https://www.scmp.com/rss/506379/feed Singapore’s 13th general election was held on July 10 and saw the ruling People’s Action Party returned to power with a comfortable supermajority in the legislature, extending its run as the world’s longest continuously ruling elected government. However, the eight percentage point drop in its vote share to 61.24 per cent was the third-worst showing since the country gained independence in 1965, and the party lost a second group representation constituency to the opposition. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com A Singaporean parliamentary committee tasked with probing a lying scandal involving the opposition Workers’ Party has recommended a fine for the ex-MP Raeesah Khan and the possibility of criminal prosecution for party chief Pritam Singh. The parliamentary Committee of Privileges’ recommendation to take Khan, 29, to task for lying in the legislature was widely expected following proceedings that stretched back to early December. The decision to refer Pritam Singh, the Workers’ Party chief to the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3166552/singapore-opposition-chief-pritam-singh-may-face-prosecution?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3166552/singapore-opposition-chief-pritam-singh-may-face-prosecution?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 10 Feb 2022 11:03:21 +0000 A snowballing controversy involving a lawmaker who resigned after lying in parliament is threatening the Singaporean opposition leader, Pritam Singh, less than 18 months after his party made historic electoral gains with the backing of the city state’s younger generation. The saga initially seemed to only involve Raeesah Khan – a darling among Gen Z and millennial voters – but an ongoing parliamentary inquiry into the case has dragged Singh and other high-ranking leaders of the Workers’ Party... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3159812/can-singapores-opposition-workers-party-ride-out-scandal-its?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3159812/can-singapores-opposition-workers-party-ride-out-scandal-its?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Dec 2021 11:00:23 +0000 Bhavan Jaipragas Bhavan Jaipragas A debutant Singaporean opposition MP hailed during last year’s election as one of the faces of the country’s politically awakened millennial generation has resigned, weeks after she admitted to lying to parliament when she admonished the police force for being insensitive towards a rape survivor. Observers had earlier said Raeesah Khan’s resignation would prove to be a major test for the Workers’ Party, to which she belonged. The party said in a statement that she had resigned from the party,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3157945/raeesah-khan-darling-singapore-millennials-resigns-opposition-mp?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3157945/raeesah-khan-darling-singapore-millennials-resigns-opposition-mp?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 30 Nov 2021 23:00:34 +0000 A politician from Singapore’s main opposition Workers’ Party on Monday admitted to lying in parliament when she took the police to task earlier this year for being insensitive towards a rape survivor. Raeesah Khan – who at 27 is the youngest of 93 elected members – offered a tearful apology in a shocking turn of events that analysts said would affect the credibility of her party. Leader of the House Indranee Rajah filed a formal complaint against Raeesah, who will now be investigated by a... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/article/3154494/singapore-opposition-politician-admits-lying-parliament-when-taking?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/article/3154494/singapore-opposition-politician-admits-lying-parliament-when-taking?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 01 Nov 2021 13:49:48 +0000 A chapter from Singapore’s history has become an unlikely reference for some in Hong Kong’s opposition camp. The object of their curiosity is the opposition walkout from Singapore’s Parliament in 1966, and the lessons it might hold for Hong Kong’s pan-democrats of today. A Hong Kong opposition leader let on privately that he was reading Lee Kuan Yew’s memoirs to glean lessons on how to avoid the kind of dominance Singapore’s first prime minister achieved. Another revealed he wanted to find out... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3134413/hong-kong-politics-post-national-security-law-why-singapores?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3134413/hong-kong-politics-post-national-security-law-why-singapores?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 22 May 2021 03:00:26 +0000 Singapore’s former prime minister Goh Chok Tong has urged citizens to give space to the younger ministers of the ruling People’s Action Party as they pick a new leader among themselves following the “hiccup” of the country’s prime-minister-in-waiting stepping aside. Goh said the process, which will in effect determine who will succeed Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, was not just an “internal PAP problem” but a national issue. “This is an important decision for Singapore,” said Goh, who led the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3132717/give-singapores-4g-ministers-space-pick-new-leader-says-former?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3132717/give-singapores-4g-ministers-space-pick-new-leader-says-former?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 07 May 2021 14:14:36 +0000 There had been murmurs for a while about whether Singapore’s deputy prime minister Heng Swee Keat would be the country’s next leader after a poor showing in last year’s general election. Yet Singaporeans were still shocked by Thursday’s announcement that Heng, 60, was going to step aside and make way for a younger successor. Besides, it was only in July, following Heng’s surprisingly narrow electoral victory, that his contemporaries in the next-generation cabal of ministers – known as the 4G... