PAP's Liang Eng Hwa retains Bukit Panjang SMC with 61.41% of votes over SDP's Paul Tambyah

Results for Bukit Panjang SMC in GE2025

The People's Action Party (PAP) has won Bukit Panjang SMC in a rematch against the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP).

PAP's Liang Eng Hwa received 19,116 votes while SDP's chairman Paul Tambyah received 12,015 votes.

The four-term PAP MP had called Prof Tambyah "a formidable opponent" in an interview with The Straits Times last month.

"He wants us to think that he's the underdog, but I don't think that's the case. He stands a good chance, like me, of winning the SMC. The outcome could go either way, and I'll do my best," said Liang.

During a rally speech on Tuesday (April 29), Prof Tambyah reassured Bukit Panjang residents that estate projects and services in that constituency would continue even if SDP candidates were elected in place of PAP ones.

After all, Singapore's civil service and government agencies are among the most professional and apolitical in the world, he pointed out. 

In response, Liang said at a rally speech in Bukit Panjang the next day that it was "naive" of Prof Tambyah to think that constituency projects would continue on "autopilot" under a new Member of Parliament (MP).

Agreeing that Singapore's civil service and government agencies are indeed professional and efficient, they could also reject projects that did not align with their current plans or that they have no budget for, he pointed out. 

"And that is why MPs like myself, we play an important role in advocating for our residents," he said, adding that the most of the time, the process is not "smooth-sailing".

"So, it is actually naive to think that it doesn't matter who is your MP - that agencies will do all these things for you; to carry out these projects for you. It's not the case," said Liang.

He described MPs as bridging the gap between the agencies and residents.

In GE2020, Liang narrowly defeated Prof Tambyah with 53.73 per cent of the vote to win this SMC. The contest was the closest among all SMCs in that election. 

Bukit Panjang is the largest SMC with 33,566 voters.

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