GE2025: PAP retains winning streak in Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC against SPP
PAP’s Alex Yeo sweeps to victory in three-way tussle for neighbouring Potong Pasir; PAR secretary-general Lim Tean to lose election deposit
[SINGAPORE] Residents of Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC remain under the stewardship of the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) slate helmed by Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat, who took over Dr Ng Eng Hen as the team’s anchor minister.
Comprising incumbent Saktiandi Supaat, who is also head of foreign exchange research at Maybank, as well as fresh-face social entrepreneur Cai Yinzhou and Elysa Chen, executive director of a social service agency, the quartet secured 75.21 per cent of the vote.
This compares with a vote share of 67.23 per cent in the 2020 General Election (GE) and 73.59 per cent in GE2015.
PAP went head-to-head with opposition coalition Singapore People’s Party (SPP), a familiar rival in the constituency. The PAP team raked in 66,137 votes while the SPP team gathered 21,799 votes; 2,084 votes were rejected.
SPP fielded a team comprising secretary-general Steve Chia, party chairman Melvyn Chiu, as well as new faces Muhammad Norhakim, who is an operations executive, and Lim Rui Xian, who is self-employed.
Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC was one of nine constituencies left unchanged from the previous general election. It comprises 98,708 registered electors this time, compared with 101,220 in GE2020.
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Potong Pasir victory
Once part of the ruling PAP’s ill-fated “Suicide Squad” in the Workers’ Party stronghold of Aljunied GRC at the 2020 polls, Alex Yeo has now clinched his first electoral victory – and a solo one – in Potong Pasir SMC.
With 69.18 per cent of the votes, Yeo defeated secretary-general Lim Tean of the opposition People’s Alliance for Reform (PAR) and treasurer Williiamson Lee of the Singapore People’s Party (SPP) – in one of five multi-cornered fights this general election.
Yeo raked in 19,185 votes; Lim received 2,316 ballots; while Lee garnered 6,230 chops. In total, 544 slips were rejected.
The former PAP branch chair for Paya Lebar in Aljunied GRC replaced three-term Member of Parliament Sitoh Yih Pin, who has stepped down.
Meanwhile, opposition alliance PAR’s Lim contested in GE2020 in Jalan Besar GRC under the Peoples Voice (PV) banner – where he also serves as party chief – alongside Michael Fang, Leong Sze Hian and Nor Azlan Sulaiman.
That year, the PV quartet lost to a PAP slate – helmed by Digital Development and Information Minister Josephine Teo – who won with 65.36 per cent of the vote.
Lim will lose his election deposit for GE2025, having failed to secure more than 12.5 per cent of the votes polled.
Meanwhile, SPP’s Lee, who is self-employed, is said to have been a “steadfast member” of SPP for two decades.
At the previous general election in 2020, he was fielded in the Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, where SPP lost to a PAP team led by Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen with 32.77 per cent of the vote.
Familiar battleground
Potong Pasir SMC was a former opposition stronghold, having been under the stewardship of veteran opposition politician Chiam See Tong for close to three decades, from 1984 to 2011.
The ward was the battleground for the closest fight in GE2011, with PAP’s Sitoh narrowly edging out SPP with 50.36 per cent of the vote – a margin of just over 100 ballots.
The single-seat constituency remained under Sitoh in GE2015 with a 66.39 per cent vote share, which fell to 60.67 per cent in GE2020.
Once the smallest SMC in Singapore, the Potong Pasir ward surged to 30,971 registered electors this time, compared with 19,731 in GE2020.
Some polling districts were carved out and absorbed into the new five-member Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC.
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