Linette Lai

Singapore

Assistant News Editor at The Straits Times

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Articles

New kit uses saliva drops to identify HFMD

1 month ago | healthxchange.sg | Linette Lai

By Linette Lai, The Straits TimesScientists from the National University of Singapore (NUS) have found a way to identify children with hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) from just a few drops of saliva, even before symptoms show. They hope to eventually make HFMD test kits commonplace in pre-schools and childcare centres so cases can be picked up early to prevent the disease from spreading.
GE2025: Unwavering, steady messaging pays off for PM Wong and PAP

1 month ago | straitstimes.com | Linette Lai

SINGAPORE – Historically, the PAP’s national vote share has dipped after a new prime minister takes office but Prime Minister Lawrence Wong reversed the trend by securing a clear – and unexpected – mandate of 65.57 per cent on May 3. When Mr Lee Hsien Loong led the PAP into battle for the first time in 2006, the party’s vote share slipped nearly 9 percentage points, even if it was from the anomalous result of the 2001 polls, called weeks after the Sept 11, 2001 terror attacks in America.
GE2025: Election campaign unfolds in three acts over a nine-day sprint to the polls

1 month ago | straitstimes.com | Linette Lai

SINGAPORE – If the last general election felt uncharacteristically muted – held as it was during the Covid-19 pandemic – the past nine days of campaigning have more than made up for it in colour and sound. Every neighbourhood, except Marine Parade-Braddell Heights which saw a walkover on Nomination Day, has had its lamp posts and street signs plastered with election posters.
GE2025: How are hustings shaping up with a week to Polling Day?

2 months ago | straitstimes.com | Linette Lai

Follow our live coverage here. SINGAPORE – Where will the battle lines be drawn in the May 3 general election? With more than half of the nine-day campaign to go, it is perhaps too early to say which issues will catch fire, and which will fall flat. What has surfaced three days into the hustings is robust debate over rising costs, Singapore’s economic trajectory and the value of having more opposition voices in Parliament.
GE2025: 92 out of 97 seats to be contested on May 3, walkover in Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC

2 months ago | straitstimes.com | Linette Lai

Follow our live coverage here. SINGAPORE – Singapore will see 92 out of 97 seats contested in the May 3 general election, following several surprises on Nomination Day, including the first walkover since 2011. A five-member PAP team in Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC, where the WP was expected to field a team, was elected unopposed when nomination proceedings ended at noon.
Road to GE: Renewal top of mind as parties head into Singapore election

2 months ago | straitstimes.com | Linette Lai

Follow our live coverage here. SINGAPORE - In Chinese tradition, 60 years marks the end of a full life cycle and symbolises the dawn of a new beginning. Rather fitting then, that as Singapore celebrates its 60th year of independence in 2025, the leaders of its two largest political parties have renewal on their minds.
PAP manifesto a fresh start that strikes a familiar chord

2 months ago | straitstimes.com | Linette Lai

Follow our live coverage here. SINGAPORE – Five years ago, the PAP launched its election manifesto at a time when the Covid-19 pandemic was ravaging the economy. Titled “Our Lives, Our Jobs, Our Future”, it sought to drive home what was at stake. This year’s edition, launched on April 17, strikes a different note. It is titled “Changed World, Fresh Team, New Resolve – Securing a Brighter Future for You”.
Singaporeans will go to the polls on May 3, Nomination Day on April 23

2 months ago | asianews.network | Linette Lai

April 16, 2025SINGAPORE – On May 3, Singaporeans will cast their votes in a general election that will be fought against a backdrop of unprecedented global economic instability. The date of the election – Mr Lawrence Wong’s first as prime minister and secretary-general of the ruling PAP – was announced on April 15. It came an hour after President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, acting on the advice of the Prime Minister, dissolved Singapore’s 14th Parliament and later issued the Writ of Election.
GE2025: Singapore Parliament dissolved; Writ of Election to be issued soon

2 months ago | straitstimes.com | Linette Lai

SINGAPORE - Parliament was dissolved by President Tharman Shanmugaratnam on April 15, starting the formal process for Singapore to hold its next general election. The Writ of Election, which states the date for Polling Day, is expected shortly. This election – Mr Lawrence Wong’s first as Prime Minister and secretary-general of the ruling PAP – will be fought against a backdrop of looming geo-economic uncertainty, as the world’s two largest economies lurch towards a trade war.
GE2025 electoral boundaries announced: 15 SMCs and 18 GRCs

Mar 11, 2025 | straitstimes.com | Linette Lai

SINGAPORE - Changes ahead of Singapore’s next general election will see the creation of one more GRC and an additional single-seat ward, bringing the total to 18 GRCs and 15 SMCs. The number of elected MPs will increase to 97, up from 93 now. The revisions will see electoral boundaries change in 22 out of the current 31 constituencies. The release of the report marks a major step on the road to the next GE which is expected to be held in the first half of 2025.