SMU Assistant Professor of Law Eugene Tan said that one of the reasons for the Workers’ Party (WP) win at the the Punggol East by-election was the increasing frustrations of citizens in view of rising costs of property, transport problems and rising COE prices. While the Government had announced new policies recently, it would take time for them to be implemented. He commented that voters are growing increasingly impatient and wanted the Government to rectify these problems quickly. These contributed to WP’s victory. Assistant Prof Tan also noted that as many Punggol East residents belong to the sandwiched class who felt the direct impact of rising costs of living, they wanted the Government to hear them through their votes.