Latest news with #DarrylLo
Online Citizen
4 days ago
- Business
- Online Citizen
PAP's Goh Pei Ming tops spending so far as 35 candidates declare S$884,978 from 3 May General Election
SINGAPORE: A total of 35 candidates who contested the General Election on 3 May have declared their election expenses, with combined spending reaching S$884,978. These figures were made publicly available on the Elections Department's (ELD) website on 28 May. Under Singapore's election laws, candidates must declare their expenses and the nature of spending. This process aims to ensure transparency and accountability in campaign financing. Candidates have until 16 June to file their election returns. PAP's Marine Parade–Braddell Heights team spent S$388,756 in sole walkover victory Among those who have submitted so far, People's Action Party (PAP) candidate Goh Pei Ming topped the list with S$104,085 in declared spending. More than half of his expenditure went towards non-online election advertising, including printed materials and physical displays. Goh, a former chief of staff in the Singapore Armed Forces, was part of the PAP team in Marine Parade–Braddell Heights GRC. His team was the only one to win in a walkover on Nomination Day. Their collective campaign expenditure stood at S$388,756 — the highest recorded among the teams that have declared their finances so far. In total, the 35 candidates represented a range of parties, including the PAP, Progress Singapore Party (PSP), National Solidarity Party (NSP), People's Alliance for Reform (PAR), Red Dot United (RDU), and Singapore People's Party (SPP). One candidate each from the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), People's Power Party (PPP), and Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA) also submitted their expenses. Additionally, independent candidates Darryl Lo and Jeremy Tan have declared their financial statements. No candidates from the Workers' Party (WP) have submitted returns to date. This leaves 176 candidates either yet to file or whose submissions are pending announcement in the Government Gazette. According to the data released, the average expenditure per candidate came to S$25,285. However, spending varied significantly. While some candidates incurred no expenses, others spent over S$100,000. The PAP led the average spending per candidate at S$77,751. This was followed by the PSP with an average of S$32,303 and the NSP at S$24,378. At the lower end, RDU averaged S$1,297 per candidate, while PAR had the lowest average at S$898. Seven candidates report zero spending Seven candidates declared zero expenditure. These included Sharad Kumar, David Foo and Pang Heng Chuan from RDU; Alec Tok from SDP; Harminder Pal Singh from SDA; and Lim Rui Xian and Muhammad Norhakim from SPP. PPP's Samuel Lee reported S$100 in 'other expenses'. He announced via TikTok on 27 May that he had resigned from the party, effective 23 May, to pursue other opportunities. Among independent candidates, Jeremy Tan, who contested Mountbatten, spent S$16,075. His largest cost was for his solo rally at the Home of Athletics on 1 May. Darryl Lo, contesting Radin Mas, spent S$12,213, with most of it going towards printed materials and other non-digital promotional tools. The only other full team to have submitted expenses was NSP's Sembawang GRC team, which reported a total of S$121,888 in spending. In addition to spending, candidates are required to declare any donations received. Among the 35, only RDU's Ben Puah, who contested Jurong East–Bukit Batok GRC, declared donations. He received S$280 from anonymous donors, via six PayNow transactions ranging from S$10 to S$100. Puah spent S$109 in total on his campaign. RDU's Kala Manickam submitted disputed claims Another RDU candidate, Kala Manickam, submitted disputed claims amounting to S$1,365. These included S$404 in food expenses for campaigners, S$66 for transport, and S$895 for printing extra campaign fliers. According to the ELD, such claims are filed when election agents dispute or fail to settle expense claims within the 28-day window. Kala, who contested in Jurong Central SMC during 3 May poll, told The Straits Times that her claims were not reimbursed by the party. She explained that she was advised to submit them as disputed. 'The party told me to raise petty cash to claim back my money, but when I submitted it after the election, they said the spending was not endorsed by the party,' she said. She added that the party also cited her lack of fundraising as a reason for the rejection of her reimbursement request. Kala said she would personally absorb the cost, stating her campaign was driven by a desire to serve Singapore. The ELD allows members of the public to view candidates' declared expenses by logging into its digital service with their Singpass credentials. Further updates are expected as the 16 June deadline approaches.
