Goh Meng Seng says PPP won’t contest Nee Soon GRC if PAP not fielding LGBTQ activist

Goh Meng Seng, leader of the People's Power Party (PPP), threw down the gauntlet in front of K Shanmugam, Member of Parliament for Nee Soon GRC.

During a Facebook live stream on Mar. 16, 2025, among discussions of vaccine scepticism, immigration and housing costs, Goh issued this challenge:

If Shanmugam confirms that he will not field an "LGBTQ activist" as part of the team in Nee Soon for the upcoming election, Goh will be "glad" to withdraw his PPP team from contesting in Nee Soon.

"Although my team is going to be very disappointed, I will say; 'Look, he has already conceded the issue to us. We are glad to let RDU (Red Dot United) to continue, to contest in Nee Soon.’"

The Progress Singapore Party contested Nee Soon GRC in the 2020 election.

What is Goh Meng Seng talking about?

On Mar. 3, 2025, Goh announced the People's Power Party's plan to run in Nee Soon GRC.

At the time, he declared in a Facebook post his intention to run on a pro-family platform, saying that he would not allow the "LGBTQ agenda" to distract from the importance of growing Singapore's "core population".

Goh said that while PPP "has nothing against LGBTQ individuals", he will have to take a "firm stance" to maintain the sustainability and long term survival of Singapore due to its small population.

Goh also mentioned in his post a "potential move" by the PAP to field a "well known LGBTQ activist".

Weeks prior, on Jan. 26, lawyer Deryne Sim was seen at a walkabout with Shanmugam at Chong Pang Market.

Sim is a former committee member of the LGBTQ+ activist group Pink Dot.

However, the PAP has not confirmed that Sim will be fielded in the upcoming election.

Goh also said that he does not believe that the PAP would ultimately field an "LGBTQ activist" in the election, adding that "it became a taboo" and there was "no mention" of this in recent weeks, supposedly due to "backlash".

Three-cornered fights

Goh also spoke about the likelihood of three-cornered fights in the upcoming general election, which occur when more than one opposition party decide to contest the same constituency, as the ruling PAP will contest every single constituency.

This tends to make it harder for the opposition to win as the so-called "anti-PAP" vote would be split.

However in the 2020 general election, in both three-cornered fights (Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC and Pioneer SMC), the PAP candidates would still have won even if the all the votes for opposition parties were added together.

And in 2013, Lee Li Lian of the Workers' Party (WP) managed to beat Koh Poh Koon of the PAP, despite the presence of two other opposition candidates in the Parliamentary by-election.

In his live stream, Goh said that he "never wanted a three-cornered fight" anywhere, adding that he has good relations with other opposition leaders, such as Ravi Philemon of Red Dot United (RDU).

"I've just talked to him. I tried to understand his perspective, his circumstances. Rest assured, we will come to an amicable resolution over our conflicting intentions, over Nee Soon," Goh said.

RDU recently declared its intention to stand in a number of constituencies, including Nee Soon GRC.

Workers' Party in Tampines?

Goh also said that while many parties have made a number of claims, most of these will be resolved.

He alluded to rumours that the WP would field a team in Tampines GRC.

"I will try to talk to them," he said.

Tampines GRC was contested by the National Solidarity Party (NSP) in 2020, in a losing effort.

Goh himself had previously led the NSP to contest Tampines in the 2011 general election.

Goh mentioned his relationship with Sylvia Lim, chair of the WP, and referenced the fact that he campaigned with her in Aljunied GRC in the 2006 general election, back when Goh himself was a member of the WP.

"I do not believe that there's nothing that cannot be talked out," he said, adding that if there is a multi-cornered fight, there will be no hard feelings.

"We will do whatever we can and whatever we need to do. It is all for the good of Singapore, apart from individual political interests," he said.

PPP on walkabout

On the morning of Mar. 16, PPP conducted a walkabout in Yishun.

During the walkabout, they introduced a new potential candidate, 27-year-old Vere Nathan.

According to CNA, Vere is an operations executive of a landscaping company and joined PPP in recent months.

Vere said one of the issues he was "very concerned" about was legislation to do with the "LGBTQ agenda".

An 8 World video showed Vere talking about his motivations for running.

CNA also quoted PPP's treasurer, 48-year-old William Lim, as saying he was concerned about traffic within the area during the morning peak hour when asked about matters specific to the constituency.

Image from PPP Facebook