GE2025: It’s all up to us now

I attended Jeremy Tan’s rally tonight and I’m so glad I picked it for the final night of the GE2025 campaign period. Responding to all the things the PAP said about him, he was well-researched and petty AF. A most enjoyable stand-up roast. Catch up on his speech here.

Also, be aware of the Cooling-Off Day rules!

The general election in September 1988 is significant in Singapore’s political history because that was the year the GRC system was introduced. That was also the year the Town Councils Act was passed, making elected MPs responsible for running town councils in their constituencies. Although the People’s Action Party argued at the time that this wouldn’t disadvantage opposition parties, we now know this is not the case. On top of that, GE1988 was also the first time the electoral boundaries didn’t have to be presented to Parliament in the form of a bill but could be directly approved by the Prime Minister’s Office. In other words, that was the year Singapore’s elections became more unfair.

I was born in November 1988 into a country where the PAP had won 80 out of 81 elected seats, leaving Chiam See Tong the sole opposition voice in Parliament. It was a PAP walkover in our constituency in GE1991, and again in GE2001 and GE2006. (In GE1997, the PAP won just over 70% of the vote where we lived.) Before GE2011—when, finally, every constituency except Tanjong Pagar GRC was contested—elections were simply not a part of my Singaporean lived experience. Throughout my childhood and adolescence, an election felt like something that mostly happened in Hougang, that far-off neighbourhood on the other side of the island, once in a while. I don’t remember the adults around me treating elections as anything particularly important, and I think this might resonate with many others of my generation. Elections just didn’t feel like they mattered very much, because we knew to expect walkovers and overwhelming PAP supermajorities in Parliament.

As we head towards Polling Day on 3 May, we know that the PAP is almost certainly going to have a supermajority again, as they’ve enjoyed since 1959. (In fact, from 1968–1981 they occupied all the seats in Parliament.)

But elections matter now.

I started We, The Citizens’s daily GE2025 newsletters reflecting on how much Singapore and Singaporeans have changed:

We are where we are today because, bit by bit, we found our voices, we grew the courage to speak out, we donated to opposition parties and civil society groups, we stepped up to volunteer for these efforts, we put ourselves forward in civil society campaigns or as political candidates, we carried out our own political education efforts and we refused to abandon those the PAP tried to demonise. We don’t get it right all the time—far, far from it—but we’re learning to build solidarity, to overcome fear and work actively for the society we want to live in. The changes we see today, compared to one or two decades ago, weren’t handed to us by the ruling party. Singaporeans did this. This is our power. Go us!

Reading articles and social media posts, engaging with people, listening to speeches and soaking in the atmosphere at various rallies have only made me feel this even more strongly. There’s a shared desire for liberation from the current heaviness of being a Singaporean: we seek relief from financial pressures as the cost of everything rises, from work or school stress, from struggling to live well in a city that demands so much of us. There’s frustration over inequality and unfairness; the sense that our home has been distorted into a place that panders to those with power and wealth while trampling on the little people who just want a fair shot. Why should ordinary Singaporeans labour under a regressive tax when the rich don’t have to pay estate duty or capital gains tax? Why was the prime minister even shocked that the suggestion of increased taxes on the wealthy living in landed property didn’t cause a stir among a crowd of largely HDB-dwelling citizens? More and more people are seeing the value of checks and balances, of fresh voices and fresh ideas, of diverse perspectives in making law and policy. Again and again, we return to themes of wanting a voice, wanting to be heard, wanting to be active participants in creating the Singapore that we, and not just the ruling elite, want to see.

There’s a shared desire for liberation from the current heaviness of being a Singaporean: we seek relief from financial pressures, from work or school stress, from struggling to live well in a city that demands so much of us.

The competition in GE2025 is fierce. The Workers’ Party has brought the fight to the PAP, not just in their current constituencies of Aljunied, Hougang and Sengkang but also in Tampines, Tampines-Changkat, Punggol, Jalan Kayu and East Coast. The PAP, who deployed Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong to Punggol at the last minute, have had to scramble to declare their undying love and appreciation for him because they seem worried he might actually lose his seat. Paul Tambyah of the Singapore Democratic Party, who lost by just 2,509 votes in GE2020, is trying to close that gap in Bukit Panjang. Deprived of his Bukit Batok stomping ground, Chee Soon Juan is making a pitch in Sembawang West. Tan Cheng Bock of the Progress Singapore Party spent his 85th birthday campaigning; his West Coast-Jurong West GRC team hope to clinch the win they narrowly missed out on five years ago (although the boundaries have been significantly changed).

The PAP has had to defend its decision to raise the GST at a time of inflation, the NTUC Income-Allianz mess and its habit of not playing fair. They have repeatedly made promises of infrastructure and neighbourhood improvement projects, insisting that these publicly funded works can be better done if the MP in charge sports the same colours as the governing party. Without independent and well-executed opinion polling data—which is banned during the election period—there’s no real way to gauge how voters are responding.

I can't predict the results. I’m bracing myself for shocks and disappointments, because I remember the hope we'd all had for more political change in GE2015, only to see a 10-point swing back to the PAP. That said, over these past nine days there have been monumental efforts not just from political parties and their candidates, but also from citizens producing resources, educating one another, accompanying family and friends to rallies, engaging in reflection and conversation. Most Singaporeans have had to take in a deluge of information while juggling existing work, school and family obligations, and that's no small thing. It’s a lot to digest in such a short period of time. We've trudged through mud and stood in the rain so we could listen to and evaluate candidates. We're all doing our best because we want to make the right decision for ourselves, our loved ones and our country.

The sun might not rise because of us, but we have the power to shape what the sun rises over.

One thing to keep in mind: it’s usually impossible to find a political party with which we’re 100% aligned. We can’t expect to pick one perfect party and leave all the work to them over the next five years. All we can do is vote in a way that brings us closer to where we want to be… and then the real work begins. Even if we were the ones who supported and voted them in, every MP of every stripe needs to be challenged and held to account throughout their term. Regardless of what Singapore’s political landscape looks like on 4 May, the work for a more democratic, more equal, more just society requires effort from all of us. The sun might not rise because of us, but we have the power to shape what the sun rises over.

I’ll be back on 4 or 5 May to take a look at the results, but this is the final We, The Citizens newsletter of the GE2025 campaigning period. Tomorrow is Cooling-Off Day; I intend to spend it volunteering for the opposition party in my constituency (there’s so much to do behind the scenes even when there’s no campaigning) and might also sign up to be a polling or counting agent on 3 May. Opposition parties are generally short on manpower, so I encourage you to reach out to whichever party you'd like to help out to volunteer, too. Being a polling/counting agent is a way to directly participate in an important democratic process. The parties and candidates have given it their all over the past nine days. Now it’s up to us.

Thank you for coming on this hectic GE2025 journey with me and We, The Citizens. Thank you for your subscriptions, your tips, your sharing of this newsletter on social media and your lovely emails of encouragement. I’m so glad we did this together.

Have a good rest tomorrow and vote with intention, not fear. ❤️✊🏼

CORRECTION: I'd written that the PAP had had all the seats in Parliament from 1968–1984, but it was actually 1968–1981, because J.B. Jeyaretnam had won his seat in a by-election.

Thank you for reading this special issue! Please help me get the word out about WTC by sharing this newsletter.