"I saw many PAP advisors and supporters rushing out to defend Koh Poh Koon, so let’s break down their arguments properly.
1. His children are already grown up.
2. Residents hardly see him actively engaging in grassroots activities or consistently walking the ground in Tampines. He rarely spends enough time doing proper estate visits or connecting with residents. That is exactly why he was never truly popular or respected in Tampines, and many residents view him as distant and arrogant. The GE2025 results already reflected this growing unhappiness.
3. Instead of focusing fully on his ministerial and constituency responsibilities, we often see him spending significant time on his own interests and personal branding activities instead. (See photos)
So the question is simple: after being in government and politics for so many years, why suddenly step down barely one year after GE2025 and conveniently use “wanting to spend time with family” as the reason?
Come on lah ; Koh PK children are already grown up, and he has never raised concerns on family priorities or Masagos has mentioned a word or raised concerns. More importantly, Koh PK was never known as a particularly hardworking ground MP who spent substantial time engaging residents in Tampines Central, something many Tampines residents themselves can confirm.
Frankly, this sounds more like a politically correct excuse than the real reason.
Based on the circumstances, many people can only come to two likely conclusions:
1. Either he is not on good terms with David Neo and there are internal disagreements or issues behind the scenes; or
2. He is unhappy that he did not become a full Minister, and decided to step away early to focus on his medical profession instead, where he can potentially earn significantly more money.
Either way, residents deserve honesty instead of carefully packaged political statements."
- Alex Lim, Complaint Singapore