SINGAPORE — Candidates from the People’s Action Party (PAP) and the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) contesting in Holland-Bukit Timah Group Representation Constituency (GRC) for the July 10 polls made their respective pitches to voters in a constituency political broadcast on Saturday (July 4).

The four-man PAP team comprises incumbent Members of Parliament (MPs) Vivian Balakrishnan, 59; Sim Ann, 45; Christopher De Souza, 44. New candidate Edward Chia, 36, rounds up the group.

This is the third time PAP will be up against SDP in the constituency. In the 2015 General Election (GE), PAP won 66.6 per cent of the vote.

Dr Balakrishnan, who has served as MP for almost two decades, pitched his team as a “tried and tested” one and asked residents to support them again.

“This election takes place during the deepest crisis confronting us since (the country's) independence,” he said. “The choice you will make at this election will determine a government that will have to make profound decisions with deep impact for many years to come.”

The opposing SDP candidates for Holland-Bukit Timah GRC are Mr Alfred Tan, 54; Dr James Gomez, 55; Ms Min Cheong, 35 and Mr Tan Jee Say, 66.

This is Mr Alfred Tan and Ms Cheong’s first time running in a GE. Both Mr Tan Jee Say and Dr Gomez contested in GE2011 as SDP candidates, for Holland-Bukit Timah GRC and Sembawang GRC respectively.

The SDP team’s speeches mostly focused on the party’s plans to see Singapore through the Covid-19 crisis. Mr Alfred Tan referred to the party’s "4Y1N" manifesto, stating that it is the party’s vision for how the country can transition into the post-Covid-19 world.

Mr Tan Jee Say made a case for how his team is prepared to take on the responsibilities of elected MPs, should they be elected. He talked about the candidates’ various experiences and backgrounds in finance and in managing small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), as well as their work experience in large conglomerates and international organisations.

In these constituency political broadcasts, candidates vying for single-seat wards have three minutes each to speak. Those contesting in four- and five-member GRCs have 12 and 15 minutes respectively in total.

The broadcasts are being aired on Channel 5, CNA938, cna.asia, 8world.com, CNA YouTube, CNA Facebook and TODAY at 7pm from July 3 to 8.

PAP'S PROPOSALS

• Mr Chia, the co-founder of lifestyle and entertainment group Timbre, said that he strives to be an effective voice for SMEs in Parliament. As SMEs provide 70 per cent of the jobs in Singapore, one of the best ways to provide Singaporeans with a better job is to redouble efforts to help such businesses survive and emerge from the crisis stronger than before.

• Mr De Souza said that one of the team’s priorities is to create a green and sustainable constituency. The team will introduce more solar panels for public housing blocks, build vertical urban farms and fix up motion detectors for lamps in common spaces. 

• Ms Sim said that the community efforts she has seen in the past few months during the pandemic has given her confidence that "we can build back better”, which is only possible because of a shared past, skills and technology, as well as trust between residents and the GRC team. 

• She added that her team has many ideas about expanding community initiatives to support national priorities during the pandemic, such as to support jobseekers in the community and to set up a digital communications registry.

• Dr Balakrishnan spoke about the actions that the PAP Government took in response to the global pandemic, such as protecting jobs, keeping companies afloat as well as the “largest consular operation in our history” to bring Singaporeans home. “I’m optimistic that we will emerge from this crisis stronger, more resilient, more united than ever before.”  

Dr Balakrishnan closed off the team’s speech by saying that Singapore will get through the Covid-19 crisis: “That extra ingredient is trust. You know us, you know what we stand for, you know we will do everything to support you, your families and your children.”

SDP’S PROPOSALS

• Dr Gomez criticised the PAP Government’s management of the Covid-19 crisis, singling out decisions such as the changes in the mask-wearing regulations and how it handled the clusters in foreign worker dormitories.

• Mr Alfred Tan said that the “economy and social landscape after Covid-19 will be different from the one we know”, and added that SDP’s “Four Yeses, One No” election campaign slogan is the party’s “response for the people and the economy to transition and thrive in the new Singapore”.

• Mr Tan Jee Say said that job creation in “stable sectors” such as healthcare and education are needed “with much greater urgency” during the pandemic. He added: “We need to make sure that we have stable and fulfilling jobs for the people, and not just short-term traineeships.”

• Although the pandemic is at the forefront of many Singaporeans’ minds, the country still needs to “address some fundamental issues plaguing our economy” including the rising cost of living and the rise in income inequality. This is “so that Singapore can move on as a fairer and more embracing and inclusive society”, he said.

• Ms Cheong spoke about wanting to introduce reforms in Singapore’s workplace culture. She said: “The nation is overworked, stressed and struggling to survive in a climate of merciless competition amid an uncertain future — one exacerbated by the Covid-19 outbreak.”

Mr Alfred Tan said: “In the new world, we cannot keep on doing the same thing, expecting the same thing, when the world is no longer the same thing. We cannot afford to stand still. We need to press ahead, just to stay relevant.”