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SINGAPORE: Punggol GRC residents have a chance to make history at Saturday's (May 3) polls and should they vote the Workers' Party (WP) into parliament, they "will be looked on differently by all of Singapore", said the opposition party's candidate for the constituency Harpreet Singh.

Speaking to reporters on the final day of the hustings on Thursday, Mr Singh referenced the "decision" made by Hougang SMC residents in 1991, when they elected former WP chief Low Thia Khiang. The single-seat ward has remained a WP stronghold since.

"This is the time for Punggol to step up," said Mr Singh. "As you go into the voting booth, remember ... you're voting not just for your municipal concerns about who is going to represent you.

"But thousands upon thousands of Singaporeans' hopes are on your shoulders, for a better, more open Singapore where ordinary Singaporeans will step up and speak up," he added.

"So Punggol residents, remember you have a historic opportunity."

Apart from Mr Singh, WP's slate for Punggol GRC comprises new faces Ms Alia Mattar, Ms Alexis Dang and Mr Jackson Au. They are up against a ruling People's Action Party (PAP) team of Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, Senior Minister of State for Health and Digital Development and Information Janil Puthucheary, Minister of State for Home Affairs and Social and Family Development Sun Xueling, and Ms Yeo Wan Ling.

The WP has held daily interviews with the media since the second day of campaigning, rotating through the constituencies it is contesting in. 

On Friday, the General Election will enter cooling-off day - where campaigning is not allowed - before Singaporeans vote the day after. 

These final days of the hustings have seen Mr Gan's candidacy become a central focus of the contest in Punggol GRC, with the PAP and WP engaging in a back-and-forth over the matter.

The WP has taken aim at Mr Gan's relationship with Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, his involvement in the terminated Income-Allianz deal and his last-minute addition to the PAP Punggol slate, among others.

In response, Mr Wong expressed disappointment in what he called the WP's negative "personal attacks" on Mr Gan, prompting the opposition party's chief Pritam Singh to say at a rally that negative politics was in fact part of the PAP's DNA.

Mr Wong then replied that the issues raised by Mr Pritam Singh were policy-related and that the ruling party was "happy to debate them and make adjustments" if necessary. 

On Thursday, Mr Harpreet Singh repeated a point he made at the WP's Punggol rally earlier in the week, that he liked Mr Gan. 

"He is very pleasant. Our paths have crossed a number of times in this campaign, and all interactions have been absolutely wonderful and I like him.

"At the same time, we know DPM Gan is going to be busy," said Mr Harpreet Singh, citing Mr Gan's role as chair of a new task force to respond to the United States' tariffs.

He later said that questions directed to the government should not be taken as "personal attacks". 

"Singaporeans want accountability from their leaders ... and loving your country means being ready to step up and ask all the difficult questions of your leaders," Mr Harpreet Singh said. 

"Our primary objective is to represent Singaporeans in parliament and ask the questions, however difficult they are, even if they make some leaders uncomfortable."

"POSITIVE" RESPONSE FROM PM: PRITAM

On Thursday, Mr Pritam Singh, who was also present, was asked to respond to Mr Wong saying he was open to debating and adjusting policies.

The opposition leader said that was "probably one of the more positive responses" he had heard from the PAP "in a long time". 

As for the distinction between negative politics and policies, Mr Pritam Singh referred to what former Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong had said about former opposition Member of Parliament J B Jeyaretnam not being given access to community clubs or grassroot organisations.

Mr Jeyaretnam had won the Anson constituency in a by-election held in 1981.

"It was a clear decision, and ... it was a political decision," Mr Pritam Singh said.

The WP secretary-general added that he hoped to see change, referring to another point he made in a rally on Tuesday about opposition MPs not being invited to attend citizenship ceremonies, which are instead presided over by losing PAP candidates. 

"Immigration is a big part of our society, and if we tell new citizens who come to Singapore that there is this distinction in politics, how are we ever going to become a united society?

"I think we can do much better as a society, as a country; and I hope to advance this in parliament if I am elected," he said. 

With the election coming to a conclusion, Mr Pritam Singh was also asked how he would measure success for his party, specific to parliamentary presence. There are 97 seats up for grabs; the WP has fielded 26 candidates this year. 

The WP leader did not directly answer, instead pointing to the difficulty of each election. 

"I unfortunately probably can't shed much light at the moment, because it's not so easy to read the ground sometimes and we have to respect that.

"Any election is a difficult election for the Workers' Party because in many places we are not incumbent, and we are basically putting out a platform and encouraging voters to build, to evolve our political system to be more balanced," he said. 

"The reason we do so is we believe that Singapore and Singaporeans will be better off with this diversity in parliament."