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/explained/article/3129004/heng-swee-keat-out-running-who-will-be-singapores-next-prime?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/explained/article/3129004/heng-swee-keat-out-running-who-will-be-singapores-next-prime?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 10 Apr 2021 00:30:18 +0000 Thursday’s unexpected announcement that Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat has stepped aside as the designated successor to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has taken mainland Chinese political observers and netizens by surprise. Chinese social media was set abuzz after Heng, who turns 60 this year, released a letter addressed to Lee that said he would likely be too old to take over by the time the crisis sparked by the pandemic is over. “We need a leader who will not only rebuild... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3128953/chinese-social-media-set-abuzz-singapore-pm-designate-steps?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3128953/chinese-social-media-set-abuzz-singapore-pm-designate-steps?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 09 Apr 2021 11:00:19 +0000 Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat on Thursday unexpectedly took himself out of the running to become the country’s next leader, marking a major shake-up in the succession plan of the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) after a weaker-than-expected electoral showing last year. In a press conference, Heng said he was relinquishing his position as the unofficial leader of the so-called 4G or fourth-generation group of PAP leaders who are slated to succeed Prime Minister Lee Hsien... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3128806/singapores-finance-minister-steps-aside-pm-designate-major-shake?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3128806/singapores-finance-minister-steps-aside-pm-designate-major-shake?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 08 Apr 2021 10:40:03 +0000 Against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic and an unprecedented economic crisis, Sunday’s internal election for the leadership of Singapore’s ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) is expected to maintain the status quo, according to party insiders and analysts. They said PAP cadres were not likely to rock the boat during a crisis. Some 2,000 cadres are expected to re-elect Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to the apex of the PAP’s power structure, with six other key lieutenants – Deputy Prime... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3108803/will-singapores-ruling-partys-internal-election-reveal-more?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3108803/will-singapores-ruling-partys-internal-election-reveal-more?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 07 Nov 2020 00:30:13 +0000 Singapore leaders’ track record of taking legal action against those who falsely impugn them has been vital to the government maintaining its clean reputation, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Tuesday as he took the stand in a defamation suit against a vocal critic. In the first day of a four-day trial in the country’s High Court, Lee was questioned for four hours by Lim Tean, the lawyer for veteran blogger and politician Leong Sze Hian. The case attracted more than the usual attention... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3104401/singapore-pm-suing-blogger-defamation-says-lawsuits-key?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3104401/singapore-pm-suing-blogger-defamation-says-lawsuits-key?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Oct 2020 10:01:09 +0000 More voters want political pluralism after some 60 years of one-party rule, according to a survey conducted by a Singapore think tank after the July general election, which saw the highest number of opposition politicians elected since independence. The Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) found that respondents who could be described as “Conservative” – those who disagreed that political pluralism was valuable and Singapore’s electoral system should change to make that happen – fell to 18.5 per... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3103871/more-singaporeans-want-political-diversity-after-60-years-pap?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3103871/more-singaporeans-want-political-diversity-after-60-years-pap?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 01 Oct 2020 13:30:21 +0000 Pritam Singh, Singapore’s newly appointed Leader of the Opposition, on Monday sought to temper expectations that his Workers’ Party could immediately go toe to toe with the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) in formulating alternative policies and stressed that it would back the government if it was in the national interest. In particular, the party – which made historic gains in July’s election – supported efforts to finalise a code of conduct in the South China Sea, said Pritam. In a... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3099609/singapores-new-opposition-leader-vows-both-scrutiny-and-support?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3099609/singapores-new-opposition-leader-vows-both-scrutiny-and-support?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 31 Aug 2020 11:45:15 +0000 Singapore’s President Halimah Yacob on Monday opened a younger, more diverse parliament with the most number of opposition members in five decades, as the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) pledged to listen to criticism and be open to “new ways of doing things” in the wake of the July 10 election. Delivering remarks prepared by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s administration, the president said the government in its next five-year term would address public anxiety over issues ranging from... