Conference Presentation, "Singapore Update", Politics in Action 2024, Sydney Southeast Asia Centre

"The Singapore update, delivered by Professor Kenneth Paul Tan (Hong Kong Baptist University), started with a brief history of leadership succession in Singapore and the recent rare transfer of power to Lawrence Wong, only the fourth prime minister since the country’s independence in 1965. He explored possible challenges for the prime minister in coming years, including managing intra-party dynamics; an increasingly popular opposition party; more alternative voices from a younger, globally connected generation mobilising around causes such as climate justice; and the uncertain economic and geopolitical environment to which Singapore’s fortunes are tied. More recent challenges discussed include a string of scandals surrounding Singapore’s political elite in 2023 and the downward trend in the ruling party’s popular vote, which could continue in the next general election when the party will be looking to reassert its legitimacy and give Prime Minister Wong a strong mandate. Professor Tan concluded by noting that, 'In the long arc of political liberalisation, we must ask whether Singapore needs a rejuvenated and radically transformed People’s Action Party or a replacement of what is fast becoming a decadent ruling-party establishment.'"

Sydney Southeast Asia Centre, "Politics in Action 2024: Power shifts, political legitimacy and performance", available here.