SINGAPORE: Efforts to engage voters continue one year on for some opposition parties even if they did not win any seats at the last general election.
The overall pace has slowed but the parties that contested in the west and north regions appear to be still jostling for national attention, and sometimes within the same geographical areas.
Progress Singapore Party (PSP) – which had the highest national vote share among the parties that did not win any seats, at 36.3 per cent – and Red Dot United (RDU) – which fielded 15 candidates, the most among the parties that did not win seats – said that they are pursuing new ways to engage more residents, both online and offline, between elections.
They have also tried to chime in on national policy conversations, including on topics such as AI disruption and the ongoing energy crisis.
PSP said it has visited homes and conducted walkabouts in three of the six constituencies it contested at the 2025 General Election – West Coast-Jurong West GRC, Chua Chu Kang GRC and Pioneer SMC, which are all in the west.
Residents raise concerns about cost of living, healthcare access, transport connectivity and liveability in newer towns such as Tengah, said a PSP spokesperson, referring to the precinct located in Chua Chu Kang GRC.
In GE2025, PSP garnered 36.3 per cent of the vote across the constituencies it contested, a 4.6 percentage point dip from the previous election in 2020.
It also lost its two Non-Constituency MP seats in Parliament that had been held by Leong Mun Wai and Hazel Poa.
Since then, the party has also moved out of its headquarters in Bukit Timah Shopping Centre to an office that can “better facilitate engagement with our residents in the lead-up to the next general election”.
A notice in the Government Gazette on May 7 listed the party’s new registered address at Vision Exchange, a commercial building at 2 Venture Drive in Jurong East.
Its new location is in Jurong East-Bukit Batok GRC – which the party did not contest during GE2025 – that shares a border with West Coast-Jurong West GRC.
Asked if PSP expects to contest in Jurong East, the party said it was premature to comment on specific constituencies but that its “focus remains on strengthening the party, building capable teams, and continuing to engage residents and Singaporeans across the island”.
If it decides to do so, it may have to deconflict with Red Dot United, which lost the contest there with 23.34 per cent of the vote last May.
RDU has “decentralised its ground engagement strategy” into RDU West and RDU North since the polls, expanding from the areas it contested previously.
At GE2025, its best performing constituency was Nee Soon GRC – now within RDU North – where a team led by party chief Ravi Philemon got 26.19 per cent of the vote.
A spokesperson said the party is also considering setting up RDU Central and RDU East when resources permit.
RDU said its active volunteer base has grown by about 50 per cent since the election to about a few hundred people.
Social media posts also show some Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) activity in areas it contested during GE2025.
The party, which contested 11 seats across two GRCs and two SMCs, has visited coffee shops, hawker centres and shopping centres in constituencies like Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC and Bukit Panjang SMC.
SDP came closest to winning a seat in Sembawang West SMC, where party chief Chee Soon Juan narrowly missed winning an NCMP seat with 46.81 per cent of the vote.
The party declined to respond to queries on its activities in the past year.
The opposition parties have also been trying to make their voices heard in policy discussions.
In September, Red Dot United launched AltGovSG.Online, which it said is dedicated to “shadowing the Government” and presenting policy alternatives.
It has also formed several “shadow ministries”, including a team covering Muslim affairs. It is led by SDP candidate Damanhuri Abas with members from other political parties like PSP, said RDU.
Asked about broader collaboration with other political parties, RDU said that “conversations of this nature have been ongoing since the last GE”.
For PSP, one channel to put forward its views is The Palm – its party paper that moved to online newsletter platform Substack in August 2025.
It has commented on the Government’s close-to-S$1 billion (US$780.8 million) support package announced in April to help Singaporeans deal with rising costs amid the Middle East crisis, among other issues.
Leong, its party chief, also started a regular TikTok video series in February to talk about the stressors that Singaporeans face, such as job anxiety and housing prices.
The opposition parties have also been spotted at the same events, such as an August 2025 post-GE forum organised by SDP and a May 1 Hong Lim Park rally organised by activist groups.
PSP said it is in contact with other opposition parties to explore areas for constructive collaboration and has attended events organised by others “in solidarity”.
Said its spokesperson: “Our cross-participation in forums and continued dialogue signal opposition coordination and legitimacy, and we seek to position ourselves as contributing policy depth within a multi-party landscape, rather than competing solely on visibility.” - The Straits Times/ANN
