Editing People's Action Party (section)

== Organisation ==
[[File:People's Action Party supporters, Greenridge Secondary School, Singapore - 20110427-04.jpg|thumb|240px|People's Action Party activists during the [[2011 Singaporean general election|2011 general election]]]]
[[File:People's Action Party headquarters, New Upper Changi Road 310522.jpg|thumb|240px|People's Action Party headquarters in New Upper Changi Road]]
During its initial years, the party had adopted a traditional [[Leninism|Leninist]] form of party organisation, together with a vanguard cadre from its [[Labour movement|labour]]-leaning faction. The PAP Executive later expelled the leftist faction in 1961, bringing the ideological basis of the party into the centre and later in the 1960s moving further to the right.

In the beginning, there were about 500 so-called temporary [[Cadre (politics)|cadres]] appointed,<ref name="DianeMilne">{{cite book|author=Diane K. Mauzy and R.S. Milne |year=2002 |title=Singapore Politics Under the People's Action Party |url=https://archive.org/details/singaporepolitic00mauz |url-access=limited |publisher=Routledge |isbn=0-415-24653-9 |page=[https://archive.org/details/singaporepolitic00mauz/page/n59 41]}}</ref> however the current number of cadres is unknown, with the register of cadres being kept confidential. In 1988, [[Wong Kan Seng]] revealed that there were more than 1,000 cadres.

Cadre members have the right to attend party conferences and to vote for and elect and to be elected into the [[Central Executive Committee (PAP)|Central Executive Committee]] (CEC), the pinnacle of party leaders.

To become a party cadre, a party member must be first nominated by the MP in their branch. The candidate will then undergo three sessions of interview, each with four to five ministers or MPs and the appointment is then made by the CEC. About 100 candidates are nominated each year.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.singapore-window.org/80404st1.htm|title=The PAP cadre system|date=4 April 1998|newspaper=The Straits Times|location=Singapore|author=Koh Buck Song|access-date=10 January 2006|archive-date=8 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180108023347/http://www.singapore-window.org/80404st1.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

Alternatively, party cadres are recruited based on recommendations by existing PAP cadres, prospective recruits for general election candidates are then internally shortlisted before 

===Central Executive Committee and Secretary-General===
Political power in the party is concentrated in the CEC, led by the secretary-general. The secretary-general of the PAP is the leader of the party. Due to PAP's electoral victories in every general election since 1959, the [[prime minister of Singapore]] has been by convention the secretary-general of the PAP since 1959. Key appointments in the CEC are usually Cabinet members.

From 1957 onward, the rules laid down that the outgoing CEC should recommend a list of candidates from which the cadre members can then vote for the next CEC. This has recently changed so that the CEC nominates eight members and the party caucus selects the remaining ten.

Historically, the position of Secretary-General was not considered for the office of Prime Minister, but rather the Central Executive Committee held an election to choose the prime minister. There was a contest between PAP Secretary-General [[Lee Kuan Yew]] and PAP Treasurer [[Ong Eng Guan]], prior to 1959. Lee subsequently won the leadership and was inaugurated as the first prime minister of Singapore.<ref>{{cite news|title=Lee Kuan Yew elected as Prime Minister of Singapore|url=http://www.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne%2BNews/Singapore/Story/A1Story20090910-166931.html|newspaper=AsiaOne|access-date=16 December 2012|date=10 September 2009|archive-date=14 February 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110214001920/http://www.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne+News/Singapore/Story/A1Story20090910-166931.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===HQ Executive Committee===
The next lower level committee is the HQ Executive Committee (HQ EXCO) which performs the party's administration and oversees 14 sub-committees.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pap.org.sg/abt_leadership_hqexe.shtml |title=About the Leadership HQ Executive Committee|publisher=People's Action Party |access-date=10 May 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060506032823/http://www.pap.org.sg/abt_leadership_hqexe.shtml |archive-date=6 May 2006}}</ref>

The sub-committees are the following:
# Branch Appointments and Relations
# Constituency Relations
# Information and Feedback
# New Media
# Malay Affairs
# Membership Recruitment and Cadre Selection
# PAP Awards
# Political Education
# Publicity and Publication
# Social and Recreational
# Women's Wing (WW)
# [[Young PAP]] (YP)
# PAP Seniors Group (PAP.SG)
# PAP Policy Forum (PPF)

