GE2025: Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC will see PM Wong's team going head-to-head against familiar challenger SDP
SINGAPORE: The People's Action Party (PAP) team in Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC led by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong is set for a rematch against the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) at the May 3 General Election.
There were no big surprises for the ward on Nomination Day from both sides, given that they had already introduced their slates previously. The same two parties have been facing off with each other in the constituency since its formation in 2015.
Candidates from both parties successfully filed their nomination papers at Jurong-Pioneer Junior College on Wednesday (Apr 23).
The PAP slate remains unchanged from the same team of five they put up in the last election: Mr Wong, who is also secretary-general of the PAP, Senior Minister of State for Defence and Manpower Zaqy Mohamad, Mr Alex Yam and Ms Hany Soh.
Challenging them are SDP's organising secretary Jufri Salim, founder of alternative news site Wake Up Singapore Ariffin Sha, theatre director Alec Tok and Dr Gigene Wong. WHAT THE CANDIDATES SAID
After they were introduced, each team of candidates were given three minutes to address their supporters.
Speaking first, Mr Tok noted that SDP has contested the GRC thrice in a row and 'we are ready'.
'Ready to run a town council with the expertise that we've gained over the years, ready to carry your voices into parliament, and ready to be a leading advocate for a more humane, more compassionate Singapore, that is more fair,' he said.
'We have grown alongside Singaporeans, becoming better, stronger, wiser. Now is the time to vote for the SDP.'
Rounding up his party members' speeches, Mr Jufri began with a Malay pantun (a form of poem) that reminded residents to think wisely before they cast their votes.
'Don't wait for change, be the change. We want to thrive, not just survive,' he said in English.
Mr Wong started off the speeches from PAP, and also began the message of familiarity.
'All these years, you know as well, we have walked this journey with you since the GRC was formed,' he said, asking voters to give his team an opportunity to continue serving.
'We are in a changed world with turbulence all around so there is much at stake in this election. Your votes will determine your future and your children's future, please vote for the PAP,' he said.
Mr Zaqy spoke next, reiterating Mr Wong's message about geopolitical issues affecting Singapore.
'As Singapore faces turbulence, leadership matters. Who we choose to take us through, matters. Give us your mandate, support us so that we can build a brighter future for you and for Singapore,' he said. THE MARSILING-YEW TEE CANDIDATES
Mr Wong and Mr Yam have been with Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC since it was first created in 2015.
Mr Zaqy was a Chua Chu Kang GRC MP from 2011, but started helping out in the Marsiling-Yew Tee constituency as a grassroots adviser after Madam Halimah Yacob left in 2017 to contest the presidential election.
Mr Zaqy was fielded there in the subsequent 2020 General Election, together with Ms Soh, who was making her election debut.
None of the SDP members who contested in Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC in the past two elections are fielded there this year.
Mr Jufri, described by SDP chief Chee Soon Juan as a 'one of the stalwarts' of the party, is making his electoral debut.
Mr Ariffin, too, is contesting in a General Election for the first time, though he was the assistant secretary-general of the Singapore People's Party (SPP) before he reportedly resigned in 2020.
Their remaining two team-mates have had prior experience.
Mr Tok ran under the SDP's banner in Bukit Panjang in the 2011 General Election, but was part of Red Dot United's (RDU) team in Jurong in the 2020 election.
Dr Wong was the Progress Singapore Party's (PSP) candidate in Hong Kah North Single Member Constituency (SMC) in the 2020.
Marsiling-Yew Tee was one of the only five GRCs that did not undergo any boundary change for this election. It has 119,352 voters.
