GE2025: SDP's Paul Tambyah calls on Chan Chun Sing to reassure voters they can vote ‘without fear of retribution'
[SINGAPORE] Education Minister Chan Chun Sing should step forward to reassure Singaporeans that they can 'vote freely without fear of retribution', Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) chairman Paul Tambyah said on Tuesday (Apr 29).
'I would call on Mr Chan Chun Sing… to make a strong statement reassuring Singaporeans they can vote freely without fear of retribution, no matter whether they work in the civil service, the military, the police or any other government organisation,' said Dr Tambyah at an election rally.
In addition to his education portfolio, Chan also serves as Minister-in-charge of the Public Service.
Dr Tambyah cited a Straits Times article published on Monday, in which a 21-year-old law student – who attended an SDP rally the day before – declined to reveal her name after her father, an employee at a government-linked corporation, advised against it.
Such fears could be 'generational', Dr Tambyah said in his 12-minute address, noting that the student's father 'may have grown up in the era of Operation Coldstore or Operation Spectrum, when the 3 am knock on the door was a reality for critics of the PAP'.
'It is disturbing that today, many young people still share the same fear,' he added.
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Dr Tambyah was speaking at a lunchtime rally at UOB Plaza's promenade, an event traditionally known as the Fullerton rally. He was the seventh of eight SDP speakers, with party chief Chee Soon Juan delivering the final speech.
In his 23-minute speech, Dr Chee criticised several incidents that occurred under the government's watch.
Said Dr Chee: 'I'm going to list out a list of PAP scandals and screw-ups only because our PAP ministers keep running the propaganda that they are exceptional, and that they don't need an opposition to hold them accountable.'
He cited Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong's handling of former Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin affairs; the use of TraceTogether data for police investigations; the Ridout Road controversy; and the six-day MRT breakdown on the East West Line, as some examples.
'My message is not that the PAP (or) this government is 100 per cent bad or that it's 100 per cent good,' Dr Chee said.
'What I want to get across to you, is that the PAP is most certainly not the exceptional party that it says that it is. And if you're not exceptional, then be humble.'
Tuesday's event was the second lunchtime rally of this year's General Election (GE), following the People's Action Party's (PAP) rally at the same venue on Monday.
The SDP is the only opposition party to have held a lunchtime rally since 1997, when the Workers' Party last did so; the last time the SDP held such a rally in the Central Business District was during GE2015.
Dr Tambyah is contesting Bukit Panjang SMC, where he faces a rematch against the PAP's Liang Eng Hwa, who narrowly defeated him five years ago with 53.73 per cent of the vote – the closest margin among all the single-ward contests that year.
Fear tactics
At the rally, other SDP candidates spoke about the ruling party's 'fear tactics', urging voters not to let 'fear guide (their) decisions'.
'As we turn into the final days of the campaign, you will hear the PAP turn up the fear rhetoric,' said James Gomez, a candidate for Sembawang GRC.
'When you vote for a stronger opposition, you are not hurting Singapore – you are only threatening the PAP's desire for total control,' he added.
First-time candidate Ariffin Sha, standing in Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC, also urged voters to reject what he described as the 'policy of fear'.
'Do not let the PAP's fear tactics sway you in any way,' he said. 'You are not shortchanging yourself by voting for an SDP MP in Parliament – the government's programmes will still go on your estate.'
Other speakers at Tuesday's lunchtime rally included Jufri Salim, contesting Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC, as well as Alfred Tan, Damanhuri Abas, and Bryan Lim, who are all part of the Sembawang GRC slate.
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