But they detected something different this time round β a sense that the PAP is leaning on those Friends, who are social media influencers, as a strategy to reach a wider, decidedly younger audience.
While business owners and people active in community dialogues were also among the group not wearing the party colours of white on white on June 8, it was these content creators that seized the limelight.
Ms Ang is a year-old bilingual content creator with more than , followers on TikTok, while Mr Khung is a full-time content creator with close to , followers on the video sharing platform. Meanwhile, human resources practitioner Alister Ong, a diversity and inclusion champion who spoke as a panellist last November at an event where the Forward Singapore report was launched, was spotted wearing a party shirt on June 8.
The former convict said it mattered that he was given a second chance in life, and he wanted to use his platform to let everyone know that they can make a change. Ms Goy said she felt a strong connection with the PAP after learning that the party holds many small events targeted at women, including distributing baby products to those in need.
Since then, however, the network has fallen out of the public consciousness. On June 8, PAP assistant secretary-general Desmond Lee was asked if tapping influencers was a new approach for the party, and how many Friends the party has.
