GE2025: Vote for Poh Li San to stay in Sembawang family, and for Chee Soon Juan to be out, says Ong Ye Kung

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SINGAPORE - The contest in Sembawang West SMC is about voting for PAP’s Poh Li San to stay in the Sembawang family, and for her opponent, Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) chief Chee Soon Juan, to be out, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said on April 24.

This is as Dr Chee has yet to give Bukit Batok residents a good explanation for why he abandoned them to come to Sembawang West, said Mr Ong, who is anchor minister for Sembawang GRC.

Speaking at the PAP’s rally at Woodlands Stadium on April 24 in English, Mandarin and Hokkien, Mr Ong also urged Sembawang West voters to be careful of politicians who are not honest about their intentions.

He said that after

electoral boundaries were redrawn in March,

Dr Chee had told Bukit Batok residents that he was not going anywhere, but “shortly after that, he packed up and left and came to Sembawang West”.

While Dr Chee’s explanation for going back on his commitment to Bukit Batok residents was that the SMC had been redrawn into a GRC, the fact that his party gave up on contesting in Holland-Bukit Timah – and instead formed a team to fight in Sembawang – meant it could easily have contested in the new Jurong East-Bukit Batok GRC if Dr Chee so chose, said Mr Ong.

“He said ‘I have no choice, Bukit Batok is not there any more’,” said Mr Ong in Hokkien. “But if you go to Bukit Batok, the addresses are the same, the road names are the same. Bukit Batok is still there; it is the man who is not there.”

The minister added that while the SDP chief told Sembawang West residents that he was contesting in the new single seat for them, he “slipped” and told the media that going to Sembawang was part of SDP’s “northern strategy”.

SDP had said earlier that it would contest in Marsiling-Yew Tee and Sembawang GRCs, and Sembawang West SMC, as its northern strategy for this election. The party last contested Sembawang GRC in 2006 and 2011.

Dr Chee then said on a podcast that he chose to contest in the SMC as it was smaller and could be covered in a few weeks, said Mr Ong. “He acknowledged it as a beachhead – win it first, and then ‘strategise from there’.”

Mr Ong said there is nothing wrong with making a calculated political move and switching constituencies, but politicians should be upfront with voters about their motivations.

“For him to come to a new place and say ‘whatever I do is for you’, that is not being honest with voters,” he said in Mandarin.

He also responded to Dr Chee’s earlier comments that there was insufficient greenery in Sembawang West, and that it was controversial for the minister to assign Woodlands Galaxy Community Club to the new SMC. The CC falls just outside the SMC’s boundaries.

He said the comments were puzzling, given that Sembawang West residents have been using Galaxy CC for a long time, and they also enjoy the greenery in Admiralty Park and Bukit Canberra.

Dr Chee said these things as he does not want Sembawang West to be part of the bigger Sembawang family, as this would be politically disadvantageous to him, said Mr Ong.

“Better for him that Sembawang West, you become a lonely island, cut off from the rest of Sembawang Town,” he said.

“Make Sembawang West residents feel ‘this is unfair’. Make you feel upset, make you feel angry. Then he has a chance to win the election.”

Mr Ong said Sembawang voters are fair-minded and know that Ms Poh has been working hard for them for the past five years, and urged them to vote for an MP who is committed to them.

“You vote for (Ms Poh), she becomes the MP, I can continue to work closely with her, I can continue to pay close attention to Sembawang West,” he said.

“But if residents vote for Dr Chee Soon Juan, and he becomes the MP... I cannot do that... Because his job is not to work with me. His job is to challenge me, and his job is to challenge the government.”

Ms Poh, who also spoke at the rally, said that the SDP has offered “bold promises” such as reducing the goods and services tax (GST) to 5 per cent, but had not said how it would raise taxes from elsewhere to make up the shortfall.

“Let’s be honest, money doesn’t fall from the sky... We need well-thought-out policies to run this country well, not populist sound bites,” she said. “As your MP, my commitment has always been to speak up for you, to act in your best interest and also to deliver on what I had promised – not just during campaign season, but every day.”

Besides Mr Ong and Ms Poh, the PAP’s team for Marsiling-Yew Tee also delivered speeches at the rally.

Mr Zaqy Mohamad noted that more than 90 linkways and shelters had been built across Marsiling, and there are ambitious plans to further rejuvenate the town.

Ms Hany Soh said she spoke up in Parliament on matters such as shared parental leave and that she will continue to be a “strong ally” for young families, and to build a Woodgrove made for families.

Mr Alex Yam responded to SDP’s Gigene Wong, who on April 20 called the PAP “plain water that never changes”, and which could stagnate and lead to the “breeding of mosquitoes”.

Mr Yam said the PAP has never feared such a comparison, as water is healthy and vital, compared with alternatives like soft drinks that taste good but are unhealthy.

“Left out for too long, they attract ants and cockroaches,” he added.