WP MPs 'rational and responsible', won't weaken Govt: Pritam

Mr Singh said on May 1 that it was PM Wong who moved DPM Gan out of Chua Chu Kang GRC, where he had served for 14 years.

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FROM A1

The Prime Minister had explained that this was for "better distribution" of the ruling party's senior leadership for the campaign.

Mr Singh said at the rally, held at Anderson Serangoon Junior College in Upper Serangoon, that PM Wong's argument did not make sense, given Singapore's small size.

"We are not America, China or even Malaysia."

Mr Singh said to move a really important government minister at election time is a risk, and it can be deemed "reckless" when there are other relatively safer constituencies where he could be placed.

"If DPM Gan is indispensable, then — if I may use PM Wong's own phrase — moving him was cavalier and irresponsible," he added.

Shifting DPM Gan to Punggol was also a tactical move to stop WP from winning the constituency, said Mr Singh.

If the Deputy Prime Minister loses the contest in Punggol, he can, like previous Cabinet ministers, be appointed to chair a government-linked company, or remain Singapore's official negotiator or special envoy, if he has a good relationship with US trade negotiators, added Mr Singh.

PM Wong had said DPM Gan plays a crucial role in US tariff talks.

Mr Singh said the same would apply to Social and Family Development Minister Masagos Zulkifli, who leads the PAP's Tampines GRC team, as well as Culture, Community and Youth Minister Edwin Tong, the anchor minister for the PAP's East Coast GRC slate.

WP is contesting both constituencies.