CNA
15-05-2025
- Politics
- CNA
GE2025: Are independent candidates a new force to be reckoned with?
For the first time in 53 years, an independent candidate received more than 35 per cent of vote share, performing better than some smaller opposition parties. Jeremy Tan, who ran in Mountbatten SMC, and Darryl Lo who contested in Radin Mas SMC, join Steven Chia and Otelli Edwards to talk about lessons learnt from their campaigning and their future after GE2025. Here is an excerpt of the conversation: Steven Chia, host: Are there other parties wooing you guys? Have you been talking to them? Darryl Lo, independent candidate for Radin Mas SMC: Just smaller parties for now. Because I think insofar as my campaign (went), it probably didn't hit the mark whereby bigger parties are interested in my candidacy. Jeremy Tan, independent candidate for Mountbatten SMC: For myself, just having conversations with just generally everybody. I don't think, other than the PAP, everybody is very satisfied with their performance in general. I think they are mostly quite disappointed in their performance. If it was an ideal situation, we wanted to see the Workers' Party increase its vote share. We wanted to see PSP, SDP, maybe get a seat or two, then some NCMP (seats) for people like us. But that totally did not happen. We kind of went back to status quo. Steven: How do you read that? The results, we got to admit, were surprising for many, but it basically is a clear sign that the population is choosing to go in this direction. How do you feel about that? Jeremy: I read that in terms of how in places where the Workers' Party contested, the absolute votes increased and was higher than the PAP, but yet the PAP still has more seats, and the Workers' Party didn't gain any additional (seats). So going forward, I will do some political advocacy on the boundaries, because we want to be able to speak directly to our residents, walk the grounds, but we don't know which wilderness we are walking to, honestly. Otelli Edwards, host: So you're worried about 2030. Is it going to your decision whether you're going to stand in the next election? It hinges on the electoral boundaries? Jeremy: Yes, because I'm a resident of Marine Parade (Braddell Heights GRC) and that is where I experienced a walkover. So now I must consider honestly how to tackle Marine Parade and also Mountbatten at the same time, because I don't know if Mountbatten would be part of Marine Parade. Anything could happen. MacPherson has been in and out of Marine Parade multiple times. Steven: And you have a similar view on that right, Darryl? Darryl: Yeah. Because I've been living in Radin Mas for most of my life. And I think in this (election) for instance, part of West Coast was also included in Radin Mas, so we wouldn't know how the boundaries are going to shift in 2030. I think a lot of people are asking, 'Oh, why don't you walk the ground earlier? Why don't you do walkabouts earlier?' But you won't know which ground you're walking.
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CNA
15-05-2025
- Politics
- CNA
Deep Dive - GE2025: Are independent candidates a new force to be reckoned with?
Deep Dive Play For the first time in 53 years, an independent candidate received more than 35 per cent of vote share, performing better than some smaller opposition parties. Jeremy Tan, who ran in Mountbatten SMC, and Darryl Lo who contested in Radin Mas SMC, join Steven Chia and Otelli Edwards to talk about lessons learnt from their campaigning and their future after GE2025. Deep Dive - GE2025: Are independent candidates a new force to be reckoned with? For the first time in 53 years, an independent candidate received more than 35 per cent of vote share, performing better than some smaller opposition parties. Jeremy Tan, who ran in Mountbatten SMC, and Darryl Lo who contested in Radin Mas SMC, join Steven Chia and Otelli Edwards to talk about lessons learnt from their campaigning and their future after GE2025. 21 mins Deep Dive - GE2025 results: A closer look at the strong PAP mandate and the opposition strategy Voters gave the People's Action Party and Prime Minister Lawrence Wong a clear mandate in GE2025. What accounted for the result and why couldn't the opposition parties make good on gains from the last election? Steven Chia and Otelli Edwards speak to Associate Professor Eugene Tan from the Singapore Management University and Dr Reuben Ng from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. 23 mins Deep Dive - WP's Jasper Kuan on the 3-hour chat with former chief Low Thia Khiang that convinced him to run for GE2025 East Coast GRC candidate for the Workers' Party Jasper Kuan admits this may not be the right 'season' for him to jump into politics because of his three young children. But he tells Steven Chia how a three-hour conversation with Low Thia Khiang changed his mind and why as a former Gifted Education Programme teacher, he believes the education system needs structural changes. 20 mins
