'Nothing untoward' about WP decision not to contest Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC: Pritam

WP chief Pritam Singh has defended the party's decision not to field a team to contest Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC, saying there was "nothing untoward" about its election planning.

The WP has drawn flak from other opposition parties for pulling out of Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC, which led to an unexpected walkover win for the PAP on Nomination Day.

Speaking to reporters on April 24 after a walkabout in Sengkang, he said: "We put forward the best slate of candidates we can for Singapore. We want a more balanced political system. And this is the same point I made yesterday to some Marine Parade residents whom I met."

"I acknowledged and validated their disappointment that we were not standing there, but after I explained it to them, after I shared with them the reality of boundaries being redrawn, the reality of our own calculations as a party... I think they understood where I was coming from," he added.

Former WP chief Low Thia Khiang, who turned up in Sengkang on April 24 to stump for the WP candidates along with former Hougang MP Png Eng Huat and WP chair Sylvia Lim, admitted that the WP's failure to contest Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC disappointed voters but said there was "no other way".

He told Chinese daily Lianhe Zaobao that political parties face realistic resource constraints when campaigning, and it is impossible to contest in every constituency. He said: "You can't go everywhere, so you must make choices. In this case, there is really no other way."

Some of the opposition parties that raised a stink over the walkover in Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC had argued that this could have been avoided if the WP had given them notice.

To this, Mr Singh said: "It is not as if some of these opposition parties... approach us and say, 'Can I stand here, can I stand there'. So I think we respect them. We respect their agency. They make decisions in their enlightened self-interest. So do we."

Asked to respond to criticism by the People's Power Party (PPP) secretary-general Goh Meng Seng that the WP was being irresponsible, Mr Singh replied: "Mr Goh should focus on the campaign in Tampines."

The WP is set to face a four-cornered contest against the PAP, PPP and the National Solidarity Party in Tampines GRC, where it has fielded Institute of Mental Health senior principal clinical psychologist Ong Lue Ping, former diplomat Eileen Chong, startup co-founder Michael Thng and business owner Jimmy Tan.

Mr Singh said he believes multi-cornered fights will be the norm in Singapore's political scene, "but that shouldn't dissuade us from putting a value proposition forward to Singaporeans for a rational, responsible party in Parliament".

He said the WP has been walking the ground in Tampines even before the 2020 general election and had wanted to field a team there then, but it did not have a good enough group of candidates who were ready to step forward.

"We've got a strong slate today, and it was only natural and logical that we would move into Tampines," he added.

On Prime Minister Lawrence Wong's comments on April 23 explaining the rationale behind the last-minute changes to the ruling party's line-up, Mr Singh reiterated the point that the WP is a "small party".

He said: "We don't think north, south, east, west... At the end of the day, the PAP has different considerations. I can understand that."

Turning to Punggol GRC, the WP chief said he believes the party has put up a strong team to contest the newly-created four-member constituency, where a fresh-faced slate led by senior counsel Harpreet Singh Nehal will face off against a seasoned PAP team helmed by Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong.

Asked what he thought about the WP's chances there in the light of DPM Gan's surprise move to the north-east on Nomination Day, Mr Singh said he will leave it to Punggol voters to make their choice.

Mr Singh said he believes the WP's slate in Punggol can represent the interests of residents faithfully and run a town council well.

"I think they can do well in Parliament too," Mr Singh said of the four-member slate, which also comprises new faces Ms Alexis Dang, 39, senior director of publisher business development at an advertising tech firm; Ms Siti Alia Abdul Rahim Mattar, 43, legal counsel; and Mr Jackson Au, 35, senior manager of corporate affairs and marketing with the London Stock Exchange Group.

In what is expected to be a fierce contest, they will come up against DPM Gan, Senior Minister of State Janil Puthucheary, 52, Minister of State Sun Xueling, 45, and first-term MP Yeo Wan Ling, 48.

On Sengkang GRC, where the WP has retained its incumbent MPs in what is a largely untouched slate, Mr Singh said the party had different considerations here.

Ms He Ting Ru, Mr Louis Chua and Associate Professor Jamus Lim will stay to defend the four-member GRC, joined by new face Abdul Muhaimin Abdul Malik.

Said Mr Singh: "This particular team has worked very well on the ground. They've been highly effective in Parliament... They've also been very aggressive in seeking funding for improvements around the town."

He added: "One looks at the whole package. Ultimately, the key decision for us to make was (that) this is a team that is defending its ground for the first time. So we wanted a team which had a longer history with the voters in Sengkang."

The PAP, which lost Sengkang GRC in 2020 by a margin of about 4 percentage points, is fielding a younger, refreshed team led by former senior minister of state for transport and health Lam Pin Min.

Asked how this would change the WP's approach, Ms He said the WP team will continue to do its work.

"We continue putting our forward our vision for Singapore," she added, citing the Sengkang Town Council's five-year town masterplan, which was launched earlier in April, as an example.

Over their five-year term as first-time MPs, she said she, Mr Chua and Prof Lim have understood the "multidimensional role" that they play - first and foremost as parliamentarians, and as elected town councillors in charge of municipal issues.

"The glue that really holds everything together are the people of Sengkang," she added.

She said the incumbent Sengkang GRC MPs are also happy to have Mr Muhaimin, who has experience working in a town council in a technical role, on their team.

The senior property manager at Aljunied-Hougang Town Council is expected to fill the empty seat in the Sengkang GRC slate vacated by former WP MP Raeesah Khan in 2021, after she resigned for lying in Parliament.

Responding to a question about this, Mr Muhaimin said: "I believe the residents of Sengkang will not dwell too much on the past. I hope that I can bring something to the team, and work for Singapore and work for Sengkang."