SINGAPORE \u2013 Losing Tampines and Punggol GRCs would have sent a \u201cserious and far-reaching\u201d message to the world watching the May 2025 General Election, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Nov 9. <\/p>\n
Instead,<\/p>\n the PAP\u2019s win of 65.57 per cent of the national vote<\/p>\n <\/a> showed that Singaporeans take elections seriously and understand what is at stake, he added, describing the results as a strong mandate but \u201cnot a landslide\u201d victory for the ruling party. <\/p>\n PM Wong, in the first party convention since GE2025, was reflecting on the polls where the PAP won closely-fought contests in these two constituencies. <\/p>\n Losing Tampines would have suggested that the Workers\u2019 Party\u2019s \u201ccalculated appeal\u201d to Malay\/Muslim voters was effective, and would have encouraged other political parties to do the same, he said.<\/p>\n That would harm social cohesion and lead to a divided Singapore, he told 1,800 PAP activists at the biennial convention held at the Singapore Expo.<\/p>\n If Punggol had gone to the WP, it would have sent the wrong message as well, said PM Wong, who is party secretary-general. <\/p>\n The loss would have conveyed that voters did not care about the proven abilities and steady leadership of an experienced minister like Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, he said. <\/p>\n \u201cSingapore would have lost our very capable Taskforce Man.\u201d<\/p>\n In Tampines GRC, the PAP team led by Minister for Social and Family Development Masagos Zulkifli beat a team led by WP vice-chair and former Aljunied MP Faisal Manap <\/p>\n with about 52 per cent of the vote,<\/p>\n <\/a> producing the second-closest contest of the election. <\/p>\n The contest produced controversy as the WP\u2019s campaign there attracted endorsement from various parties, including foreign politicians, urging Singaporeans to vote on racial and religious lines. <\/p>\n In an October ministerial statement, Coordinating Minister for National Security K. Shanmugam said the Malay\/Muslim vote in particular was being targeted, taking issue with the speed and substance of WP\u2019s rejection of such endorsements. WP chief Pritam Singh rejected some of Mr Shanmugam\u2019s statements, but later acknowledged that his party could have been clearer in its rejection during the election. <\/p>\n In Punggol \u2013 a newly carved out GRC \u2013 <\/p>\n DPM Gan anchored the PAP team that ran against a WP team<\/p>\n <\/a> led by senior counsel Harpreet Singh, seen by many before the election as the opposition party\u2019s \u2018star catch\u2019, and three other first-time candidates. <\/p>\n The PAP won that contest with 55 per cent of the vote. <\/p>\n https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=0tBxrjkeMjw<\/a><\/p>\n PM Wong said he especially grateful to voters in these two GRCs for trusting him and his team.<\/p>\n The \u201cstrong mandate\u201d for the PAP sent a clear message to the world \u2013 that Singaporeans do not take chances with the future or \u201cgamble with what we\u2019ve built together,\u201d said PM Wong. <\/p>\n \u201cThat we will not be swayed by populist appeals or racially-tinged appeals,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n He added that now when he speaks to foreign leaders, he does so with a \u201cquiet confidence\u201d, because he knows that he speaks on behalf of a \u201cclear-eyed and united people.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI speak on behalf of Singaporeans who stand for stability, progress and unity. Singaporeans who stand with the PAP because we have always stood with them.\u201d<\/p>\n PM Wong also reflected on the polls \u2013 his first as leader of the PAP since <\/p>\n taking over from Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong as party chief in Dec 2024,<\/p>\n <\/a> after the party\u2019s internal leadership election that year. Earlier in May 2024, he had been sworn in as prime minister \u2013 also taking over from SM Lee.<\/p>\n PM Wong said he knew it was important that he and his team sought a \u201cfresh mandate\u201d from Singaporeans to lead and take the country forward in \u201cthis changed world\u201d.<\/p>\n It was a hard-fought battle, and the party went into the election knowing that it would not be an easy fight, he noted.<\/p>\n Some party members and friends sent him messages to prepare for the worst \u2013 including predictions of a lower vote share as he was a new prime minister, the loss of a few single seats or even one or two more GRCs, he said. <\/p>\n \u201cSo I was mentally prepared for all outcomes. When the results came out, the same people who had messaged me earlier said to me: \u2018sorry we should have more confidence in you!\u201d<\/p>\n PM Lawrence Wong (front row, second from left) and PAP\u2019s 38th CEC members attending PAP Awards and Convention 2025 on Nov 9.<\/p>\n ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n But he told them there was no need to apologise and it was right to sound a note of caution, as one can never be certain of the outcome of an election until the votes are counted.<\/p>\n At the time, the global issue of cost-of-living pressures were on many Singaporeans\u2019 minds, and the Opposition worked up anxiety and frustration in Singaporeans and tried to pin the blame on the PAP, he said. <\/p>\n While Singaporeans appreciated the Government\u2019s support packages and said that the PAP had done well, they also wanted more Opposition voices to keep the party in check, he said. <\/p>\n \u201cWe took that seriously, and went to the ground to convince Singaporeans \u2013 with our record, our sincerity and our plans for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/picture><\/div>