PAP Ministers appearing in food-hunt vlogs ahead of GE2025

Desmond Lee, Singapore’s Minister for National Development, was recently featured in a vlog published by YouTuber Ghib Ojisan.

Ghib, a Japanese travel vlogger who residing in Singapore, recently posted a video on his channel that highlights several locations and food spots in Boon Lay, including Boon Lay Food Village, Jurong West Hawker Centre, and other attractions.

However, this video, published on 5 November, offers more than just an ordinary food hunt vlog.

At around 5:41 in the video, Ghib introduced a “special guest” – Mr Lee, the Member of Parliament (MP) for West Coast GRC, who is in charge of Boon Lay.

Mr Lee accompanied Ghib throughout the tour, showing him around the area.

In the video, Mr Lee, who is also Minister-in-charge of Social Services Integration, discussed the transformation of the area around Boon Lay Shopping Centre into a Silver Zone under the Land Transport Authority’s initiative to make the area safer for senior citizens.

Mr Lee later took Ghib to Boon Lay Glade, where they discussed the unique characteristics of the HDB flats. He highlighted how the design of the estate, including the blocks and playground, preserved historical elements.

Desmond Lee introduces Government’s community initiative in YouTuber’s video

The video then moves to Blk 176 Boon Lay Drive, where Mr Lee introduced the government’s ComLink+ initiative.

This program supports families facing challenging circumstances, particularly those living in rental flats.

He explained how the government works closely with these families through ComLink+ to help them improve their living conditions.

The pair also visited the Tak Takut Kids Club (TTKC), one of the ComLink+ partners and a community-driven organisation.

Ghib observed how children engage in various activities there, including using the community kitchen, where they learn to prepare sandwiches as part of a hands-on experience in making nutritious meals.

In April 2024 video, Ghib “coincidentally” met Dr Janil Puthucheary while touring Punggol

Ghib’s YouTube channel currently has over 331,000 subscribers.

According to a 2023 report in The Straits Times, Ghib is a full-time content creator who moved to Singapore five years ago to be with his Singaporean wife and children, and he currently resides in an HDB flat.

In one of Ghib’s earlier videos, posted in April 2024, he “coincidentally” met Dr Janil Puthucheary, Senior Minister of State (SMS) for the Ministry of Health, while touring Punggol.

During the video, Ghib interviewed Dr Janil, who is also the MP for Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC, and the latter gave Ghib a tour of the area.

In June 2023, then-Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong shared one of Ghib’s videos, where Mr Lee praised Ghib’s “Japan Tour” style of showcasing Singapore, particularly his feature on Ang Mo Kio.

Ministers and MPs from PAP feature in vlogs as General Election nears

As the upcoming General Election approaches, Ministers and MPs from the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) have been featured in vlogs by YouTubers and social media content creators.

In addition to Ghib, another YouTube channel, Ms Tam Chiak, managed by food blogger Maureen Ow, has showcased several PAP ministers and MPs, including Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat, DPM and Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong, Deputy Speaker and MP for East Coast GRC Jessica Tan, Jalan Besar GRC MP Dr Wan Rizal, and others.

Interestingly, in an episode highlighting food in Sengkang West, Maureen chose not to feature the incumbent Workers’ Party MPs.

Instead, she interviewed Dr Lam Pin Min, the PAP branch chairman of the area.

Ms Tam Chiak was among the social media influencers who attended the PAP’s #RefreshPAP event in June

Since Lawrence Wong assumed leadership of Singapore and the ruling PAP from Lee Hsien Loong, the party has launched “Friends of PAP” as part of its #RefreshPAP initiative to strengthen community engagement.

Maureen Ow was present at the Refresh PAP event on 8 June 2024, alongside other local influencers, including SGAG senior content strategist Amy Ang, Simon Khung, TommyNBCB, and others, according to ST.

During the event, PAP Assistant Secretary-General Desmond Lee was asked about the new approach, including the role of influencers and the scale of the Friends network.

Mr Lee clarified that this concept is not new, emphasising that it’s essential for political parties to engage supporters who broadly align with their mission, even if they don’t agree on every issue.

He highlighted that the initiative seeks to systematically connect with stakeholders across various sectors to tackle Singapore’s challenges, gathering diverse perspectives to generate ideas and communicate effectively with citizens.

He also noted that the #RefreshPAP effort is driven by the need to adapt to a fast-changing environment, not by the upcoming GE.

Influencers’ #FriendsOfPAP affiliations fade amid public scrutiny

Despite Mr Lee’s explanation, scrutiny of social media posts under the #RefreshPAP tag has raised concerns about the authenticity of the engagement.

Critics are concerned that the influencers’ content may be viewed as “sponsored” without proper disclosure.

There is also growing skepticism about whether apolitical influencers can truly engage with and challenge the PAP on critical issues like the cost of living, housing, and GST.

The influencers’ appearances and affiliations, initially branded as #FriendsOfPAP during the #refreshPAP launch earlier this year, have since gone low-key after members of the public questioned the premise of such affiliations and whether any benefits are connected to the endorsements.

Govt confirms paying social media influencers in their engagement with them

During a March 2024 Parliament sitting, Mr Tan Kiat How, SMS for Communications and Information, confirmed that Singapore government’s paid engagement with social media influencers as part of its communication strategy to connect with the Singaporean audience.

In response to Parliamentary Question (PQ) filed by WP MP Gerald Giam, he clarified that although the ministry does not allocate a dedicated budget for social media influencer engagement, influencers may be involved if their efforts complement the broader communication initiatives of the government.

Mr Giam asked the Minister whether MCI has a budget for engaging social media influencers. If so, how much is the budget, what are the contents that influencers are engaged to publicise; and how will the success of influencer campaigns be measured.

Following SMS Tan’s response, Mr Giam then further presented two supplementary questions.

Firstly, he inquired whether influencers engaged by the government would be mandated to openly and explicitly declare the sponsoring agency in their posts.

Additionally, he sought to know if this requirement would extend to influencers sponsored by election candidates or political parties.

In response, SMS Tan referred Mr Giam to his previous responses to his WP colleagues Ms He Ting Ru, WP MP for Sengkang GRC and former WP MP Leon Perera during the COS debate for MCI last year.

“He (Mr Perera) was strictly referring to the paid partnership. so I actually told the position that the influencer that he mentioned has also put the sponsorship or paid by (and displayed with agencies) logo. So that this has supposedly answered.”