Fellow Singaporeans, residents of Sembawang West and Sembawang GRC, I will come straight to the point.
Instead of addressing the cost of living and healthcare costs that’s hurting Singaporeans, Ong Ye Kung – the PAP’s Health Minister and candidate in Sembawang GRC – spent most of his speech yesterday throwing barbs at the Singapore Democratic Party.
Instead of trading barbs or descending into petty politics, I will speak plainly and earnestly. After all, in politics, you must have a certain “je ne sais quoi” when you address your opponents.
Ong Ye Kung frames the contest in Sembawang GRC as a choice between who to include or exclude from the PAP’s “Sembawang family”.
So let me be clear with our intentions: The SDP believes elections are about policies, accountability and representation. It is not about personal ties, but it’s about selecting leaders who will put you at the core – the well-being of residents.
SDP’s approach to Sembawang is a comprehensive one. We contest both Sembawang West SMC and Sembawang GRC as part of our “Northern Strategy” with a Town Plan that places residents at its core.
It is presumptuous of Ong to assume he has the voters’ automatic support in Sembawang GRC. No, he does not. And, we in the SDP do not believe in his right to this entitlement.
We believe in earning the voters’ trust through our commitment to speak for the residents as SDP MPs: MPs who are not afraid to challenge bad policies; MPs who won’t be silenced; and MPs who will ask the tough questions and fight for better answers.
So while Ong and the PAP argue over who should be in or out of their “family”, the SDP is here to build a larger, more inclusive Sembawang community – one where every voice is heard, and where every resident matters. And while we are on the subject of Ong’s “Sembawang family”, Ong should ask himself why he abandoned his “Aljunied family” and why other PAP MPs move around different constituencies.
Let’s be reminded Ong lost in Aljuined in 2011, and parachuted in 2015 into Sembawang GRC whose boundary was re-drawn. The key thing, the boundary was re-drawn. Contrary to his claims that the SDP has only recently shown interest in Sembawang, our engagement in Sembawang has spanned 2 decades – 20 years. We’ve been actively involved in community outreach, listening to residents, understanding their needs and standing for elections.
After several walkover elections for the PAP, the SDP broke ground and contested Sembawang in 2006 and we went further and contested again in 2011. And in 2011, the SDP secured the largest swing, voter’s swing in a GRC in its favour.
However, through a redrawing of boundaries, in 2015, a large part of Sembawang was cut out and created the new Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC. So, 10 years ago, there is no Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC but it was cut out of Sembawang. So, the SDP made a choice then to remain and contest in MYT in 2015 and 2020 – while the original Sembawang GRC continued to be decimated by the re-drawing of boundaries.
In 2022, the SDP decided to bring into its focus Sembawang GRC – which evolved as a natural extension of our ground operations in the nearby MYT GRC, as well as the changes in the electoral boundaries.
Many of the residential and commercial areas have close ties, and with regular redrawing of boundaries in the Northern constituencies, there emerged a natural connection and strategy and we saw the opportunity within the Northern Strategy.
But apart from the synergies arising from the common boundaries, why did the SDP make this move? For years, we had heard concerns and dissatisfaction with the PAP and Ong’s team. From cluttered corridors and stairwells; water run-offs and flooding caused by heavy rains; amenities development being unresponsive to the changing demographics of the elderly, young people and young families; overcrowding in common areas around MRT train stations and very very dirty public toilets; and the list goes on. The message to us was: the Town Council under Ong Ye Kung had failed to address these issues. We have seen firsthand how these concerns remain unresolved till today.
Residents also expressed to us that they want a strong electoral contender against the PAP in Sembawang GRC – who would not only listen, but also act to resolve these long-standing issues.
So, the SDP put Ong Ye Kung on notice in 2022. That was 3 years ago. And let me remind you what Ong said in 2022 when we made our announcement. He said, “we look forward to a healthy contest and we’ll do our best to win the mandate of the people”. Ong has forgotten all this, and chooses now to misrepresent the situation to the voters of Sembawang.
Since 2022, the SDP has been in quiet preparations as we listened to the concerns of the Sembawang GRC residents.
We conducted house visits, distributed flyers and conducted public meet and greet appearances. If you look around Sembawang this election, you will see our posters and banners were up in a timely manner. If you look even more closely in Sembawang, you will notice the SDP has the largest posters in the constituency!
The desire to have SDP MPs elected in Sembawang GRC and Sembawang SMC is strong. You see it reflected in the growing team of dedicated and energetic volunteers who are largely from Sembawang; and who are driven by the belief that real change is possible if we stand together as a community. To address the residents of Sembawang, tomorrow, the SDP will release its Town Plan. It will lay out our vision for a well-maintained Sembawang and an inclusive community.
These are the reasons why we are contesting in Sembawang GRC and Sembawang West SMC as part of SDP’s Northern Strategy that also includes Marsling-Yew Tee.
The attempt this afternoon by PAP’s Alex Yam of MYT GRC to press for explanation for the actions taken by political parties to the changes in electoral boundaries is moot. Because part of the problem is the absence of an independent election commission and the opaqueness around the redrawing the boundaries. Issues that need to be fixed by a multiparty parliament.
I want to end by responding to one final point Ong made yesterday. He claimed that electing an SDP MP would harm Singapore’s international credibility.
That is just fake news – a strong political system is not built on one-party domination. It is built on checks and balances, robust debate and the freedom for diverse voices to shape a shared future. Around the world, countries with credible political systems are respected not because they silence the opposition, but because they embrace it.
Rather than accepting what Ong Ye Kung wants you to believe, or wants us to believe, having SDP MPs in Parliament will not diminish our international reputation; it will only enhance it. It will show the world that Singaporeans want domestic political accountability. That we will not settle for a system that only serves one party – but one that works for all.
So, our vision for Sembawang – and indeed, for Singapore – is a future where every voice counts. Where policies are made for people, not handed to them.
Our presence in Sembawang is a deliberate and well-thought-out response to electoral changes, ground realities and the growing demand from residents for a real contest – and for a real representation. At SDP we don’t trade barbs – we have a certain “je ne sais quoi” – the PAP will never understand.
Vote for SDP. Vote for SDP MPs.
And Thank you very much and have a good evening.