Commentary: PAP & PSP’s playground squabble deserves an eye-rolling emoji

PAP vs PSP: A playground squabble that needs to end

It was a battle royale for the ages. 

In the white corner: volunteers from the only ruling party Singapore has ever known, a mighty horde giving no quarter as they hand out pamphlets and engage in inane conversations with Chua Chu Kang GRC residents. 

In the red and white corner: volunteers from the opposition party with a grand total of, um, two lawmakers, neither of whom have actually won any elections, with one often resembling a child being beaten up by playground bullies in Parliament. 

And what was the end result of this epic clash between People’s Action Party (PAP) and Progress Singapore Party (PSP) volunteers that saw the (alleged) use of — gasp — “derogatory terms”, two (alleged) slaps, claims and counter-claims of harassment, and a police report? 

Think a bad remake of Young and Dangerous (Google it, Gen Z kids), except that it was played out with smartphones and social media accounts instead of guns and knives. 

Come to think of it, it wasn’t so much a gang clash as it was a playground squabble with “cher, he beat me” vibes.

Perhaps the best summary of it all came from an elderly Bukit Gombak resident: boh liao.  

Who started it? Who cares

Both sides have looked to occupy the moral high ground, in a laughably implausible attempt to appear like the bigger man.  

“It is clear that PSP has twisted the truth and has given an untrue picture of what happened,” said Chua Chu Kang MP Low Yen Ling. Some of the female volunteers were receiving “counselling and extra care”, she added, as they had been doxxed online in the wake of the incident. 

Meanwhile, PSP chair Tan Cheng Bock delivered his own counterpunch. “To physically bully and intimidate someone you disagree with — this is totally unacceptable. This shameful behaviour cannot be tolerated,” he harrumphed, adding that he would personally accompany PSP volunteers on the ground this weekend.

Unfortunately, those of us occupying the snide low ground are reminded more of the Spider-Man meme, in which three people in Spider-Man costumes all point at each other.

Videos from both sides have been circulating online, and the sight of the black-clad PAP volunteer prancing around while brandishing his smartphone made one think he might have a future in interpretive dance. 

Meanwhile, the PSP volunteer with the wide-eyed smile who shoved her face into the camera of the PAP volunteer was a scene straight out of The Blair Witch Project (Google it again). 

Or perhaps it was really a student filmmaker’s final-year project, comprising footage taken off a discarded smartphone found in the nearby park connector. 

After the initial accusations, fresh claims have emerged, with PSP Secretary-General Hazel Poa, also a Non-Constituency MP, claiming she encountered a similar situation in November 2024 during house visits at Hillview Estate. The party decided that if something like this happened again, they’d document it with photos and videos.

The saga is certainly far from over, and many will be waiting to see Ms Low’s next move.

Civility is in short supply

All this is a far cry from the handshake I witnessed in 2015 between former Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong and the Workers’ Party’s (WP) Chen Show Mao while campaigning for that year’s General Election. 

Mindful of the cameras and reporters around them, the two men at least made the effort to smile and appear civil despite their political differences, even though Mr Goh had been a vociferous critic of the WP at the time. 

While the PAP and the leading opposition party fundamentally disagree on many things, they have at least recognised — for the most part — that there is a time and place for robust debate, namely in Parliament. 

“Can I invite her to agree that that’s a thoroughly hypocritical and dishonest statement and typical of the statements she makes in this House?” Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam once said of the WP’s Sylvia Lim. 

Conversely, Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh said of former PM Lee Hsien Loong in 2023: “The Prime Minister did not bat an eyelid in giving the Leader of the Opposition a sermon on Confucian ethics (about the Raeesah Khan affair), morality and shame even though at the material time, he would have been aware of the affair between Speaker Tan Chuan-Jin and MP Cheng Li Hui.” 

Singapore has not, and hopefully will never, reached the levels of polarisation seen in places like the United States. 

However, with an increased opposition presence in the House since 2020, Singapore’s political landscape has become increasingly partisan and fractious. 

With a general election looming, the partisanship is now spilling over at grassroots level.

High stakes game

It is worth noting that in 2020, the PAP team in Chua Chu Kang triumphed with just over 58% of the vote against an unheralded PSP team that had four men running for office for the first time. This was a huge drop from the almost 77% that the PAP captured in 2015.

Despite its longstanding parliamentary supermajority, it would be of little surprise if the PAP was feeling nervous about the upcoming polls, which are due by November.

On the flip side, opposition parties will surely fancy their chances. 

After all, Lawrence Wong is still bedding in as Prime Minister and remains largely untested by the public.

The spectre of scandal has also loomed over the PAP in the past two years, with former Transport Minister S Iswaran jailed after a corruption trial and former Speaker Tan Chuan-Jin stepping down in disgrace.

Throw in the ever-increasing cost of living, a slowing economy and the return of Donald Trump to the White House, and it all adds up to the one thing that the PAP dislikes most: instability. 

So, what does this interminable PAP vs PSP squabble tell us?

The rising partisanship at the grassroots level is a sign that the stakes are getting higher, but it also highlights the increasing challenges both sides will face.

Despite the noise, it’s clear that the political battleground is shifting as Singaporeans become more informed in their choices.

If there are indeed dirty tricks at play, then all parties will find that Singaporeans have a strong sense of fair play. They dislike sophistry and still value honesty.

In any case, here’s my proposed solution for this PAP-PSP spat, one that will surely bring everlasting peace to Chua Chu Kang. 

Party One can say: I don’t friend you!

Party Two can then say: Don’t friend then don’t friend loh!

There, problem solved. 

Now, can we please get on with discussing actual issues of importance?

Nicholas Yong is a veteran journalist who has worked at media outlets such as BBC News and Yahoo News Singapore over the past 17 years.

ALSO READ: ‘Such unprofessional behaviour’: PSP member alleges ‘harassment’ by PAP supporters at Choa Chu Kang walkabout

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Featured image adapted from Tan Cheng Bock on Facebook and Azman Ibrahim on Facebook.