GE2025 live roundtable: Exceeding speaking time, getting fact-checked & other observations

Representatives from five political parties contesting in the 2025 general election spoke at Mediacorp's live political roundtable, "GE2025: Singapore Votes – The Roundtable," on Apr. 27 evening.

The representatives were:

• People's Action Party (PAP): Minister for Transport and Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC candidate Chee Hong Tat
• Workers' Party (WP): Tampines GRC candidate Michael Thng
• Red Dot United (RDU): Secretary-general and Nee Soon GRC candidate Ravi Philemon
• Progress Singapore Party (PSP): Pioneer SMC candidate Stephanie Tan
• People's Alliance for Reform (PAR): Secretary-general and Potong Pasir SMC candidate Lim Tean

Here are some highlights from the 90-minute programme, which was streamed on the CNA YouTube page.

Format different from GE2020's political debate

This year's roundtable is divided into three sections, with each addressing one topic, namely geopolitics and economy, immigration and jobs, and cost of living.

Each section started off with the moderator posing one common question to all representatives before an expert stepped in and asked each representative a follow-up question specific to their party's stance on the issues.

After the questions were answered, each representative delivered their respective closing remarks, sharing why candidates from their respective parties should be voted into parliament on Polling Day (May 3).

Throughout the programme, the representatives also spoke in sequence, namely Lim, Tan, Philemon, Thng, and Chee.

Additionally, after their allocated speaking time was up, the representatives' microphones would be muted.

The representatives were unable to address one another.

Each opposition party representative had between 1 and 2 minutes to speak, while Chee had four times as long, between 4 and 8 minutes.

Tan was the only female candidate at the table

What also made the GE2025 roundtable different from GE2020 political debate was the presence of a female candidate at the table, namely Tan.

Perhaps because this was the first time she represented PSP on national television, Tan referred to her notes several times when answering the questions and delivering her closing remarks.

Nevertheless, she made eye contact and did not trip over or run out of time.

Lim was cut off 3 times

Throughout the programme, Lim was cut off three times after he ran over his allocated speaking time.

The first instance happened when he was answering the first question from the moderator:

"The global outlook is increasingly uncertain. It appears free trade is in decline.

How do you see this impacting Singapore and how does your party propose to help Singaporeans deal with these challenges?"

The second instance occurred when he was answering a follow-up question from S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies Senior Research Advisor professor Joseph Liow:

"You have suggested that the impact of the Trump tariffs is exaggerated and of little relevance to Singaporeans.

How do you reconcile this with Singapore's heavy reliance on the global economy and global trading system?"

The third instance happened when he was answering a follow-up question from the Singapore University of Social Sciences associate professor Terence Ho:

"PAR has suggested implementing price controls on necessities such as food, healthcare and transportation.

How would you respond to those who argue that such controls could lead to shortages and market inefficiencies?"

Philemon first to fire shots

Philemon named Chee and the PAP when answering the following question from Liow:

"RDU has proposed strengthening Singapore's domestic economic foundations in response to global tariffs and trade tensions. What is one concrete policy you would propose for a small, open economy like Singapore?"

Referring to Chee's earlier statement, Philemon said:

"Chee earlier said that the PAP will always have your back. I think the specific policy starts from that, because I think many Singaporeans have this perception that their backs are not covered."

Later on, Philemon also took a jab at a scheme rolled out by Workforce Singapore (WSG) that provides temporary financial support for lower- and middle-income individuals who are involuntarily unemployed for six months.

According to WSG, these individuals could receive up to S$6,000 through the SkillsFuture Jobseeker Support scheme.

"But surely, S$6,000 for six months for those who are retrenched is the flimsiest of safety nets for Singaporean workers," contended Philemon.

Philemon fact-checked

Before the segment on immigration and jobs concluded, the programme fact-checked Philemon over his answer to an earlier question posed by the moderator.

The question was: "As the Singapore economy transforms, some workers could be left behind. But the Singapore economy is also heavily reliant on foreigners. How would your party balance these two challenges?"

In his answer, Philemon mentioned: "I mean, for example, why do foreign wives of Singapore citizens only get LTVPs (Long-Term Visit Passes), and not PRs (permanent residency) or citizenship? [...] It shows us you need to accentuate the privileges of citizenship."

During the programme's fact-check segment, the moderator said: "Actually, LTVP is not a prerequisite for PR or Singapore citizenship."

Fired shots at closing remarks

During their closing remarks, all representatives seized their last opportunity and stated their stances.

Lim started by claiming that many voters will vote with anger "because for the past five years, you have been put through hell by this government".

He also alleged that "PAP MPs are like a range of extinct volcanoes" and that "there is no fire in them" because "not a single PAP MP challenged the GST hikes".

Tan said: "[...] More PSP MPs means more voices to fight for you and to ensure transparency and accountability from the government, while any losing PAP MPs will still serve you as a grassroots advisor".

Philemon asked: "Why do we have to cope with ever-shrinking HDB flats which are increasing in prices, while the ministers, the well-connected, the superrich, and the billionaire class get to live in black-and-white bungalows the size of four, five, six football fields?"

Thng said: "And if we accept that no one has a monopoly on good ideas, which I think we all do, then maybe none of us should have a monopoly in parliament."

During his remarks, Chee took aim at WP, saying:

"The Workers' Party pitches themselves as a responsible opposition.

They imitate the PAP's policies and positions, and sometimes they improvise with an occasional half step to the left or to the right, depending on how the wind blows, because they want to score political points.

I understand their slogan is 'Working For Singapore', but if you examine some of their proposals carefully, many of their proposals actually don't work.

Their positions have been inconsistent, whether on GST, on housing, on fiscal policies that eventually would end up eroding our reserves. And they like to claim credit for policies that are implemented by the PAP, but they will not take responsibility when their proposals turn out wrong."

He also responded to Thng's comment earlier, adding:

"I agree with Thng that there will not be a monopoly. There's no chance of government having a blank check. But we must also not give the opposition a free pass. Make the PAP work harder, but also make the opposition work harder for you in a system like this, voters should hold all parties to the same standards."

Top images via CNA/YouTube