PM Lee to carefully consider by-election in Punggol East

On the possible by-election in Punggol East SMC, SMU Assistant Professor of Law Eugene Tan commented that the candidates fielded by the political parties would play an important role. While Lee Li Lian is an obvious candidate for the Workers’ Party (WP), there is no obvious candidate for the People’s Action Party (PAP). Assistant Prof Tan noted that it remains to be seen whether PAP would go on the defensive and if WP would make reference to Michael Palmer’s resignation during the by-election, but the impact of this incident would be reduced if it is held at a later date. Comparing how WP and PAP handled the situation, Assistant Prof Tan said that even though the PAP had criticised others strongly, the party had showed that they expected the same high standards of themselves.