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SINGAPORE: A multi-party contest has been confirmed for Sembawang GRC, despite the desire from some opposition voters that the National Solidarity Party (NSP) would choose, at the nth hour, to stay out of the fray.
At the Chongfu School nomination centre, three teams were put up on the board: the People’s Action Party (PAP), the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), and NSP.
Health Minister Ong Ye Kung is leading a team of five, comprising three incumbent MPs and two new faces. The incumbents, aside from Mr Ong, are Marian Jaafar and Vikram Nair while the new candidates are Gabriel Lam and Ng Shi Xuan.
The SDP team contesting the ward include party vice-chairman Bryan Lim and other longtime members James Gomez, Surayah Akbar, Damanhuri Abas and Alfred Tan.
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The NSP slate is led by party chief Spencer Ng and includes Raiyian Chia, Verina Ong, Lee Wei and Yadzeth Hairis.
While NSP was the party that contested Sembawang GRC in the past two election cycles, the party has faced widespread calls to step back from the ward in the latest polls after the SDP announced its Northern Strategy following the release of the latest electoral boundaries.
The SDP contested the ward in the 2006 and 2011 elections and dubbed the return to the constituency as a homecoming, with the party chief contesting neighbouring Sembawang West SMC.
The NSP, however, has been resolute in staying at Sembawang. When the SDP offered NSP to take over its stake in Holland-Bukit Timah GRC in exchange for Sembawang GRC, NSP chief Mr Ng controversially likened the proposal to the “exchanging of wives.”
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Commenting on the potential three-way contest earlier this week, Dr Chee had said, “It’s not so much of who stands where, but where you stand. You make sure that it’s not like tissue paper, you put on the table and ‘chope’ … It’s formulating our message to the voters.”
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