SINGAPORE GE2025

GE2025: PM Wong speaks at Fullerton rally; SDP, WP to hold rallies on Day 6 of campaign

Therese Soh

Published Mon, Apr 28, 2025 · 12:36 PM — Updated Mon, Apr 28, 2025 · 06:43 PM

PM Wong, speaking at the Fullerton rally during lunchtime on Monday (Apr 28), said that the vote for the opposition is not a “free vote for more alternative voices”, but a vote to weaken the PAP team. PHOTO: YEN MENG JIIN, BT

[SINGAPORE] On the sixth day of GE2025 campaigning on Monday (Apr 28), three parties are holding rallies from 7pm to 10pm tonight, after this afternoon’s rally in the central business district.

The People’s Action Party (PAP) is holding three evening rallies, while the Singapore Democratic Party and Workers’ Party (WP) have one each.

Scroll down for their locations and timings, along with livestream links to watch them online.

PAP: PM Wong holds first lunchtime rally

Earlier today, the PAP held this election’s first lunchtime rally at the promenade near UOB Plaza.

Traditionally known as the Fullerton rally, it drew a crowd of office workers to hear Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, alongside Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Indranee Rajah and seven PAP newcomers:

Bernadette Giam
David Hoe
David Neo
Goh Hanyan
Hazlina Abdul Halim
Jagathishwaran Rajo
Syed Harun Alhabsyi, former Nominated Member of Parliament

In case you missed it, here’s our livestream of the rally to rewatch at your leisure.

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At the rally, PM Wong said that the vote for the opposition is not a “free vote for more alternative voices”, but a vote to weaken the PAP team.

Opposition wins could cause the loss of three or four ministers, which would weaken not just the government but also the country, at an already challenging time, he said.

The current economic turbulence “is not a passing storm”, he warned. “This storm will test us, and if we are not careful, we could lose everything that we have worked so hard to build here in Singapore.”

If the PAP earns a weak mandate in GE2025, bigger countries might be temped to push Singapore around, he added.

Apart from economic pressures, here’s what he said on other issues:

On goods and services tax hikes: “The opposition wants foreigners, tourists and higher-income families to pay a lower rate of GST. Would you? I wouldn’t. I think it’s fair and right of them to pay the full rate. But for lower and middle income Singaporeans – we protect you, we shield you, we give you permanent GST vouchers in cash, which means you pay an effectively lower GST rate.”
On the opposition’s idea of a minimum wage: “It sounds good on paper. But if we implement this by law, companies will have to pay more for their workers. Your costs will go up. Companies can only recover it by raising prices on the goods and services they sell to Singaporeans. So how does this solve cost of living pressures?” Instead, there are existing policies such as the Workfare Income Supplement and Progressive Wage Model, he said.
On opposition manifestos: “Their manifestos have many details, (and are) a long wish list, but are they feasible, viable and sustainable? Will there be negative outcomes? Please think about it,” he said. “If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is too good to be true. There is no such thing as a free lunch.”

WP: Rebuttals on Income-Allianz

At a media doorstop this morning, WP chief Pritam Singh disagreed with Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s claim that the aborted deal between NTUC Income and Allianz would have gone through had the WP been in charge.

At a rally on Sunday, SM Lee noted that WP MPs had abstained from voting on a bill to block the German insurer’s bid for a controlling stake in Income. This was after Singh said, on Saturday, that no labour MP had spoken up about the deal.

On Monday, Singh said that SM Lee had sidestepped his point. Although six PAP MPs and one WP MP questioned the deal, the ratio of PAP MPs to WP MPs is about nine to one, he said.

SM Lee had characterised the issue as if the WP were in charge – “but we weren’t”, he added.

The WP secretary-general added that even if all 26 WP candidates were voted into Parliament, the government would still have enough leeway to deal with issues of the day.