SINGAPORE: Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said on Saturday (Apr 26) that there is “nothing wrong” in making political calculations and switching constituencies as long as candidates are upfront about it to voters.
Going forward, he said the focus should be on policy ideas instead, given that it is now the fourth day of campaigning in this General Election.
Said Mr Ong: “Just be upfront with voters, don’t say I’m doing it for them. That’s all I’m saying.”
“But I would say that we are now in day four of the campaign. I think there was a lot of excitement after nomination and different people deployed to different places,” said Mr Ong.
“I think that excitement, we probably have to put it behind us.”
He was speaking to reporters at the sidelines of his walkabout at Bukit Canberra Hawker Centre in Sembawang GRC, where he is leading the People’s Action Party (PAP) slate against the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) and the National Solidarity party (NSP).
The other candidates in his Sembawang GRC team – Ms Mariam Jaafar, Mr Vikram Nair, Mr Gabriel Lam and Mr Ng Shi Xuan – were also present during the walkabout.
On Saturday, Mr Ong acknowledged that SDP during their political rally speeches on Friday spent some time responding to the message he made during PAP’s maiden rally for this general election on Thursday.
Mr Ong had said in his rally speech that SDP chief Dr Chee Soon Juan needed to give a better explanation on why he “abandoned Bukit Batok to come to Sembawang West”.
He was referring to how Dr Chee had moved away from Bukit Batok SMC to contest the newly carved out Sembawang West GRC. Dr Chee had previously stood as a SDP candidate in Bukit Batok SMC, which has since been absorbed into Jurong East-Bukit Batok GRC in the latest electoral boundaries report.
A few SDP candidates referred to what Mr Ong said in their rally speeches, stating that the minister previously “abandoned his Aljunied family” and moved to Sembawang GRC in 2015. Mr Ong was part of the PAP team that lost to the Workers’ Party in Aljunied GRC at the 2011 polls.
The SDP candidates also questioned PAP’s move to field incumbent MPs in other constituencies for this election.
Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Mr Ong said that going forward, the focus should be on the different policy ideas put out by the different parties.
“That is probably what residents want to hear, and for many residents, that is the basis on which they will decide who to vote for.”
