced any so far.
The PSP has already provided solutions to these three problems, he said, pointing to earlier suggestions by the party to exclude land costs from public housing prices, among others.
In her speech, Ms Poa said the PAP had failed to engage her party in a debate on national policies, and criticised them for choosing to focus on local plans instead.
'It means that they would rather you care more about the half-priced grocery shopping in Boon Lay than PSP's proposal for basic necessities to be exempted from GST for all Singaporeans,' she said.
'It means that they would rather you care more about the value meal vending machine in Nanyang than PSP's proposal to lower food prices in all hawker centres for Singaporeans,' she added.
Ms Poa said: 'They talk about the importance of unity in times of uncertainty. But is this unity if we only care about our own gains but not about what happens to other Singaporeans?'
As the final speaker of the rally, which was hosted by former WP candidate Leon Perera, Dr Tan assured the crowd that the PSP's 13 candidates being fielded in six constituencies have different skill sets that would enable them to address the various needs of the electorate.
He made note of candidate for West Coast-Jurong West GRC Sani Ismail's experience as a professional estate manager, saying the town council will be in good hands if the team is given the mandate. Marymount SMC's Jeffrey Khoo studies the climate and can relate to the many young people who are worried about climate change, he added.
On Pioneer SMC candidate Stephanie Tan, Dr Tan said: 'I saw in her the quality of a woman who can really serve people in her age group and older. She is a lawyer by training, and worked in the Defence and Law ministries. That is experience.'
He added: 'So you see, we have a team of people with different backgrounds and experience. That, I tell you, is important. There will be no group think. There will be no more inbreeding.'
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