Newly Minted Sengkang GRC is One GRC That Even Non-Voting Yishun Cats Would Be Looking At

2020 has had so many major events for Singapore.

Coronavirus, circuit breaker leading to work from home, bubble tea stalls closing and now we have another big one.

The 2020 General Elections.

And things are really heating up this year.

If you didn’t know, one major factor is that PM Lee’s brother, Lee Hsien Yang, has joined the opposition party this year.

There are a variety of reasons that you can check out over here.

Today though, we’re going to be looking at one of the newest GRC ‘hotspots’.

And boy is it fire.

Sengkang GRC

CNA recently announced that there is a new four-member Sengkang GRC and you can bet your entire fortune that the People’s Action Party (PAP) and the Worker’s Party (WP) will be fighting hard for this one.

“Will one of the Aljunied GRC MPs lead the WP team there? Regardless, the WP will give the PAP a run for its money,” former Nominated Member of Parliament Eugene Tan commented.

Stats

Let me give you some stats as to why this GRC would be hotly contested.

During the 2015 General Election, PAP’s Charles Chong narrowly won Punggol East with 51.8 per cent of the votes against the WP’s Lee Li Lian.

Sengkang’s age demographic is also younger, between the 20s to 40s.

Some of these younger folk might not be as ‘one-sided’ towards the PAP, unlike older generations.

Sengkang West, Punggol East, Hougang and Aljunied are areas where the WP have strong support.

On the flip side, the  PAP’s share of the vote in Sengkang West, 62.1 per cent, was also below the party’s national average of 69.9 per cent in 2015.

“Even if Ng Chee Meng stands there as a major minister, or anyone else, I think it’s not going to be easy going,” said Assoc Prof Singh.

Could Be In WPs Favour

Some feel that it wouldn’t be too hard for the WP to turn things to their favour.

Mr Leonard Lim, country director of Singapore at government affairs feels that they could send a big name like former Non-Constituency Member of Parliament Gerald Giam to try and contest the seat.

He also brings up another point of contention, one we may have forgotten.

The banning of PMDs.

More specifically, targeting former MP for Sengkang West, Senior Minister of State for Transport Dr Lam Pin Min.

Mr Lim also cites other factors such as seven-year veteran MP Charles Chong retiring from his position as one of them.

“The PAP may be fielding a combination of an MP from another ward and a new face here as a result, and if there is no heavyweight candidate or current minister to anchor the team, the WP will certainly fancy its chances,” he told CNA.

So with all this being said, is the matchup in WPs favour completely?

Not everyone seems to think so.

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Potential Challenges

The PAP is not going to give it up easily as well.

Former PAP MP Inderjit Singh actually feels the younger people would actually work against the WP.

“PAP will have an upper hand because of the demography of this area – young families who want stability of government.”

Mr Singh also feels it would be an interesting battleground and the party would also likely send a strong candidate.

Associate lecturer at SIM Global Education Felix Tan also felt that the WP would likely win a seat but not the whole GRC due to the lack of strong candidates.

He thinks turning the single seats of Sengkang West and Punggol East into the new Sengkang GRC would dilute the proportion of likely voters for the opposition.

They would then need to pool extra resources to contest for the rest of the GRC.

Still, Dr Tan acknowledges that the WP has been making a bigger presence in the larger GRC system.

Other PAP supporters also cite PAPs good track record of infrastructure and integrated the various developments such as childcare facilities in the area as a plus point.

Final Factor: Outside Parties

While the battle between the PAP and WP is the ones to watch, other parties will fight hard too.

SIM Global Education’s Dr Tan said others like Mr Tan Cheng Bock’s Progress Singapore Party (PSP) has gained good traction recently.

“Not only is PSP new, but it can also rest on the Tan Cheng Bock ‘cult of personality.'”

Deputy director of research at the Institute of Policy Studies Gillian Koh also felt that there would also be a battle between the WP and the Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA).

The constituency incorporates the current Sengkang West and Punggol East SMCs contested by the WP in 2015.

However, the SDA contested in Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC in the 2015 General Election which is also part of the constituency.

There is no easy fight no matter who you are in this election.

However, there are others who also feel this is unlikely. Especially because WP has more ‘goodwill’ in this area from past actions.

Stay tuned for any more updates regarding this year’s general election!

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