In his state media interview yesterday, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong explained that he put his successor Heng Swee Keat at East Coast GRC because he sees the constituency as an easy win for the PAP:
“During a crisis there could be a flight to safety… I deployed Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat in East Coast GRC based on where the PAP best (winning) contests could be.”
Lee Hsien Loong said East Coast GRC is a sure win for the PAP and he is not worried about the Workers’ Party:
“We send somebody where we think he has a good chance of winning, and I’m quite sure that Swee Keat will put his all to make sure that he gets a good outcome in East Coast… The opposition deployments in this round were not a surprise, especially as it became clear which areas they campaigned harder and were more interested in. What they have done is generally in line with what the tea leaves have shown.“
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said he is very confident of returning to power this election and said Singaporeans can still have 12 opposition figures in Parliament in the form of NCMPs.