Over 1,000 turn up at Yew Tee party for PM Wong

Newly minted Prime Minister Lawrence Wong arrived to a jubilant reception on May 15 in Yew Tee, where more than a thousand people had gathered to watch his swearing-in ceremony at the Istana earlier in the evening.

- Anjali Raguraman, Ng Keng Geneand Kok Yufeng

It took PM Wong more than five minutes to make his way from his car to the stage, a mere 30m away, as he inched his way through a crowd eager for photos or a handshake.

PM Wong, who has been an MP for Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC since 2015, made Yew Tee his first port of call, arriving at around 10.30pm.

"I decided to rush from the Istana tonight because I wanted my first event as prime minister of Singapore to be an event with all of you, the residents of Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC," said PM Wong, adding that he will continue to serve as their MP.

"We inherit a Singapore that our forefathers have built, and it's now our turn to take Singapore forward and make Singapore even better," he said in a speech to residents.

On stage, he was flanked by his fellow MPs, North West District Mayor Alex Yam, Senior Minister of State for Defence and Manpower Zaqy Mohamad and Ms Hany Soh.

"The best days of Singapore are still ahead of us, the best chapters of our Singapore story lie ahead let's work together to build a better Singapore together," he added.

Following his address, PM Wong stayed for about half an hour more, to greet the residents who had spilled out of the confines of the tent set up for the watch party.