10 Important Things That were Mentioned During PAP’s Conference & Awards 2022

If you have not realised already, PAP usually has its biennial election where about 3,000 cadre members (basically an elite bunch of PAP members) vote for its Central Executive Committee (CEC) comprising 12-14 leaders who will co-opt others into the committee and from there the office-bearers will be chosen.

And if you haven’t realised, today (6 November 2022) is the day when this event happened—the PAP Conference & Awards 2022.

Now let me give your lazy self a rundown of the top 10 things that were mentioned in this event so you do not have to feel outdated. Let’s start from the less hot to bulgogi-level spicy news.

The Need for Singaporeans to Realise their Full Potential and Share in the Nation’s Success

In Deputy Prime Minister Mr Lawrence Wong’s speech during the event, he mentioned that he wants to “help Singaporeans of all backgrounds realise their full potential and share in our country’s success.”  

“The PAP has always strived to achieve this by building a good education system, and by giving everyone a stake through public housing,” he added.  

Strengthening Assurance & Protection for Singaporeans in a More Uncertain and Volatile World

Wong proceeds to mention that “we want to do more to uplift lower-income families, and to help our seniors with their healthcare and retirement needs, especially those who had lower or less stable incomes during their working years.”  

Me right now: Please add the university students to your list of beneficiaries. Life is too expensive in Singapore. 

A Stronger Sense of Solidarity and Responsibility is Important for Our Society

Mr Wong’s final point was of course to say that “it’s not just about the Government doing more. It’s also about all of us coming together, everyone playing their part to achieve our shared goals, because that’s how we strengthen our ethos of collective support and build our democracy of deeds.”  

Well, if some in our society are not even bothered to keep themselves updated with the happenings, how on earth is everyone going to contribute to the society? 

Minister for Trade and Industry, Gan Kim Yong, Did Not Run for Re-election After Stepping Down as Chairman

Mr Gan, who has held the post of PAP chairman since 2018, has been replaced by Indranee Rajah as one of the top 12 vote-getters in the CEC election after he chose not to run for re-election.

And yes, we’re talking about the Mr Gan whom we’ve all become familiar with after seeing his face in the multi-ministry task force to fight against COVID-19.

Nope, no way am I going to reveal the “winners” of the election now—we have not even made through half of the list. 

The Magic Cup Reference

Not only is Wong the heir to the throne of Prime Minister position, but he has also started adopting some of the practices of the current prime minister.  

In Wong’s speech during the event, he mentioned that “I still have to work on my magic cup.” This was to refer to the superpower of PM Lee to switch language every time he took a sip from his iconic water cup during his speech. 

When is the Succession of PM title to Lawrence Wong Happening?

Now that we have an heir to the throne already, people have started asking when this transition is taking place. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has replied by saying that they are still “in discussion” of whether it will be happening before or after the election.  

Well… uhm why are we stalling the transition when the election is not happening for another three years? 

This situation makes me want to compare it to how Queen Elizabeth prolonged Charles’ coronation ceremony as a King.

Is the Next Election Even be in 2025?

So, my previous point brings me (and everyone) to the question of whether the election will occur earlier than 2025.  

This arises because Mr Wong mentioned in his speech that whether the GE—which must take place by 2025—happens before that or in 2025, “we know it will be a tough battle”.  

But then again, isn’t that what the always say?

PAP is not Complacent Regarding the Next Elections 

Yes, you heard me right. I can say that PAP is heavily motivated to go all out to win the hearts (and votes of course) of people in the next election.  

This was repeated a few times during the conference, which goes to show they’re going all out this time—whether led by DPM Wong or PM Lee.

Time for the opposition parties to up their game now!

Is PAP Becoming More Wary of its Opponents’ Moves?

Ah yes, talking about opponents has brought me to this. In his speech, Wong mentioned “if you add up their votes across all six constituencies, the Workers’ Party actually won slightly more votes than the PAP overall. 

“What if the Workers’ Party had contested more seats? Would the PAP still have won 61 per cent of the votes nationwide? Would we still have returned to power?” 

All I can say is that PAP has kept their eyes on the Workers’ Party ever since their decent performance in the 2020 General Elections.  

And to be honest, I am curious to witness what happens in the next elections.  

And also, erm…yes, their eyes are probably only on Workers’ Party, and we all know why.

The Members of the 37th PAP CEC

Of course, this is the one you have been waiting for. For those who scrolled straight to this part, please go back and read the other things that I have mentioned in the article.  

Here are the “new” members: 

1. Lee Hsien Loong 
2. Lawrence Wong 
3. Heng Swee Keat 
4. Chan Chun Sing 
5. Masagos Zulkifli 
6. K Shanmugam 
7. Grace Fu 
8. Desmond Lee 
9. Indranee Rajah 
10. Ong Ye Kung 
11. Tan Chuan-Jin 
12. Vivian Balakrishnan 
13. Josephine Teo (co-opted) 
14. Edwin Tong (co-opted) 

Readers: Wait… why do all these names look so familiar. Weren’t they in previous years’ also? 

Bingo! This was my point. None of them in this list are new—every single one of them have been either elected or co-opted in the 2020 CEC election.  

Of course, as mentioned earlier, Mr Gan is out, which highly suggests that he might retire in the next GE.

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Featured Image: Facebook (Lawrence Wong)