PAP sets up mental health and climate action groups in new refresh

The People's Action Party (PAP) is refreshing itself to serve Singaporeans better and to take Singapore forward. 

The refresh, also known as #refreshPAP, is a series of engagements to renew, refresh and strengthen the political party with key updates on its focus and efforts. 

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“It is our responsibility to chart out how we can take Singapore forward, forge a strong partnership with Singaporeans, and convince them that PAP remains the right choice," said prime minister and PAP deputy secretary-general Lawrence Wong at a thank-you event for activists and partners of PAP. 

“We recognised the need to do more to achieve this goal. We heard many good ideas on how the Party can build a deeper bond with Singaporeans and be in step with their diverse aspirations and concerns.”

One such engagement includes the establishment of a new 'Mental Health Group' and 'Climate Action Group' headed by senior ministers of state (SMS) Janil Puthucheary and Koh Poh Koon respectively. 

The mental health group builds upon a 2022 mental health survey which revealed a strong public call for increased mental health support. This growing desire for more to be done was solidified at the Party's #BetterTogether movement which gathered mental health advocates, interest groups and MPs to urge awareness and collective action to bolster and destigmatise mental health. 

In addition, several PAP MPs filed a parliamentary motion to enhance mental health and well-being in Singapore in February 2024. 

Meanwhile, the climate action group lead by Koh will integrate efforts under the PAP's Action for Green Towns initiative. The initiative is currently rolled out at all 15 PAP town councils and heed insights from a 2020 position paper to advance Singapore's vision as a green hub. 

“We’ve continually updated our methods over the years and decades – how we engage, how we outreach, how we organise ourselves. We have always been updating this, but one thing remains constant: We are always a party that serves the people, that puts the interests of Singaporeans first. We are also a party of action. It is not just about words, but deeds. We are a party that will always strive to make life better for all Singaporeans," said PM Wong. 

Other efforts as part of the refresh include a refresh and expansion of PAP's outreach platforms. As part of the expansion, PAP will strengthen its activists and partner networks, and tap on collective expertise and resources. It is also exploring ways to leverage digital technology to harness the expertise of its activists and facilitate information-sharing. 

The Friends of PAP network will also be expanded to encourage more to join in to push for change on important causes. Moving forward, PAP activists and partners can look toward closer collaborations with the party. 

This refresh comes after Wong's recent appointment as Singapore's prime minister on 15 May 2024. 

Wong's new role marks the country’s first leadership transition in 20 years, with former prime minister Lee Hsien Loong now taking on the role as a senior minister. 

Leading up to the handover ceremony, media intelligence firm Truescope took a look at the social media conversations and sentiments and found that while Facebook has the most amount of conversations about the handover, Instagram's share of voice (SOV) of interactions overshadowed all other platforms combined.

Instagram had the highest ratio of positive narratives among the four platforms and revealed positive narratives such as expressions of support towards Wong and Lee. Meanwhile, comments on Facebook were more nuanced but were still dominated by positive reception towards the handover.

TikTok maintained a relatively balanced ratio of positive to negative comments compared to the other platforms, but surfaced a variety of different topics, said Truescope. 

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