PAP to remain strongest party in Singapore: Lee Kuan Yew

SINGAPORE, April 26 (Xinhua) -- Singapore's Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew said he thinks the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) will remain the strongest party in the republic in the coming general election.

In an interview carried by the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday, Lee said there might be a few seats for the opposition as either constituency or non-constituency members because new rules had been introduced so that there will be up to nine of the "best losers" from the opposition.

There are now two lawmakers from the opposition out of a total of 84 and one non-constituency member of parliament, but the law has been changed.

Lee said that he expected the cost of living and housing prices for the young couples to be among the main issues, but that the government is building new public homes, which cost more because they are better designed and more elegant.

He also said there is a trade-off in having a large number of immigrants and an aging population as the fertility rate in the city state fell to a new low of 1.16 last year. Some have blamed the immigrants for pushing up housing prices, he said.

Singapore also needs a large number of foreign workers to do construction and the heavy work, he added.

Lee said he sees "not really" any other issues defining the upcoming campaign.

The economy is doing well, and the government has raised living standards, employment prospects, education for their children, and has catered for both the top end and the lower end in terms of education, he said.

Singapore is expected to hold the general election on May 7. The nomination day has been set for Thursday, April 27. Local media said the opposition parties are expected to contest at least 82 of the wards this time.

The wards were split up into 15 group representation constituencies, where the candidates fielded by a party will have to compete as a team, and 12 single member constituencies. Lee will be leading a team of PAP candidates to! stand i n the Tanjong Pagar group representation constituency and he is most likely to win uncontested.

The PAP has been the ruling party since the independence of Singapore in 1965.

Editor:Yang Jie |Source: Xinhua


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