GE2025: Goh Meng Seng tells Pritam Singh to ‘be humble’, accuses Workers’ Party of ‘abandoning’ voters

SINGAPORE: The People’s Power Party’s (PPP) chief Goh Meng Seng on Thursday (Apr 24) slammed his Workers’ Party counterpart Pritam Singh for the second time in as many days over the opposition party’s decision to not contest and thus pave the way for an unexpected walkover in Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC.

In a strongly worded speech to open his party’s first rally leading up to Singapore’s May 3 General Election, Mr Goh asked Mr Singh to “be humble”, accused him of betraying voters and questioned if he was fit to be a leader, among several other broadsides fired.

“They have abandoned 130,000 voters in Marine Parade. On what good grounds? To come to Tampines for a four-cornered fight? No one in his right mind, I believe, would agree that this is a good strategic move,” said Mr Goh. 

He is helming a PPP slate in a rare four-way contest against the WP, the National Solidarity Party (NSP) and an incumbent People’s Action Party (PAP) team in Tampines GRC.

“Why would they do that? I only have one reason in mind … they want to make sure Goh Meng Seng does not go into parliament,” he added.

Mr Goh attributed this to the PPP’s disagreement with Singapore’s mandatory vaccination programme. The opposition party had in 2024 made several calls to suspend COVID-19 vaccination, prompting rebuttals from the Ministry of Health.

“They betrayed 130,000 voters … in Marine Parade just to stop us from getting into parliament to raise this issue,” he said.

The five-member PAP team for Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC was declared elected on Nomination Day after no other candidates submitted their papers.

The WP, widely expected to contest in the GRC as it had in 2015 and 2020, did not field a team.

Instead of Marine Parade-Braddell Heights, the WP ended up making a play for Tampines – a Group Representation Constituency it has never contested in.

Several other opposition parties have also expressed disappointment with WP for the unexpected twist in events.

Mr Goh on Wednesday told reporters his party would have contested in Marine Parade-Braddell Heights had the WP not been “mum about their deployment”. He called the move “purely irresponsible”.

Mr Singh, when asked to respond to Mr Goh’s comments on Thursday morning, said the PPP secretary-general “should focus on the campaign in Tampines”.