SINGAPORE — The People’s Action Party (PAP) has elected its 37th Central Executive Committee (CEC) at the biennial PAP Conference on Sunday (6 Nov).
More than 3,000 party members turned up for the event held at Sentosa’s Resort World Convention Centre.
PAP Secretary-General Lee Hsien Loong in his address to the party, said that PAP — as the ruling party, has kept faith with Singaporeans and delivered on its manifesto promises from General Election 2020.
These include growing Singapore’s economy, creating jobs, uplifting lower-wage workers, and enhancing support for vulnerable groups.
Highlighting the possibility of how PAP could have won the last General Election in 2020 with a narrow margin, Mr Lee warned that a Singapore ruled by a government hanging on to power by its fingernails is bound to be pushed from pillar to post by other countries.
Mr Lee, who is also the Prime Minister of Singapore, said that there’s a growing psychology among many Singaporeans who wants the PAP to be to continue governing Singapore because it is doing a good job and there’s nobody else who can do better.
Mr Lee also claims that these Singaporeans do not really believe that any of the opposition teams can do better or even do it at all but they want to see more opposition MPs elected to keep the PAP Government on its toes and so they vote for the Opposition fully expecting that enough other voters will vote PAP and return it to power.
He, however, warns that Singaporeans cannot have it both ways.
“Whether voters give the new government a strong or weak mandate makes a very big difference. With a strong mandate, when the government needs to act strongly and decisively, whether at home or abroad. Everyone will know that it is acting with the people’s support and everyone will know that Singapore is united, tackling problems as one moving forward together in stable times.”
“This enables the government to implement measures that may require sacrifice but will improve people’s lives in the longer term and during turbulent periods, the government will have the confidence and the backing to make the tough calls and steer Singapore safely through the ups and downs.”
Mr Lee also criticised the non-position stance taken by the opposition parties on “spiky” issues such as the repeal of 377a.
“Now, where’s the opposition on section 377a? Are they critiquing the government’s approach? Do they support or oppose what the government is doing? Are they offering alternative proposals?” asks Mr Lee.
“None of the above. The opposition is missing in action. They’ve said nothing so far and they’ve declined all comment. They refuse even to say whether they have a party position or if they lift the whip on MPs when parliament votes on the amendments, which it’s going to do at the end of this month, because why? They don’t want to displease anyone.” added Mr Lee, claiming that the opposition has gone AWOL (Absence without Offical Leave).
Mr Lee had earlier announced the repeal of Section 377a under the Penal Code — a law which criminalises sex between consenting male adults, during his speech at the National Day Rally this year.
The amendment to the Penal Code to repeal S377a will be put to a vote by the Singapore Parliamentarians later this month.
Mr Lawrence Wong also addressed the PAP members for the first time after being appointed the Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore and successor to Mr Lee who has been the Prime Minister for the last 18 years.
Mr Wong reiterated what Mr Lee had said about the people’s desire for checks and balances and noted that he does not assume the PAP will win the next GE, or that he will inevitably become the next Prime Minister.
He goes on to warn party members that the political contest ahead will undoubtedly intensify and get more challenging with time.
“We have to brace and strengthen ourselves for tougher and more uncertain elections,” said Mr Wong.
Party Chairman Gan Kim Yong, who did not stand for re-election this year, thanked party members for their efforts over the year and said that he has full confidence that his comrades in the new CEC will continue to serve Singaporeans well and will enjoy the full support from them.
“So let us put our trust in one another, and hold fast to our shared vision as we move forward and prepare ourselves for the next general election,” said Mr Gan.
The 12 CEC members that are elected at the party conference are:
- Chan Chun Sing,
- Desmond Lee,
- Grace Fu,
- Heng Swee Keat,
- Indranee Rajah,
- K Shanmugam,
- Lawrence Wong,
- Lee Hsien Loong,
- Masagos Zulkifli,
- Ong Ye Kung,
- Tan Chuan-Jin,
- Vivian Balakrishnan
Mr Edwin Tong and Ms Josephine Teo were co-opted into the CEC.
Besides party members, representatives of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) headed by its Secretary General, Mr Ng Chee Meng, also attended the conference.
Mr Ng, a former PAP minister, was previously co-opted as a CEC member in 2020.
At the conference, NTUC FairPrice pledged a donation of $1.2 million worth of vouchers to be distributed to needy Singaporeans to help meet their daily needs.
A Snap Election In The Near Horizon?
Although the next Singapore General Election need not be held until 2025, rumours among opposition politicians and activists these days have suggested that PAP might be looking at a snap election early next year — supposedly to avoid facing right smack in the middle of the impending recession that Singapore is having in the next couple of years.
The rumours are further fuelled by recent moves by the government, such as raising salaries for civil servants, generous GST vouchers, repealing of 377a and even looking at granting legal ownership of cats in HDB flats.
Civil servants such as teachers at public schools have shared a few months ago that they had gone for election training and some have even received confirmation of their official positions as election agents. Although some suggested that the appointments are meant for the Presidential Election that must be held by September next year.
The tone of Mr Lee and Mr Wong’s speeches on Sunday in some way lend some weight to such rumours.
Mr Lee’s speech last year was more of asking party members to keep up the good work. But this year, it was focused on criticising the opposition parties and reminding the Singapore public that the party needs a strong mandate in order to govern Singapore confidently.
Mr Wong’s maiden speech as Mr Lee’s successor at the party conference is also along the same line of asking PAP members to prepare for a tough fight in the next GE.
Quite a weird topic to touch on, given that it is just two years since the last GE and three more years before the next has to be held.
TODAY reported in a post-GE2020 reflection piece about how PAP activists described a confusing and mad rush to put their plans into action.
TOC also understands that many PAP members were caught off guard during the last GE when the election was called in the midst of the COVID pandemic.
Even when the contractors were preparing for the polling centres after the release of the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee (EBRC) report in March 2020, none from the grassroots were given notice of the impending election held in July of that year.
Perhaps learning from its mistakes in the last GE, PAP is giving a heads-up to its members to prepare for the inevitable in the coming year.