===Young PAP and internet presence===
The Young PAP is the youth-wing of the party, serving as a [[youth organisation]] for young adults and students in Singapore who support the PAP and have an interest in [[politics]].<ref name=":02">{{Cite book |last=Tan |first=Kenneth Paul |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YNnbx98ixNkC |title=Renaissance Singapore? Economy, Culture, and Politics: Economy, Culture, and Politics |date=1 January 2007 |publisher=NUS Press |isbn=9789971693770 |pages=162, 231–236}}</ref> The incumbent chairman of the youth-wing is [[Janil Puthucheary]].<ref>{{cite news |date=2 December 2011 |title=People's Action Party Central Executive Committee |newspaper=People's Action Party |url=http://www.pap.org.sg/leadership.php/ |access-date=25 December 2012 |archive-date=7 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120707094745/http://www.pap.org.sg/leadership.php |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Chan Chun Sing is new Young PAP chairman |url=http://www.asiaone.com/print/News/Latest+News/Singapore/Story/A1Story20121214-389561.html |access-date=6 September 2017 |website=www.asiaone.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=9 December 2000 |title=Young PAP members: Who they are |work=Today |url=http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/today20001209-1.2.4.4 |access-date=6 September 2017}}</ref> The YP's predecessor, the PAP Youth Committee, was established in 1986, under [[Lee Hsien Loong]]'s tenure as Chairman. All PAP members under the age of 35 had then been grouped under the Youth Committee. In 1993, the Youth Committee was renamed the Young PAP. In an effort to attract members, then Chairman [[George Yeo]] said that people joining the YP could take positions different from [[Central Executive Committee (PAP)|central party leadership]]. The age limit was raised from 35 to 40.<ref name="rodan101">{{cite book |last=Rodan |first=Gary |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j2QCDIjRS2AC&dq=young+pap+singapore&pg=PA101 |title=Political oppositions in industrialising Asia |publisher=[[Psychology Press]] |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-415-14865-8 |pages=101}}</ref> Memberships are issued through the PAP branches under each constituency in Singapore.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Getting out of apathy zone |url=http://www.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne+News/Singapore/Story/A1Story20100219-199622.html |access-date=6 September 2017 |website=www.asiaone.com}}</ref> By 2005, the committee had grown to more than 6,000 members.<ref>{{cite news |date=5 January 2008 |title=Young PAP taps S'poreans abroad |work=[[The New Paper]] |location=Singapore |url= |access-date=}}</ref> In 2010, then Vice-Chairman [[Zaqy Mohamad]] said the YP attracts over 1200 new members that year, an increase on the 1000 new members in 2009.<ref>{{Cite news |date=8 November 2010 |title=More joining Young PAP: Zaqy |work=TODAY |url=http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/today20101108-1.2.7.1 |access-date=6 September 2017}}</ref>

Since 1995, the youth-wing of the PAP has had an internet presence that aims to "correct 'misinformation' about Singapore politics or culture".<ref name="Mickey">{{cite magazine |date=1 July 1995 |title=Mickey Unbound |url=https://www.wired.com/1995/07/updata-41/ |url-status=live |magazine=Wired |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160210032937/https://www.wired.com/1995/07/updata-41/ |archive-date=10 February 2016 |access-date=6 November 2017}}</ref> Under the urging of then [[Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts#Ministers|Minister for Information and the Arts]] George Yeo, Young PAP took charge of running several online websites to create an online presence for the party.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Chen |first=Tommi |date=14 March 1995 |title=Internet world watches as Young PAP enters cyberspace |work=The Straits Times}}</ref> After popular forum [[Sintercom]] was shut down in 2001, the Young PAP offered their own forum for moderated discussions.<ref>{{Cite news |date=24 August 2001 |title=Want to talk politics? |work=TODAY |url=http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/today20010824-1.2.2 |access-date=6 September 2017}}</ref> They have since set up various blogs and social media accounts with multimedia content to engage the masses.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Chang |first=Rachel |date=18 March 2010 |title=YP to close 2 Facebook pages |work=The Straits Times |url=http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/issue/straitstimes20100318-1 |access-date=7 September 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=9 July 2008 |title=See you on Facebook |work=TODAY |url=http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/today20080709-1.2.7 |access-date=6 September 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Au-Yong |first=Rachel |date=14 May 2014 |title=PAP responds to criticisms of viral video by its youth wing |work=The Straits Times |url=http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/pap-responds-to-criticisms-of-viral-video-by-its-youth-wing |access-date=6 September 2017}}</ref>

In February 2007, it was reported by ''[[The Straits Times]]'' that the PAP's new media committee chaired by Minister [[Ng Eng Hen]], had initiated an effort to counter critics anonymously on the [[Internet]] "as it was necessary for the PAP to have a voice on cyberspace".<ref name=":3">{{cite news |author=Li Xueying |date=3 February 2007 |title=PAP moves to counter criticism of party, Govt in cyberspace |newspaper=The Straits Times |location=Singapore}}</ref> The initiative was divided by two sub-committees, one of which was in charge of strategising the campaigns and is co-headed by Minister [[Lui Tuck Yew]] and MP Zaqy Mohamad. The other sub-committee—new media capabilities group led by MPs [[Baey Yam Keng]] and [[Josephine Teo]] executed the strategies. The initiative was set up after the [[2006 Singaporean general election|2006 general election]] and also included around 20 IT-savvy PAP activists.<ref name=":3" />

=== Friends of the PAP ===
The PAP has a long-running programme, known as 'Friends of the PAP' by which it enlists individuals and organisations to assist in promoting its political goals. In 2002, secretary-general Goh Chok Tong announced an intention to expand this programme, which at the time was primarily limited to "establishment figures" in the public and private sector. He established a related scheme titled "Young Friends of the PAP" to attract Singaporeans below the age of 40 as well and explained that the intention was to "refresh" the PAP and improve the "quality" of PAP's membership. Membership as a 'Young Friend' was by invitation only, and the group was limited to about 500 people.<ref>{{Cite news |date=3 December 2002 |title=PAP scouting for young to refresh its ranks |url=https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/straitstimes20021203-1.2.27.4.3 |work=[[The Straits Times]] |pages=3}}</ref>

According to local media reports, the Friends of the PAP programme had "fallen out of the public consciousness" after 2002. However, in June 2024, the PAP revived the Friends of the PAP programme and expanded it, now with a renewed focus on local [[Influencer marketing|social media influencers]], with the intention to connect with a wider and younger audience. The PAP did not respond to media queries about whether the Friends of the PAP programme remained invite-only or what the rules of engagement for members of the programme were.<ref>{{cite news |last=Wong |first=Pei Ting |date=22 June 2024 |title=Influencers, cause champions, businessmen: The new Friends of the PAP |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/influencers-cause-champions-businessmen-the-new-friends-of-the-pap |access-date=30 June 2024 |work=The Straits Times |issn=0585-3923}}</ref>