AsiaOne
03-05-2025
- Politics
- AsiaOne
GE2025 first results in: PAP's Melvin Yong wins Radin Mas SMC
Results for Radin Mas SMC in GE2025 Melvin Yong (PAP) 69.17% Kumar Appavoo (PAR) 7.36% Darryl Lo 23.47% The People's Action Party (PAP) has won Radin Mas SMC against the People's Alliance for Reform (PAR) and independent candidate Darryl Lo. PAP's Melvin Yong received 15,801 votes while PAR's Kumar Appavoo received 1,682 votes and independent candidate Darryl Lo received 5,362 votes. Yong was elected as MP for Radin Mas SMC in 2020 and previously served in Tanjong Pagar GRC from 2015 to 2020. Throughout his nine-day campaign, Yong highlighted several community initiatives that had benefited hawkers, senior residents and vulnerable families. "Together, we can continue to make our community an even better home," he said in a Facebook post. Appavoo, a three-time candidate in Radin Mas SMC, previously contested under the banner of Reform Party, one of the constituent parties in PAR. Speaking to his supporters on Nomination Day, Appavoo said: "I don't stand here to oppose for the sake of opposing. I stand here because you deserve a stronger voice in parliament — a voice that dares to ask questions, not just to clap hands, a voice that brings your concerns to the front and not back of the queue." Lo, a long time resident of Radin Mas SMC, said he decided to contest as an independent candidate as there was no credible opposition in the constituency. During his campaign, Lo and his team of 12 volunteers used technological tools to strategise poster placements on the 1,097 lamp-posts in Radin Mas SMC. In a nine-minute video released on May 1, Lo shared his plans for the town council, including the use of technology for cost-effective management of the constituency. In the 2020 general election, Yong secured Radin Mas SMC with a vote share of 74.01 per cent against Appavoo, who represented Reform Party. Radin Mas SMC has 25,567 electors. For our GE2025 microsite, visit here.
AsiaOne
03-05-2025
- Politics
- AsiaOne
GE2025 first results in: PAP's Melvin Yong wins Radin Mas SMC, Singapore News
Results for Radin Mas SMC in GE2025 Melvin Yong (PAP) 69.17% Kumar Appavoo (PAR) 7.36% Darryl Lo 23.47% The People's Action Party (PAP) has won Radin Mas SMC against the People's Alliance for Reform (PAR) and independent candidate Darryl Lo. PAP's Melvin Yong received 15,801 votes while PAR's Kumar Appavoo received 1,682 votes and independent candidate Darryl Lo received 5,362 votes. Yong was elected as MP for Radin Mas SMC in 2020 and previously served in Tanjong Pagar GRC from 2015 to 2020. Throughout his nine-day campaign, Yong highlighted several community initiatives that had benefited hawkers, senior residents and vulnerable families. "Together, we can continue to make our community an even better home," he said in a Facebook post. Appavoo, a three-time candidate in Radin Mas SMC, previously contested under the banner of Reform Party, one of the constituent parties in PAR. Speaking to his supporters on Nomination Day, Appavoo said: "I don't stand here to oppose for the sake of opposing. I stand here because you deserve a stronger voice in parliament — a voice that dares to ask questions, not just to clap hands, a voice that brings your concerns to the front and not back of the queue." Lo, a long time resident of Radin Mas SMC, said he decided to contest as an independent candidate as there was no credible opposition in the constituency. During his campaign, Lo and his team of 12 volunteers used technological tools to strategise poster placements on the 1,097 lamp-posts in Radin Mas SMC. In a nine-minute video released on May 1, Lo shared his plans for the town council, including the use of technology for cost-effective management of the constituency. In the 2020 general election, Yong secured Radin Mas SMC with a vote share of 74.01 per cent against Appavoo, who represented Reform Party. Radin Mas SMC has 25,567 electors. For our GE2025 microsite, visit here.