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3098659/singapore-parliament-opens-largest-opposition-presence-decades?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3098659/singapore-parliament-opens-largest-opposition-presence-decades?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 24 Aug 2020 13:27:29 +0000 Ngiam Tong Dow, the pioneering Singaporean civil servant who served four decades in the highest levels of the city state’s bureaucracy and on retirement bemoaned creeping “elite arrogance” among its latter-day mandarinate, has died at age 83. Ngiam’s family told The Straits Times he had been ill for the last 4.5 years. The public service stalwart’s career began in 1959, the same year Singapore gained self-rule from Britain under the leadership of founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew and the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3098182/ngiam-tong-dow-pioneering-singapore-bureaucrat-who-bemoaned-little?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3098182/ngiam-tong-dow-pioneering-singapore-bureaucrat-who-bemoaned-little?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 20 Aug 2020 11:33:01 +0000 Key points: • Lee said he hoped the next US administration would seek bipartisan consensus on Asia policy • He urged the US to ‘find a way to come back’ to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which Trump abandoned • Regarding US-China tech stand-off, Lee described fallout from possible supply chain bifurcation as ‘painful’ • He said Singapore did not exclude Huawei when it sought proposals to build 5G networks • Asked about Hong Kong unrest, he said everyone would benefit if city is ‘stable and calm... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3095065/singapore-pm-lee-hopes-us-china-ties-stabilise-after-election?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3095065/singapore-pm-lee-hopes-us-china-ties-stabilise-after-election?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 28 Jul 2020 16:06:56 +0000 Singapore’s government on Tuesday unveiled the perks and privileges it will accord to the country’s first-ever official Leader of the Opposition, Pritam Singh, after he led the Workers’ Party to the highest number of seats won by an opposition party for five decades. Along with doubling the salary he currently receives as a member of parliament, Singh will also be given allowances for staffing, and access to confidential briefings by the government on “select matters of national security and... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/article/3095063/singapores-leader-opposition-has-new-resources-will-they-help-alternative?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/article/3095063/singapores-leader-opposition-has-new-resources-will-they-help-alternative?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 28 Jul 2020 14:49:12 +0000 Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan has sought to quash speculation of waning support within the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) for the country’s designated future leader Heng Swee Keat, saying on Sunday that younger ministers dubbed the 4G group were in “complete unity” behind the finance tsar. Vivian’s comments to local media came a day after Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong unveiled his post-election cabinet and handed Heng, the deputy prime minister and finance minister, an... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3094750/younger-ministers-singapores-ruling-pap-fully-back-heng-swee?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3094750/younger-ministers-singapores-ruling-pap-fully-back-heng-swee?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 26 Jul 2020 07:48:24 +0000 In a widely expected post-election cabinet reshuffle, Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has retained veteran politicians in key positions, but younger ministers seen as future heavyweights were rotated to new portfolios. Political analysts said the line-up reflected caution on the part of Lee following a weaker-than-expected result by the People’s Action Party (PAP) in the July 10 election. Following the poll, commentators had questioned whether Lee’s designated successor Heng Swee... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3094689/singapores-pm-lee-keeps-faith-pap-veterans-post-election-cabinet?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3094689/singapores-pm-lee-keeps-faith-pap-veterans-post-election-cabinet?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 Jul 2020 07:19:45 +0000 Singapore authorities on Tuesday pledged to review sentencing guidelines for cases involving violence against women, following a public outcry over the relatively light sentence meted out to an undergraduate who attempted to strangle his girlfriend last year. In a rare rebuke of a court ruling by the establishment, female MPs from the long-ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) issued a statement expressing dismay over a sentence they described as “disproportionate to the offence” committed by... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3094124/outcry-prompts-singapore-review-sentencing-cases-involving?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3094124/outcry-prompts-singapore-review-sentencing-cases-involving?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Jul 2020 12:45:17 +0000 From children’s author J.K. Rowling to a Malaysian beauty queen and candidates in Singapore’s general election, it seems barely a day goes by without another high-profile person falling foul of “cancel culture”. Indeed, establishment writers, thinkers and journalists have become so worried by the trend that 150 of them – including the Harry Potter author, who has come under fire for her comments on transgender people – wrote to Harper’s Bazaar magazine earlier this month, to warn of an... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3093736/cancel-culture-how-asias-woke-brigade-became-political?