Editor’s note: Mothership.sg called for young Singaporeans to step up and give their perspective of GE2015. The aim of such an endeavour is to provide our readers a means to view GE2015 through the lens of young Singaporeans, warts, sparkles and all.

If WP candidates are rock stars, then preppily-dressed and prim-and-proper PAP candidates are K-pop group members.

The People’s Action Party (PAP) introduced their newest slate of superstars last night – the Sembawang GRC boy band. The group is led by minister Khaw Boon Wan who is joined by Vikram Nair, Lee Wee Kiak, Amrin Amin and Ong Ye Kung from the now-disbanded 2011 PAP’s Aljunied GRC team.

1. All members of the boybands had humble beginnings

Paying fan service to supporters of every major ethnic group in Singapore, Khaw delivered his speech in true ministerial style, using Malay, Mandarin and English. In his Mandarin speech, he revealed that every member from his team came from humble beginnings:

Candidates of our (Sembawang) GRC, including myself, were products of the rule of an honest PAP government. Our lives, our stories are just like everybody else's: we came from less-privileged backgrounds and we too had to toil and work our way up.

2. LED everywhere

The fans were out in full force, arriving early at the rally site to get front row seats. But more impressively, they came with coordinated LED signs. Yes, they actually got together to discuss and standardise their designs (as a proper fandom does).

And their fanchant? “Rasa Sembawang!”

[video width="426" height="240" mp4="https://cdn.mothership.sg/1/2015/09/Rasa-Sembawang.mp4"][/video]

3. Special appearance by Ellen Lee

No concert is complete without a special guest appearance, and who better to grace the occasion than outgoing MP Ellen Lee, who has served at Sembawang GRC for 10 years.

Lee only came on stage to wave to supporters for a brief minute, but that was enough to send the crowd into a furore.

4. Ong Ye Kung, Ong Ye Kung, Ong Ye Kung

Without a doubt, Ong was the Harry Styles (or for the older generation, the Paul McCartney) of the group. He commanded the loudest cheers from the crowd and even though he is not an MP yet, he already have a dedicated fanbase.

To us, the thing that set him apart is his willingness to admit that the PAP is not perfect and that they have to constantly stay humble and work hard so that they will not be disconnected to the problems of Singaporeans. Characteristically, he often dedicates parts of his interviews and speeches to this, including last night when he talked about employment opportunities:

On the Government’s part, it can set the tone. For example, as a country we have been using a rather blunt instrument – academic qualifications - to fit people into jobs. But that naturally put an older person at a disadvantage because examination scores are getting better all the time. Merit and fit is a much more complex concept. Grades and education count for a lot but not as much as we think – experience, hard work, track record motivation, luck matters a lot too. So the government has taken the lead in redefining “merit” in the civil service.

We reckon that fresh-faced Amrin Amin is the Niall Horan of the pack. He too had his fair share of supporters in the crowd for his maiden rally speech.

5. Khaw sang his signature song: Housing

Not to leave fans disappointed, the National Development Minister sung to his usual tune of housing.

In his speech, Khaw emphasised on the various housing grants, the building of more rental flats, and BTO projects in his very own Sembawang town.

He even compared voting to buying an apartment.

“A wrong housing decision can be reversed, though it may mean some financial loss. A wrong electoral decision may have severe if not tragic consequences. Restoring the status quo ante, “terbalik”, may not be possible. This is serious business. To quote Mr Lee Kuan Yew: “This is not a game of cards! This is your life and mine!”

Top photo by Edwin Koo

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