PAP to set up new branches in at least 6 locations, including Punggol, Tampines and Tengah
At least six new branches are being established in places such as Tengah, Punggol and Tampines, based on social media announcements and online updates seen by The Straits Times.
The expansion of PAP's ground infrastructure comes after adjustments to Singapore's electoral map due to population growth, with four new seats added to bring the total number of elected seats in Parliament from 93 to 97.
The PAP won 87 out of the 97 seats at the general election.
In the new Punggol GRC, Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong started Meet-the-People Sessions (MPS) at Block 402 Northshore Drive. ST understands that a new PAP branch will be set up there.
Over in Pasir Ris-Changi GRC, MP Sharael Taha said a new branch is being set up in the constituency.
He added that he and first-time MP Valerie Lee had already held their first joint MPS for residents in Changi and Pasir Ris East at Block 216 in Pasir Ris.
Newly elected MP David Neo said on May 8 that his team was working to finalise arrangements for a new fifth division in Tampines GRC.
He added that it would take some time to set up the necessary infrastructure and systems. In the meantime, residents can continue to visit any of the four existing MPS locations in Tampines.
In Sembawang GRC, a new division called Naval Base has been carved out of the former Canberra division to support the area's expected growth and development, said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung in a May 10 Facebook post.
First-time MP Ng Shi Xuan will head the new Naval Base branch located at Block 319 Sembawang Close.
Another PAP branch is also being set up in Tengah, which is part of Chua Chu Kang GRC. It will be helmed by new MP Choo Pei Ling, who will begin holding her MPS from May 13 at Block 236B Tengah Garden Walk.
While the increase in seats has led to new branches being set up, some existing branches have been renamed or merged as the areas they previously covered did not always align neatly with the revised electoral map.
In some cases, branches have had to make adjustments as the areas they used to serve have been split across two constituencies.
In Ang Mo Kio GRC, new MP Jasmin Lau said the area under her charge has been renamed from Jalan Kayu to Seletar-Serangoon.
Details of the exact area under her branch will be announced soon, she added.
ST has contacted the PAP for comment about the party's new branches.
Singapore Management University law don Eugene Tan noted that the setting up of new PAP branches typically reflects the need to align the party's ground network with the latest electoral map.
'As electoral boundaries change, new SMCs (single-member constituencies) and wards in GRCs (group representation constituencies) will have to be created to align the PAP branches network with that of the extant electoral boundaries. So these new branches are significant in this alignment process,' he said.
He added that the move is also part of the party's early preparations for the next general election.
Dr Tan Ern Ser, adjunct principal research fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies' Social Lab, noted that the creation of these new branches comes after the PAP had said that it would take in feedback from voters and the GE results, and address them.
Dr Tan said setting up new branches in Punggol and Tampines, for instance, was consistent with the party's aim to strengthen its reach 'in places where they underperform'.
In the newly formed Punggol GRC, the PAP team led by DPM Gan secured 55.17 per cent of the vote, defeating a team of first-time candidates from the WP.
Over in Tampines GRC, which saw a four-cornered fight, the PAP received 52.02 per cent of the vote in one of the most hotly contested GRCs in the election.
Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction
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Dr Mathew Mathews, a principal research fellow at IPS and head of its Social Lab, said PM Wong's emphasis that Singapore must be a 'we first' society instead of "me first" was a much-needed refrain. "What binds all of us will not be where we were born, or our ethnicities, but the common spirit to defy the odds and trust in the people around us who call this home,' he said. Adjunct associate professor in practice Terence Ho from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at NUS noted that Wong's focus on young people – including highlighting issues of vaping and excessive screen time – stood out for him. "This segment may not have received as much attention as other demographic groups previously,' he said. You can read the full ST article, here. The Straits Times interviewed a number of analysts to offer their thoughts on Prime Minister Lawrence Wong's National Day Rally speech on 17 August. Dr Gillian Koh, a senior research fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), described the speech as a rallying call around the Singapore spirit. Associate Professor Eugene Tan, a political analyst at the Singapore Management University, shared similar thoughts, adding that the "speech sought to be reassuring, optimistic, encouraging, and a call to action." Dr Mathew Mathews, a principal research fellow at IPS and head of its Social Lab, said PM Wong's emphasis that Singapore must be a 'we first' society instead of "me first" was a much-needed refrain. "What binds all of us will not be where we were born, or our ethnicities, but the common spirit to defy the odds and trust in the people around us who call this home,' he said. Adjunct associate professor in practice Terence Ho from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at NUS noted that Wong's focus on young people – including highlighting issues of vaping and excessive screen time – stood out for him. 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