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3093736/cancel-culture-how-asias-woke-brigade-became-political?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 19 Jul 2020 08:00:18 +0000 It had probably been the quietest nine-day election campaign in what was dubbed a Covid-19 election in Singapore, with rallies banned and on-the-ground campaigning limited. The battleground thus shifted to live-streamed speeches, social media postings and televised debates. The People’s Action Party (PAP), which has governed Singapore since 1959, returned as the ruling power with 83 of the 93 seats contested. However, it only won 61.2 per cent of the vote, a drop of 8.7 percentage points from... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3093418/singapore-election-results-show-city-maturing-democracy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3093418/singapore-election-results-show-city-maturing-democracy?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 Jul 2020 00:00:06 +0000 Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday said China would work with Singapore to “overcome distractions” to safeguard regional stability, in remarks some experts interpreted as a subtle “reminder” not to take sides as Washington and Beijing spar over the South China Sea and other issues ranging from trade to technology to human rights. The remarks, made to Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in a phone call, came a day after Washington rejected Beijing’s territorial claims in the South China... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3093313/xis-call-singapore-subtle-reminder-about-south-china-sea?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3093313/xis-call-singapore-subtle-reminder-about-south-china-sea?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Jul 2020 11:30:16 +0000 A higher number of women will become lawmakers in Singapore after last week’s general elections, setting the stage for fresh perspectives on topics ranging from jobs and families to climate change in this trade-reliant nation that has slumped to a recession. With 27 female politicians voted in as members of parliament, an increase from 21 in the last polls in 2015, women will now account for 29 per cent of the 93 elected seats. Their entrance may herald a shift in the city state’s traditionally... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3093209/singapore-elections-send-more-women-parliament-here-are?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3093209/singapore-elections-send-more-women-parliament-here-are?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Jul 2020 02:13:40 +0000 Singapore’s recent election was closely watched by Beijing and Washington, even though there was never any doubt the ruling People’s Action Party would be comfortably returned. The small country’s vast wealth, trade and investment enable it to punch far above its weight in regional and global affairs. It has maintained a careful balancing act between China and the United States and its political stability is important to both nations. But the vote did not go as expected and the severe economic... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3093016/singapore-election-vote-stability?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3093016/singapore-election-vote-stability?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 Jul 2020 13:59:27 +0000 Another mandate for Singapore’s ruling party – along with the opposition winning its most seats ever – will boost the city state’s equities, according to analysts. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s People’s Action Party (PAP) retained a firm grip on power but suffered its weakest performance in 55 years in office in an election on Friday as the opposition Workers’ Party won a record 10 seats and secured two group constituencies. A more diverse parliament could lead to better policy reforms that... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3092891/singapore-stocks-surge-after-pap-re-elected-more-diverse?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3092891/singapore-stocks-surge-after-pap-re-elected-more-diverse?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 Jul 2020 02:43:53 +0000 Singapore ’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong went into Friday’s general election saying a nation deep in “the crisis of a generation” needed the leadership of a strong People’s Action Party (PAP). In the early hours of Saturday, his government was presented with a different set of hard truths. Voters demanding a check on PAP power boosted the opposition’s small presence in parliament and raised questions about the government’s carefully orchestrated leadership succession plans. As expected, the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3092783/singapore-election-hard-truths-pap-voters-deny-ruling-party-easy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3092783/singapore-election-hard-truths-pap-voters-deny-ruling-party-easy?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 11 Jul 2020 09:06:04 +0000 Singapore accountant David Chew stood in line for almost two hours in the afternoon heat to cast his vote in the city state’s 13th general election. But the wait was worth it. The opposition Workers’ Party that he voted for won in his Sengkang group representation constituency (GRC) – only the second time a multi-seat ward has not gone to the ruling People’s Action Party since independent Singapore’s first elections in 1959. Singapore election: the present and future of the People’s Action... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3092762/singapore-election-5-key-takeaways-voters-deny-ruling-pap-blank?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3092762/singapore-election-5-key-takeaways-voters-deny-ruling-pap-blank?