Gan Kim Yong's Punggol LRT ride draws scorn online after Pritam Singh MRT photo goes viral

Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong's decision to film and post a Light Rail Transit (LRT) ride through the Punggol East loop on 10 April 2026 has drawn widespread online ridicule, with Singaporeans contrasting the escorted, off-peak outing unfavourably with a candid photograph of Workers' Party chief Pritam Singh commuting alone.

Gan, who represents Punggol Group Representation Constituency (GRC), shared the video on Instagram alongside fellow Punggol GRC Members of Parliament (MPs) Janil Puthucheary, Sun Xueling, and Yeo Wan Ling. He also used the caption to highlight the Land Transport Authority's (LTA) progressive rollout of third-generation two-car Light Rail Vehicles (LRVs) across the Sengkang-Punggol LRT (SPLRT) network.

The online response was swift and largely unfavourable.

DPM Gan Kim Yong seen taking LRT train
by u/nftskeptics in singapore

Gan's parliamentary call for energy conservation

The LRT outing came three days after Gan delivered a ministerial statement in Parliament on 7 April 2026, urging Singaporeans to take public transport rather than drive as one of several measures to manage rising energy costs tied to the ongoing Middle East conflict.

The statement had already prompted public discussion about whether senior government officials were modelling the same behaviour they recommended to citizens. Several online commenters had in the preceding days noted the absence of any visible change in ministerial commuting habits.

Pritam Singh's commute circulates on Reddit

On 10 April, a photograph of Workers' Party Secretary-General Pritam Singh — the MP for Aljunied GRC and Leader of the Opposition — was shared on Reddit's r/singapore forum. The image showed Singh standing in a train carriage reading a newspaper, apparently unaware he was being photographed.

It is not known when the photograph was originally taken. Its circulation that day immediately followed the public debate prompted by Gan's parliamentary remarks.

The photograph drew broadly positive responses. Many users described it as spontaneous and authentic.

One commenter wrote that Singh was "just actually commuting", reading a newspaper and minding his own business, adding that "nothing is more authentic than that". Several users drew explicit comparisons to the broader question of whether cabinet ministers were modelling the same practices in their own daily lives.

Gan posts LRT video the same afternoon

Later that day, Gan's Instagram post and Facebook post showed him riding the Punggol East LRT loop with his fellow GRC MPs, staff, and what many users described as a media team. The video depicted Gan conversing with commuters on board the train.

His caption noted that the LTA has been progressively deploying new two-car LRVs on the SPLRT since July 2025, with full network rollout expected by 2028. He thanked residents for their feedback and stated that the government would continue working with the LTA to improve connectivity and convenience.

By the time the post circulated on Reddit, it had already become the subject of derision.

Reddit reaction: "wayang to the max"

The Malay term "wayang" — colloquially used to describe theatrical pretence — featured across dozens of comments on r/singapore, where the post attracted several hundred replies within hours. The volume and consistency of critical commentary was notable even by the standards of a forum known for scepticism towards government communications.

Numerous users questioned the timing relative to Singh's photograph, with several suggesting the video had been prepared in advance and released in direct response to the image's viral spread. One commenter wrote that Singh had accidentally secured "first-move advantage without even doing anything extra". Another described the post as a "complete PR knee jerk response to Pritam".

One commenter drew a stark comparison in a single line: "One takes public transport to work, one takes it for pretence." Another wrote that Gan looked like "the McDonald's CEO taking the first bite of his product ever", a reference to the perception that senior officials rarely encounter the services they oversee.

A third user was more direct, writing "who the hell approved this PR release", while another characterised the exercise simply as "take train also macam media circus — what a joke."

Off-peak timing and the entourage problem

Critics identified several specific features of the video that they considered evidence of inauthenticity. The ride took place during off-peak hours, when trains on the Punggol loop would typically carry far fewer passengers than during the morning and evening rush.

One commenter noted that 9.20am was "way past peak hour already, especially for Punggol", adding that anyone still at Punggol station at that time heading to the city centre would already be late for work.

The size of Gan's accompanying group attracted particular scrutiny. Gan was accompanied by multiple MPs, staff, and camera operators. "When you need a whole entourage to take public transport," one user wrote, the performative nature of the exercise becomes self-evident.

Another commenter observed that "Pritam just brought his Airpods and newspaper", while Gan required "media and a whole team to make a big hooha". A third wrote plainly: "It's like the rich pretending to be poor for three days. Fun."

Several users also noted that the video appeared to show Gan pausing to examine his card after tapping in at the gantry. "Try getting on the Punggol LRT at 6pm," wrote one commenter, "and see if the smile would still be there."

Calls for regular, unscripted commuting

A smaller number of commenters adopted a more measured position, acknowledging that security and protocol requirements make genuinely private commuting difficult for senior cabinet ministers of Gan's rank.

Several argued that the meaningful demonstration would be sustained and unscripted — ministers commuting regularly by public transport without media coverage, experiencing conditions as ordinary passengers do, including during peak hours, service disruptions, and periods of severe overcrowding.

"Just for once," one user wrote, "take a normal train ride to work and back for a month." Others cited specific pain points on the network: single-car LRV carriages before the upgrade rollout, long platform queues at Punggol station during peak periods, and chronic congestion at interchange stations including Serangoon and Buona Vista during service disruptions.

One commenter argued that off-peak, escorted rides gave ministers only an idealised picture of the network, "configured for a ministerial visit rather than the daily commute". Another suggested that SMRT and LTA staff would likely have been placed on standby before the visit to ensure smooth operations — meaning Gan would see the system at its best, not its most representative.

"Ya man," wrote one user, "if these ministers truly want to understand citizens, skip all these off-peak, well-escorted comfortable rides. Stop listening to advisers who just want to paint a beautiful picture."

LRT upgrade context

In his post, Gan highlighted the ongoing replacement of the SPLRT's single-car LRVs with third-generation two-car vehicles, a programme that began in July 2025. The LTA has committed to completing the rollout across the full network by 2028.

The upgrade addresses longstanding capacity constraints on the Sengkang and Punggol loops, where commuters have at times had to wait for multiple trains during peak periods before boarding. The introduction of two-car LRVs is expected to reduce overcrowding and improve service regularity at the busiest times of day.