Elections 2025: Leong Mun Wai of PSP asserts that the government's strength remained unaffected despite losing Group Representation Constituencies.
Rebel Voices Take On The Establishment In Singapore:
Singapore: The political landscape here has seen some shake-up, with the government maintaining its grip despite losing certain key constituencies in past elections. This is according to Progress Singapore Party (PSP) leader Leong Mun Wai, who voiced his thoughts on Thursday (May 1).
"Is a weakened government capable of pushing through the increase in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) scheduled for 2022?" questioned Leong, referring to the budget announcement made earlier this year.
His remarks come in response to Health Minister Ong Ye Kung's assertion during a rally on Wednesday, suggesting that additional loss of ministers and constituencies for the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) could destabilize Singapore, potentially leading to the country's downfall.
Leong dismissed Ong's concerns, labeling them as outlandish. "The PAP has experienced the loss of ministers and constituencies in the past without witnessing any weakening of the government's power in the subsequent years," he remarked.
He further asserted that a robust administration, with its constitution-amending powers, has the capacity to force the GST increase through the parliament, regardless of the toothless opposition's objections. "This minister's argument regarding the government's weakness, due to the loss of some ministers and constituencies, holds little merit," Leong concluded.
A Lesson in Political Resilience?
Fellow PSP candidate and former Non-Constituency MP Hazel Poa also weighed in on Ong's comments. "Ong himself has experienced loss in the past, having been part of a PAP team that lost Aljunied GRC in the 2011 election," she pointed out.
However, Ong was later reintroduced in the political sphere, fielded in Sembawang GRC in 2015 and eventually being appointed as Health Minister.
The political resilience displayed by the government, in spite of occasional losses, has been a recurring theme in Singapore's electoral history. Despite opposition parties raising concerns over the GST increase, the PAP's parliamentary majority remains solid, ensuring the passage of budgets and tax changes.
- The Progress Singapore Party (PSP) leader Leong Mun Wai, in response to Health Minister Ong Ye Kung's remarks, questioned whether a weakening People's Action Party (PAP) government would be capable of pushing through the rise in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) scheduled for 2022.
- Leong further suggested that the constitutional powers of a robust administration allow it to force the GST increase through the parliament, regardless of objections from the opposition.
- In the general news and policy-and-legislation sphere, there has been heavy discussion on the implication of a weakened PAP government on the scheduled GST increase in 2022.
- The 2025 general election (ge2025) is anticipated to showcase how the power dynamics between the ruling establishment, represented by the PAP, and the opposition parties, led by the Progress Singapore Party, will shape Singapore's political future.
