Shake-up in opposition wards: Is PAP playing the long game with round of new branch chairs at Aljunied, Hougang?

SINGAPORE: The People’s Action Party announced on Thursday (Feb 13) that it had appointed four new branch chairpersons in wards located at Aljunied GRC and Hougang SMC. This is the second such shake-up in less than a  year, since the PAP introduced two new faces at Aljunied last August.

Mr Daniel Liu has replaced Mr Kenny Sim as the branch chairperson at Paya Lebar. Mr Liu is a longtime volunteer and activist who served as assistant branch secretary for Nee Soon East. He is the managing director of MORROW, an urban planning and architecture firm, and the son of Singapore's first master planner, Liu Thai Ker.

Mr Adrian Ang has replaced Mr Victor Lye as the chairperson of the Bedok Reservoir-Punggol branch. Mr Ang, a director at facility and environmental management company Chye Thiam Maintenance, previously served as the secretary of the PAP’s Toa Payoh West-Thomson branch in Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, holding the position for more than 10 years. Mr Lye, who started volunteering with the PAP at Aljunied in 1999, served as the chairperson of the Bedok Reservoir-Punggol branch for 13 years. He was part of the PAP slate that lost at Aljunied in the 2015 and 2020 general elections. The other two new branch chairs are Faisal Abdul Aziz (Kaki Bukit) and Marshall Lim (Hougang). They are replacing Shamsul Kamar and Jackson Lam, respectively. Dr Faisal is the clinical director (dental) and dental surgeon at Nuffield Holdings. Mr Lim, a litigator, formerly served as a deputy public prosecutor in the Attorney-General’s Chambers and an assistant chief public defender in the Public Defender’s Office.

Whatever reason the ruling party has for the leadership changes in these wards, if these new branch chairs are fielded in the next general election, their journey will not be easy. Hougang has been held by the Workers’ Party since 1991 and Aljunied GRC since 2011.

The WP leaders on the ground at Aljunied include chair Sylvia Lim and party chief Pritam Singh, Singapore’s first Leader of the Opposition. Together with Gerald Giam, WP vice chairman Faisal Manap, and Hougang MP Dennis Tan, they appear to enjoy strong support from residents.

However, at least two obstacles may stand in the WP’s way: Mr Singh’s ongoing legal troubles stemming from the case involving the former Sengkang GRC MP Raeesah Khan and the fallout from the scandal surrounding the former Aljunied MP Leon Perera, who stepped down in 2023.

Observers who spoke to CNA commented on the ruling party’s strategy in opposition wards, which involves giving individuals the experience of serving as branch chair and contesting elections. Whether or not they win, the experience is invaluable, and those who are moved to different wards may ultimately become candidates elsewhere. Read also: Is the PAP team at Aljunied a suicide squad? Netizens wonder why no minister in the lineup