Campaigning should not generate 'heat' without providing solutions, says Chan Chun Sing

Campaigning should not be about stirring up people's emotions or anger without providing them with "real, tangible solutions", Education Minister Chan Chun Sing said on April 30.

- Lim Min Zhang

Defining what he termed "positive campaigning", Mr Chan said it should be about presenting the electorate with options and not about having debates that generate "heat without light", he told reporters before a walkabout at Tanjong Pagar Plaza Market and Food Centre with the PAP's Tanjong Pagar GRC team.

"In the nature of any contest, there will be both arguments back and forth, but I really hope to see that throughout these debates and discussions, we will generate not just heat but (also) light," Mr Chan said when asked about the issue of "negative politics" that was the subject of a recent exchange between Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and WP chief Pritam Singh.

"Light in the sense of the type of solutions we can present to fellow Singaporeans to help them make a decision as to who can better represent them in Parliament (and) which team can better help Singapore and Singaporeans get through all the challenges that are confronting us," he added.

On April 29, PM Wong criticised the negative tone of the WP's campaign, particularly towards Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong and the PAP team in Punggol.

Mr Singh in a rally later in the day rejected the view that his party engages in negative politics, saying it was the PAP that had done so for years.

"In fact, it is incumbent upon us to try to provide the solutions or... offer... solutions for the electorate to consider carefully," said Mr Chan.