In the last general election in 2020, the PAP team retained the GRC with 63.18 per cent of the votes.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Singapore Law Watch
3 hours ago
- Singapore Law Watch
Second round of Pofma sanctions for owner of The Online Citizen's website, social media accounts
Second round of Pofma sanctions for owner of The Online Citizen's website, social media accounts Source: Straits Times Article Date: 12 Jun 2025 Author: Aqil Hamzah This is the second time that The Online Citizen has been slapped with the declaration, with its first due to expire in July 2025. The people behind The Online Citizen's (TOC) website and Facebook, Instagram and X pages will continue to be barred from deriving any financial benefits from the running of its platforms till 2027. In a statement on June 11, the Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI) said TOC's website and social media pages – which were labelled as Declared Online Locations (DOLs) – had been declared as such in July 2023, and the designation was due to expire on July 21, 2025. DOLs have to comply with actions under the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (Pofma) that would prevent their operator from financially benefiting during the period they are listed as one. However, said MDDI, TOC 'continued to communicate falsehoods through its online platforms over the past two years'. Between July 2023 and June 2025, it received eight correction directions under the fake news law. These included one on Feb 25, after TOC published an article about modification works at the Ridout Road colonial bungalow leased by Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam's wife. In its article, it said the Singapore Land Authority had given Mr Shanmugam assurances of a lease extension beyond its 2027 expiry, and that public funds were used to pay for the earthworks carried out at the bungalow since 2024, among other claims. These are falsehoods, said MDDI. As a result of the eight correction directions, TOC's website and social media pages have again been labelled DOLs, a move necessary 'to ensure Singaporeans continue to be alerted to TOC's record of communicating falsehoods', said the ministry. The new declaration comes into effect immediately after the current direction expires and will remain till July 21, 2027 at 12pm. TOC will be able to continue its operations, but will have to carry a notice on its online platforms to notify its audience that it has been declared a DOL. The notice will also have to state that it had 'communicated multiple falsehoods' and that its viewers should exercise caution when accessing it for information. MDDI added that service providers, including digital advertising agencies, will have to take steps to ensure that their paid content on TOC's platforms is not made available in Singapore. 'Individuals and companies must also not provide financial support to TOC's DOLs to avoid promoting the communication of falsehoods in Singapore on these platforms,' it added. There are three other outlets currently listed as DOLs. They are Transformative Justice Collective's website and social media pages, and Gutzy Asia's website and social media pages, as well as opposition politician Kenneth Jeyaretnam's website and social media pages. A provision under Pofma allows the Government to order an internet intermediary to disable access to a DOL if the owner of the DOL does not comply with the declaration and paid content on the site continues to be displayed to users here. If an internet intermediary fails to comply and is convicted, it can be fined up to $20,000 for each day that the government order is not fully complied with, up to a total of $500,000. The owner or operator of a DOL can however apply to the Minister for Digital Development and Information to suspend, vary or cancel the declaration. If the minister rejects the application, an appeal can be made to the High Court. Aqil Hamzah is a journalist covering breaking news at The Straits Times, with interests in crime and technology. Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction. Print
Straits Times
16 hours ago
- Straits Times
Trump wants to ‘liberate' Los Angeles, residents say ‘No thanks'
A neighbourhood known as Little Tokyo has been hit hardest by the unrest rocking Los Angeles. PHOTO: AFP LOS ANGELES – US President Donald Trump has said he sent in the National Guard and Marines to 'liberate' Los Angeles from the violence of protesters, but some residents of Little Tokyo, a neighbourhood hit hardest by the unrest, are saying: No thanks, Mr President. A dozen people who live, work or frequent the neighbourhood, where Japanese is heard spoken as frequently as English in shops and restaurants, told Reuters Mr Trump's use of the military was inflaming the protests against recent immigration raids in Los Angeles. 'The president sending in the National Guard and Marines has only made things worse. It's made the protesters go crazy,' said Ms Sulieti Havili, who lives nearby and helps run a Pokemon club with over 6,000 members that routinely plays in Little Tokyo. 'They are doing nothing to protect this community.' Ms Havili, 25, who was out picking up rubbish in Little Tokyo with her Pokemon club partner Nolberto Aguilar, 42, said it was clear to her that Mr Trump sending in thousands of military personnel 'brought out the worst in the protesters' and only served to aggravate the situation. Mr Aguilar added that Mr Trump's deployment of troops was thwarting the will of most Los Angeles residents and their local leaders, fanning the flames created by ICE immigration raids that he said targeted law-abiding immigrants. The Trump administration says its immigration raids are rounding up de facto criminals for lacking proper documents to stay in the United States. California Governor Gavin Newsom has said the use of military personnel to combat the protests has 'inflamed a combustible situation' and warned that 'democracy is under assault'. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has said Mr Trump's use of troops was a deliberate effort to create 'chaos'. The Trump administration strongly rejects the accusations and says their actions are needed in the face of local and state leaders' inability to get the situation under control. 'Instigating' action Little Tokyo, a charming neighbourhood with shops selling Japanese goods and restaurants serving up some of the city's finest sushi, abuts the federal buildings where protesters have gathered for five nights in a row. For the past two nights, when police and National Guard troops have forcibly dispersed protesters in the early evening, demonstrators scatter into smaller groups into Little Tokyo, which has been covered with anti-ICE and anti-Trump graffiti. Running skirmishes well into the night in the neighbourhood has seen police use booming flash bangs and firing other 'less lethal' munitions at protesters. Artists and social activists clean graffiti after days of protests in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles. PHOTO: REUTERS Several of those interviewed in Little Tokyo asked that they not be named, saying they feared reprisals from the federal government. Many were immigrants themselves or have family members who were not born in the US, and feared making themselves or their loved ones targets of ICE. One of those was Anthony, who works at a tea shop in the neighbourhood. 'There is no question that the president sending in thousands of National Guard and 700 Marines has done nothing but make the protesters more aggressive,' he said. 'It's instigating the protesters and making things worse.' Ms Samantha Lopez, a descendant of Filipino immigrants who works at a Korean ice cream parlour in Little Tokyo, said she felt empathy for the demonstrators but rejected any acts of vandalism or violence they carry out. Still, she blamed the use of military personnel for creating the unrest. 'It's just poor handling of protests that stay peaceful until they're confronted by officers,' Ms Lopez said. 'It's bad for business, and it's bad for this neighbourhood.' REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
a day ago
- Straits Times
Second round of Pofma sanctions for owner of The Online Citizen's website, social media accounts
This is the second time that The Online Citizen has been slapped with the declaration, with its first due to expire in July 2025. PHOTO: THE ONLINE CITIZEN/FACEBOOK Second round of Pofma sanctions for owner of The Online Citizen's website, social media accounts SINGAPORE – The people running The Online Citizen's (TOC) website, Facebook, Instagram, and X pages will continue to be barred from deriving any financial benefits from the running of its platforms till 2027. In a statement on June 11 , the Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI) said TOC's website and social media pages – which were labelled as Declared Online Locations (DOLs) – had first been declared as such in July 2023, and were due to expire on July 21, 2025. DOLs have to comply with actions under the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (Pofma) that would prevent their operator from financially benefiting during the period they are listed as one. However, said MDDI, TOC 'continued to communicate falsehoods through its online platforms over the past two years'. Between July 2023 and June 2025 , it received eigh t correction directions under the fake news law . These included one in Feb 25, after TOC published an article about modification works at the Ridout Road colonial bungalow leased by Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam's wife. In its article, it said the Singapore Land Authorit y had given Mr Shanmugam assurances of a lease extension beyond its 2027 expiry, and that public funds were used to pay for the earthworks carried out at the bungalow since 2024, among other claims. These are falsehoods, said MDDI. As a result, TOC's website and social media pages have again been labelled DOLs, a move necessary 'to ensure Singaporeans continue to be alerted to TOC's record of communicating falsehoods', said the ministry. The new declaration comes into effect immediately after the current direction expires and will remain till July 21, 2027 at 12p m. TOC will be able to continue its operations, but will have to carry a notice on its online platforms to notify its audience that it has been declared a DOL. The notice will also have to state that it had 'communicated multiple falsehoods' and that its viewers should exercise caution when accessing it for information. MDDI added that service providers, including digital advertising agencies, will have to take steps to ensure that their paid content on TOC's platforms are not made available in Singapore. 'Individuals and companies must also not provide financial support to TOC's DOLs to avoid promoting the communication of falsehoods in Singapore on these platforms,' it added. At present, there are three other outlets currently listed as DOLs. They are Transformative Justice Collective's website and social media pages, Gutzy Asia's website and social media pages, as well as opposition politician Kenneth Jeyaretnam's website and social media pages. A provision under Pofma allows the Government to order an internet intermediary to disable access to a DOL if the owner of the DOL does not comply with the declaration and paid content on the site continues to be displayed to users here. If an internet intermediary fails to comply and is convicted, it can be fined up to $20,000 for each day that the government order is not fully complied with, up to a total o f $500,000 . The owner or operator of a DOL can however apply to the Minister for Digital Development and Information to suspend, vary, or cancel the declaration. If the minister refuses the application, an appeal can be made to the High Court. Aqil Hamzah is a journalist covering breaking news at The Straits Times, with interests in crime and technology. Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
