Edward Chia’s rally script included line instructing crowd to shout anti-SDP remark, later removed

A rally speech draft prepared for People’s Action Party (PAP) candidate Edward Chia has drawn scrutiny after it was found to include a line directing a supporter to shout a disparaging remark about the opposition Singapore Democratic Party (SDP). The line, found in paragraph 33 of the speech for a 30 April 2025 rally in Bukit Panjang Single Member Constituency (SMC), reads: “Farizan to shout SDP town council sucks.” The PAP's candidate, Liang Eng Hwa, is once again facing Singapore Democratic Party candidate Dr Paul Tambyah, whom he previously contested against in GE2020, narrowly winning with 53.74 per cent of the vote. The draft was shared with media representatives prior to the rally, as part of routine pre-event briefings. According to a source familiar with the matter, the line was part of the prepared materials but did not feature in the final rally proceedings. The change reportedly occurred after the party’s communications team noticed that the draft had been circulated with the contentious instruction and issued a message asking the media to disregard it. When contacted by The Online Citizen (TOC), Chia responded: “I overruled the draft as this is not my style. The media should report as delivered.” His statement signalled a clear decision to remove the line, suggesting a personal rejection of such tactics. The line in question appeared between comments about managing shared community infrastructure and a segment highlighting collaboration within the PAP team.

While not read aloud during the rally, its placement in the speech indicated that it was intended to appear spontaneous, potentially framing the opposition in a negative light through crowd participation. Although political rhetoric often intensifies during elections, orchestrated audience interactions of this nature—especially those that disparage opponents—are rare in Singapore’s typically disciplined and managed rally culture. This incident follows another recent development in the 2025 General Election that raised questions about coordinated disruption tactics. On 30 April, TOC reported that a WhatsApp group linked to grassroots volunteers supporting PAP candidate Shawn Huang discussed plans to disrupt a Progress Singapore Party (PSP) walkabout in Taman Jurong. Suggested tactics included occupying tables, dismissing PSP outreach efforts, and filming their engagements. The plan was reportedly abandoned after screenshots of the group chat were made public. While there is no indication that the plans in either case were authorised at the party’s central level, both incidents have prompted concerns over internal campaign conduct and the boundaries of acceptable electoral strategies. In Chia’s case, the draft script containing the anti-SDP line was formally circulated to media, indicating that the instruction was part of official preparatory materials, even if not intended for public consumption. These developments come amid calls for a more respectful political culture. In response to comments from opposition party leaders, such as Workers' Party chief Pritam Singh, regarding what has been described as "negative politics" in Singapore, PAP Secretary-General Lawrence Wong recently emphasised the party’s commitment to avoiding divisive tactics. He stated: “We try to forge as wide a national consensus as possible… so as not to accentuate our differences nor to seek to exploit these differences. That’s the PAP way. That’s the PAP’s DNA.” The discovery of the speech line, along with the earlier Taman Jurong chat group incident, has prompted questions about the consistency of these stated values with ground-level campaign practices.