Netizens appalled after Gan Kim Yong said he will ‘talk to his good friend Lawrence Wong’ to get more funding for Punggol

Gan Kim Yong’s remark on getting Punggol funding from Lawrence Wong shocks netizens

A Reddit post shared on Sunday (27 Apr) has ignited heated debate over remarks made by Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) Gan Kim Yong during a rally speech on 26 Apr, where he mentioned Prime Minister (PM) Lawrence Wong in relation to Punggol’s funding.

Gan Kim Yong says he’ll ask PM Wong for money for Punggol

Posting on r/singapore, the OP said they were “pretty shocked” after hearing DPM Gan say that Punggol needed more improvements, and that he “will talk to [his] good friend, Minister of Finance and Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, to see whether [they] can get more money to build some of this necessary infrastructure for [their] residents.”

The OP questioned whether DPM Gan was implying that PM Wong personally decides funding allocations based on personal relationships with Members of Parliament (MPs).

“I thought we were past this kind of blatant politicising of taxpayers’ funds, but it’s 2025 and here we are,” the post read.

Netizens outraged by Gan Kim Yong’s comment

The speech quickly made waves online, with many netizens voicing their concerns in the comments section.

One user felt that Mr Gan might have been trying to make a light-hearted comment, but said it still sounded inappropriate, as it implied that towns needed to be “besties” with the Prime Minister to get resources.

Another commenter was furious, calling the remark “outrageous and preposterous” and saying it showed “how out of touch PAP MPs” are with ground sentiments.

A Reddit user called out Mr Gan’s “arrogance” and wondered what would happen if the opposition had made the same comment.

Meanwhile, one netizen joked that they, too, wished they were good friends with PM Wong — so they could get vouchers directly from him.

Mr Gan will be contesting in Punggol GRC together with Janil Puthucheary, Sun Xueling, and Yeo Wan Ling.

Also read: Gan Kim Yong parodies viral ‘look left, look right’ song by PPP candidate Samuel Lee, netizens approve of it

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Featured image adapted from Lawrence Wong on Facebook for illustration purposes only.