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 11 Jul 2020 02:43:12 +0000 Gains by the Workers’ Party (WP) in Singapore’s general election on Friday will bring elected opposition representation in parliament to 10 seats, an all-time high, and reflect a desire by voters for a check on the People’s Action Party government, analysts said. In a knife-edge victory, the four WP candidates aged between 26 and 44 secured 53 per cent of votes in the Sengkang constituency, only the second time the opposition has won a multi-seat ward that exists to ensure multiracial... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3092758/singapore-election-workers-partys-sengkang-win-boosts-opposition?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3092758/singapore-election-workers-partys-sengkang-win-boosts-opposition?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Jul 2020 20:19:55 +0000 Singapore’s ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) has formed the next government, with final results showing it won almost 90 per cent of the 93 seats contested in Friday’s general election. Returning Officer Tan Meng Dui declared results for all 31 constituencies in Friday’s general election early on Saturday morning. The PAP won 15 multi-seat constituencies and 13 single-seat wards, with a vote share of 61.24 per cent of all votes cast. The opposition Workers’ Party (WP) won a record 10 seats,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3092746/singapore-election-vote-counting-underway-after-highest-poll?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3092746/singapore-election-vote-counting-underway-after-highest-poll?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Jul 2020 14:44:09 +0000 Voting has ended in Singapore’s general election and ballot-counting will continue till the early hours of Saturday after a unprecedented poll held amid the Covid-19 pandemic, that saw mask-wearing citizens queuing up to vote in observance of strict safety measures. While the polls opened at 8am and were supposed to close at 8pm, the Elections Department announced a two-hour extension to 10pm after long queues at several polling stations. Before polls closed, the department issued a statement... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3092567/singapore-election-will-pap-win-big-amid-covid-19-crisis?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3092567/singapore-election-will-pap-win-big-amid-covid-19-crisis?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Jul 2020 00:00:24 +0000 In the final stretch of an election campaign that was meant to showcase Singapore’s next generation of leaders, the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) banked on its veterans to shore up voters’ confidence in its brand. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s two former deputies were suddenly prominent in the national media, reinforcing Lee’s assurance on Monday that they would be by his side to pull Singapore through the coronavirus crisis. The PAP’s chosen successors, fourth generation or “4G”... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3092392/singapore-election-peoples-action-party-workers-party-bring-out?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3092392/singapore-election-peoples-action-party-workers-party-bring-out?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 Jul 2020 13:18:33 +0000 Singapore’s nine-day general election campaign comes to an end on Wednesday. At midnight, all 192 candidates must suspend campaign activities to comply with a day-long “cooling off” period before voters make their choice on Friday. Going into the contest, some observers had predicted the hustings would be sedate, given the ban on mass rallies and restrictions on other physical political events because of the coronavirus pandemic. But the campaigning has been far from that, as the long-ruling... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3092307/singapore-election-six-twists-campaign-peoples-action-party-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3092307/singapore-election-six-twists-campaign-peoples-action-party-and?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 Jul 2020 07:44:51 +0000 Singapore’s fake news law is just nine months old but already it has been used to nip disinformation in the bud on a range of issues, from Covid-19 to immigration and economic projections. But the final days of campaigning for Friday’s general election have provided one of its biggest tests yet. When the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (Pofma) came into force last October, one of the biggest concerns among domestic critics of the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) was that... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3092228/has-singapores-fake-news-law-passed-election-test?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3092228/has-singapores-fake-news-law-passed-election-test?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 Jul 2020 13:38:48 +0000 Indonesian politician Rachmawati Sukarnoputri, 69, comes from a family of two presidents. Her father, Sukarno, fought for the country’s independence from Dutch rule, and was in office from 1945 to 1967. Her older sister Megawati Sukarnoputri, 73, who leads the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP), was president from 2001 to 2004. But blood does not always bind siblings in politics. Rachmawati is known as a staunch critic of her sister. During last year’s bruising legislative and... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3092218/singapore-thailand-why-are-political-sibling-rivalries-such-huge?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3092218/singapore-thailand-why-are-political-sibling-rivalries-such-huge?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 Jul 2020 12:23:36 +0000 The estranged brother of Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong made waves when he joined the opposition Progress Singapore Party last month. While he stopped short of contesting the July 10 poll, Lee Hsien Yang’s political foray signifies a shift in the family’s public squabble – from the feud over the house of their father and founding premier Lee Kuan Yew, to governance under the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) led by his elder brother. The feud has spilled over into other conflicts... