Faisal Manap 'humbled' by PM Wong & SM Lee's walkabouts in Tampines, says WP's presence brings 'competition'

Workers' Party (WP) candidate Faisal Manap said he is "humbled" by the presence of Prime Minister (PM) Lawrence Wong and Senior Minister (SM) Lee Hsien Loong on walkabouts in Tampines GRC.

During a doorstop held by the WP Tampines GRC team on Apr. 30, 2025, Faisal said:

"It shows that our presence does bring some form of competition, right? So that's what we want."

He was responding to a question about how the party was feeling about PM Wong's and SM Lee's presence on the ground.

Faisal also referred to an analogy made by former WP chief Low Thia Khiang during a rally in GE2011:

"We are supposed to be the co-driver, right? And there's a driver here, so if the driver doesn't drive the car well, so we need to, I think the word used was 'slap', 'slap' the driver."

Low had likened the WP to a "co-driver" that would "slap the driver when he drives off course or when he falls asleep or drives dangerously."

Faisal said that that was the purpose of the Tampines team — to provide "competition" to the incumbent "so that they will do better, and perform better".

Aside from Faisal, WP's Tampines GRC team including Eileen Chong, Jimmy Tan, Michael Thng, and Ong Lue Ping, as well as WP's Tampines Changkat SMC candidate Kenneth Foo, were also present at the doorstop.

This GE, Tampines looks to face a four-way fight between WP, the People's Action Party (PAP), the People's Power Party (PPP) and the National Solidarity Party (NSP).

Serving residents of all races & religions: Faisal

Faisal also responded to a question by the media about SM Lee's comments during a walkabout in Tampines on Apr. 29, regarding social media posts urging voters to vote along religious lines.

CNA reported SM Lee as saying that a “very vicious” set of conversations sparked by recent foreign posts calling Singaporeans to vote along religious lines “has not disappeared away”.

During the walkabout, PAP's Tampines GRC candidate, Masagos Zulkifli, also said that he had met residents who “actually cried and said they couldn't sleep” due to the online posts.

In response, Faisal referred to the WP's statement published on foreign interference on Apr. 26, and said:

"I already made a promise ... I [swore], to the presence of thousands of spectators during the rally, to the Tampines GRC residents, that actually I will treat everyone, I will serve everyone fairly and equally regardless of race, language and religion, of which that's what I've done in Kaki Bukit."

Faisal then invited the media to speak to the residents in Kaki Bukit to "get a feel" of the work he has done as an MP "towards the multi-racial and multi-cultural society and community [there]."

Top photo by Azrizal Bin Abu Che'