{"id":11744,"date":"2025-11-15T15:29:31","date_gmt":"2025-11-15T07:29:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=11744"},"modified":"2025-11-15T15:29:31","modified_gmt":"2025-11-15T07:29:31","slug":"why-singapores-pap-is-taking-aim-at-opposition-wp-so-soon-after-an-election","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=11744","title":{"rendered":"Why Singapore\u2019s PAP is taking aim at opposition WP so soon after an election"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<div datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1xdhyk6 ec74h0k0\">It has been six months since the national polls concluded in <a target=\"_self\" class=\"e1yy41x40 ef9u0v01 css-1ankfgb ecgc78b0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scmp.com\/topics\/singapore?module=inline&amp;pgtype=article\" title=\"\" data-qa=\"BaseLink-renderAnchor-StyledAnchor\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-qa=\"Component-Text\" class=\"css-0 ef9u0v00\">Singapore<\/span><\/a>, but the ruling People\u2019s Action Party (PAP) is not resting on its laurels. A popular line among party faithfuls is that the PAP begins preparing for the next election the day after winning one.<\/div>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">But a recent series of salvoes against its main opponent, the Workers\u2019 Party (WP) and leader Pritam Singh suggests a new intensity, if not strategy. Observers point to a calculated PAP approach outside election season as its recognition that future polls in the city state will become more hotly contested and may hinge on swing voters or its supporters who may be leaning towards the middle ground.<\/p>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">In the May general election, the PAP extended its dominance that predates Singapore\u2019s independence, winning 87 of the 97 seats on offer while improving its overall vote share to 65.57 per cent from 61.23 per cent.<\/p>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">While most other opposition parties had their vote share nosedive, the WP retained its 10 elected seats and repeated its 2020 feat of winning more votes than the PAP in the constituencies it contested. In total, across the eight constituencies it ran in, the WP won more than half the votes.<\/p>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">But it failed to make headway in the closely watched Tampines and Punggol group representation constituencies and the Jalan Kayu single-seat race, despite a slate of strong candidates, which included former MP Faisal Manap, senior counsel Harpreet Singh and ex-diplomat Eileen Chong.<\/p>\n<div datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1xdhyk6 ec74h0k0\">In the months that followed, the PAP machinery has steamed on, with cabinet ministers including Prime Minister <a target=\"_self\" class=\"e1yy41x40 ef9u0v01 css-1ankfgb ecgc78b0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scmp.com\/topics\/lawrence-wong?module=inline&amp;pgtype=article\" title=\"\" data-qa=\"BaseLink-renderAnchor-StyledAnchor\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-qa=\"Component-Text\" class=\"css-0 ef9u0v00\">Lawrence Wong<\/span><\/a> taking aim at the WP for the way it handled an engagement with an unconventional Islamic preacher in the hustings, scrutinising Pritam Singh\u2019s decision to go on a Malaysian podcast in June, and his most recent comments about the court of public opinion being the largest one.<\/div>\n<div class=\"image-inline-container e1a5rv550 css-1llrc1m e1yqhwb40\" data-qa=\"Component-renderMap-StyledDiv\">\n<div class=\"image-inline caption e1fvabeq0 css-19sk4h4 ea9pn0s0\" data-qa=\"Component-Container\">\n<figure class=\"image-inline caption ea9pn0s1 css-1qeofuq e1gf69pb0\" data-qa=\"ArticleImage-ArticleImageContainer\">\n<div data-qa=\"ArticleImage-handleRenderImage-ImageContainer\" class=\"css-0 e1gf69pb3\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Prime Minister Lawrence Wong from People\u2019s Action Party speaks to voters at an assembly area during the May 3 general election in Singapore. Photo: AP\" data-qa=\"BaseImage-handleRenderImage-StyledImage\" class=\"e1gf69pb2 css-6ikqhs e445x7d0\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/img.i-scmp.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto\/sites\/default\/files\/d8\/images\/canvas\/2025\/11\/14\/600b833d-1eba-4033-a89d-b1e087258930_763c2d63.jpg\" title=\"Prime Minister Lawrence Wong from People\u2019s Action Party speaks to voters at an assembly area during the May 3 general election in Singapore. Photo: AP\"\/><\/div><figcaption data-qa=\"ArticleImage-DescriptionContainer\" class=\"css-1ixmelf e1gf69pb1\">Prime Minister Lawrence Wong from People\u2019s Action Party speaks to voters at an assembly area during the May 3 general election in Singapore. Photo: AP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scmp.com\/week-asia\/politics\/article\/3332868\/why-singapores-pap-taking-aim-opposition-wp-so-soon-after-election\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article At Source <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It has been six months since the national polls concluded in Singapore, but the ruling People\u2019s Action Party (PAP) is not resting on its laurels&#8230;.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11745,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2611],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11744","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buzz-headlines","wpcat-2611-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11744","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11744"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11744\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11745"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11744"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11744"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11744"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}