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3092211/singapore-election-pms-brother-lee-hsien-yang-says-pap?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3092211/singapore-election-pms-brother-lee-hsien-yang-says-pap?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 Jul 2020 12:00:18 +0000 Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, contesting what is likely his last general election as the country’s leader, has signalled he will hand over power only after the Covid-19 crisis abates. During an online rally on Monday, Lee said he was “determined to hand over Singapore, intact and in good working order, to the next team”. “At this critical moment, Singapore needs a capable government, with the full support of a united people, more than ever,” he said. Lee’s remarks came as acrimony... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3092050/singapore-election-pm-lee-hsien-loong-signals-he-will-stay-until?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3092050/singapore-election-pm-lee-hsien-loong-signals-he-will-stay-until?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 Jul 2020 12:43:32 +0000 During my 18 years living and working in mainland China, people who discovered I was Singaporean would usually respond with one of the following remarks: • Singapore is efficient and corruption-free – usually said with a note of envy. • Singapore is what it is today because of former leader Lee Kuan Yew. • Singapore is run by the Lee family. • Singapore is predominantly ethnic Chinese. • Lee Kuan Yew was an admirable and amazing leader – a few would even go on to add, “if only China had an... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3091833/chinese-social-media-singapore-elections-amuse-and-confuse?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3091833/chinese-social-media-singapore-elections-amuse-and-confuse?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 Jul 2020 01:00:19 +0000 With four days left in a nine-day campaign period, Singapore’s July 10 election may boil down to a stark choice between the “reliability and security” offered by the incumbent People’s Action Party (PAP) and the diversity represented by the opposition, according to a prominent pollster. David Black, founder of the Singapore-based Blackbox Research, said that although bread-and-butter issues will guide voters’ decisions in the extraordinary pandemic-plagued polls, the simple binary question looms... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3091840/singapore-election-halfway-mark-campaign-presents-choice-between?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3091840/singapore-election-halfway-mark-campaign-presents-choice-between?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 Jul 2020 23:00:13 +0000 With mass rallies banned and major restrictions on other forms of physical campaigning, social media has become a vital soapbox for Singaporean politicians hoping to be elected in the July 10 election. Social media use during elections in the hyper-wired Asian city state is by no means new: since 2011, the long ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) has allowed for online campaigning. But in this extraordinary pandemic-era vote, politicians from both the PAP and the key opposition parties are keenly... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3091792/hype-beasts-fan-cams-does-singapore-opposition-have-online-edge?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3091792/hype-beasts-fan-cams-does-singapore-opposition-have-online-edge?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 Jul 2020 05:00:14 +0000 Singapore’s ruling party, the People’s Action Party (PAP), has appealed for a “strong mandate” in Friday’s polls. It is an exhortation that may bewilder foreign observers, given the incumbent’s record of dominance. The PAP, in power for the last six decades, has never lost more than one in 10 parliamentary seats in general elections held since independence in 1965, where its national vote share has yet to slip below 60 per cent – a showing that would leave other ruling parties in competitive... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3091795/singapore-election-whats-strong-win-pap-season-covid-19-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3091795/singapore-election-whats-strong-win-pap-season-covid-19-and?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Jul 2020 23:00:13 +0000 Very few Singaporeans would remember M.P.D. Nair, a unique political figure long forgotten and reduced to the footnotes of history. He was a former opposition politician with the Workers’ Party (WP), who had the honour of being the best loser in the 1984 general election. Up till then in the island republic’s history, being the best loser was a meaningless title which would at best elicit a rueful sigh and a consolation toast from party comrades. But Nair was different. He was offered the chance... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3091578/singapore-election-ncmp-scheme-lets-losers-win-what-price?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3091578/singapore-election-ncmp-scheme-lets-losers-win-what-price?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 02 Jul 2020 11:30:13 +0000 Singapore will hold Southeast Asia’s first general election of the coronavirus era on July 10, with pundits all but certain that Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s People’s Action Party (PAP) – which has governed for 61 uninterrupted years – will retain power easily. But as the nine-day campaign season kicked off this week, the 68-year-old leader said he expected the country’s small opposition players to give the PAP behemoth a “tough fight”. Lee said candidates for the PAP – co-founded by his... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3091401/singapore-election-present-and-future-peoples-action-party?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3091401/singapore-election-present-and-future-peoples-action-party?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 01 Jul 2020 11:36:52 +0000 The nomination process for Singapore’s July 10 general election closed on Tuesday with 192 candidates filing their papers to contest the 93 parliamentary seats. For the second consecutive election – and only the second time since the country’s independence – Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s People’s Action Party (PAP) will face opponents in all seats. Many political observers expect the ruling party to comfortably extend its uninterrupted rule of Singapore that stretches back to... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3091149/singapore-election-parties-taking-pap-july-10?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3091149/singapore-election-parties-taking-pap-july-10?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 30 Jun 2020 07:59:25 +0000 Campaigning for Singapore’s pandemic-plagued July 10 general election officially began on Tuesday with the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong pitted against not just the country’s small opposition players but his estranged brother Lee Hsien Yang as well. But despite an initial buzz of excitement – with Lee Hsien Yang seen at a coffee shop near a nomination centre for the district of Tanjong Pagar, the constituency once helmed by the siblings’ late father Lee... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3091138/singapore-pms-estranged-brother-wont-contest-july-10-election?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3091138/singapore-pms-estranged-brother-wont-contest-july-10-election?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 30 Jun 2020 03:52:13 +0000 On the eve of campaigning for the July 10 elections, Singapore’s main opposition party is looking to remind voters they could end up with a one-party parliament, while the current government has fought back by insisting it was an electoral tactic and that it was geared up for a tough fight. The Workers’ Party’s secretary general Pritam Singh on Sunday said the opposition faced the threat of a “wipeout” with no members elected to parliament. He was speaking as he unveiled the party’s manifesto,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3091079/singapore-election-opposition-parties-pull-no-punches-opposing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3091079/singapore-election-opposition-parties-pull-no-punches-opposing?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 29 Jun 2020 12:59:33 +0000 Singapore’s biggest opposition party has released an election manifesto that sought to reduce costs of living and widen the safety net for residents. The Workers’ Party main proposals include opposing the government’s plan to increase the goods-and-services tax, and reiterating calls for a national minimum wage and unemployment insurance, it said on Sunday. It sought a minimum monthly take-home wage of S$1,300 (US$934) for full-time workers. “A large number of Singaporean families have... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3090929/singapore-election-workers-party-manifesto-targets-high?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3090929/singapore-election-workers-party-manifesto-targets-high?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 28 Jun 2020 15:34:15 +0000 Singapore’s ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) suffered a surprise setback on Saturday as one of its new candidates for the July 10 general election, Ivan Lim Shaw Chuan, dropped out of the race after a wave of criticism over his behaviour at work and during military service. The decision was a dramatic about-turn by the 42-year-old, who in the afternoon had issued a statement rebutting some of the criticism in a two-page statement. But late in the evening, in a letter to Prime Minister Lee... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3090873/online-backlash-forces-singapores-pap-drop-ivan-lim-election?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3090873/online-backlash-forces-singapores-pap-drop-ivan-lim-election?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 27 Jun 2020 15:06:42 +0000 Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, facing a July 10 snap election, on Saturday said his People’s Action Party (PAP) will campaign on bread-and-butter issues amid the coronavirus crisis, in a departure from its usual practice of addressing long-term issues during elections. Unveiling the party’s manifesto, Lee said the plans he was announcing differed from a normal election, when the campaign agenda would “focus on all our long-term ideas to improve and transform Singapore”. In normal... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3090834/singapore-election-pap-campaign-bread-and-butter-issues-pm-lee?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3090834/singapore-election-pap-campaign-bread-and-butter-issues-pm-lee?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 27 Jun 2020 04:46:33 +0000 Goh Chok Tong and Low Thia Khiang, two of the biggest names in Singaporean politics who formerly led their parties and over decades crossed swords in parliament, have retired from active politics – marking the end of an era in the republic’s electoral history. Goh, who served as prime minister from 1990-2004 after succeeding independence leader Lee Kuan Yew, on Thursday told Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong he would not stand as an MP in the country’s July 10 general election. “Having served as a... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3090578/goh-chok-tong-low-thia-khiang-will-not-run-singapore-election?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3090578/goh-chok-tong-low-thia-khiang-will-not-run-singapore-election?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 25 Jun 2020 09:09:52 +0000