Editing People's Action Party (section)

== Recruitment and retention ==
Unlike many political parties in numerous other countries that rely on [[grassroots]] mobilisation and overt rewards for party loyalty, the People's Action Party (PAP) in Singapore adopts a highly [[centralised]], [[Bottom-up and top-down design#Corporate environment (Performance management)|top-down]] and [[meritocratic]] approach to candidate [[recruitment]], in order to prevent [[nepotism]], [[cronyism]], [[branch stacking]], [[entryism]] or any form of [[primary election]]s.<ref name=":4">{{cite news |last=Mydans |first=Seth |date=2011-04-18 |title=In Singapore, the Party in Power Offers New Faces |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/19/world/asia/19iht-singapore19.html |access-date=2025-04-30 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Rather than progressing through local branches or [[Political faction|factional]] networks, prospective legislators are identified through "talent spotting" ([[executive search]]) by senior figures in [[government]] and industry.<ref name=":5">{{citation |last=Tan |first=Netina |title=Institutionalized Succession and Hegemonic Party Cohesion in Singapore |date=2014-12-29 |work=Party System Institutionalization in Asia |pages=49–73 |editor-last=Hicken |editor-first=Allen |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/CBO9781107300385A010/type/book_part |access-date=2025-04-30 |edition=1 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |doi=10.1017/cbo9781107300385.003 |isbn=978-1-107-04157-8 |editor2-last=Kuhonta |editor2-first=Erik Martinez}}</ref> This screening mechanism is designed to attract individuals with distinguished records in the [[civil service]], the [[Military|armed forces]], [[Academy|academia]], managerial executives from the [[private sector]] or [[Voluntary sector|non-profit sector]], or professional sectors such as [[engineering]], [[law]], [[finance]], [[mass media]] and [[health care]]. This unique [[preselection]] invitation system is designed to maintain the [[Technocracy|technocratic]], meritocratic, [[realpolitik]] and [[Pragmatism|pragmatic]] character of the PAP, and to avert any form of [[Dictatorship#Personalist|personalist dictatorships]], [[populism]] and [[political polarization]].<ref>{{cite web |title=GE2025: Singaporeans must reject populism, polarisation and post-truth politics, says PAP's Murali Pillai |url=https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/ge2025-murali-pillai-populism-jurong-east-bukit-batok-rally-pap-5094831 |access-date=2025-04-30 |website=CNA}}</ref>

Prospective candidates first emerge through recommendations by PAP activists, corporate leaders, Members of Parliament and senior civil servants.<ref name=":4" /> Each year, roughly one hundred individuals—many of whom have studied or worked abroad—are invited to "tea sessions" with 2–3 serving ministers, during which they engage in in-depth discussions lasting up to two and a half hours (sometimes unbeknownst initially by the interviewee, of the true intent of the tea session(s), which is an [[euphemism]] for informal prospecting interviews by the PAP, for candidacy in upcoming [[General elections in Singapore|Singapore general elections]]).<ref name=":7">{{cite news |date=2025-04-18 |title=Ex-AIC chief Dinesh Vasu Dash answered two calls to serve: To fight Covid-19 and to join the PAP |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/politics/ex-aic-chief-dinesh-vasu-dash-answered-two-calls-to-serve-to-fight-covid-19-and-to-join-the-pap |access-date=2025-04-30 |work=The Straits Times |issn=0585-3923}}</ref><ref name=":8">{{cite web |title=Deep Dive GE2025 Podcast: PAP's Elysa Chen on being 'kicked into politics' and overcoming imposter syndrome |url=https://www.channelnewsasia.com/podcasts/ge2025-elysa-chen-pap-bishan-toa-payoh-deep-dive-podcast-5093841 |access-date=2025-04-30 |website=CNA}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=OLEH-OLEH TEMASEK: Bila Teh Mencuit Rasa |url=https://berita.mediacorp.sg/komentar/oleh-oleh-temasek-bila-teh-mencuit-rasa-906246 |access-date=2025-04-30 |website=BERITA Mediacorp |language=ms}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Wanna be a PAP MP? He is the Minister to drink tea with. |url=https://mothership.sg/2015/12/wanna-be-a-pap-mp-he-is-the-minister-to-drink-tea-with/ |access-date=2025-04-30 |website=mothership.sg}}</ref> Those shortlisted then face two formal interviews conducted by a high-level panel at party headquarters; successful interviewees meet again with ministers, though final approval rests with the Central Executive Committee (CEC) before the successful interviewees are "invited to join politics".<ref name=":7" /><ref name=":8" /><ref>{{cite web |last=Administrator |date=2025-04-09 |title=Oh, for the good old days? • Michael Barr |url=https://insidestory.org.au/oh-for-the-good-old-days/ |access-date=2025-04-30 |website=Inside Story}}</ref> In the lead-up to an election, approved candidates are assigned to shadow incumbent MPs, and they receive training in public speaking and media communications. 

Furthermore, a small number of recruits—typically five or six per electoral cycle—are selected for additional psychological assessment based on a Shell-Oil-developed appraisal system. These candidates undergo a day-and-a-half examination of more than 1,000 questions to evaluate their personality and disposition, and are then earmarked as potential ministerial talent.<ref name=":5" /> While the PAP presents this elaborate, multi-stage process as a means of upholding "meritocracy" by choosing the "best man or woman for the job", critics argue that the heavy reliance on elite networks and [[professional]] pedigrees renders the system fundamentally [[Elitism|elitist]] and prone to [[groupthink]] rather than genuinely open to wider society, especially the [[working class]] who may share a different [[Socioeconomic status|socioeconomic]] environment and resulting [[worldview]].<ref name=":5" />

Although only a fraction of prospective short-listed candidates are selected to represent the party at general elections, not everyone invited to join the PAP's candidate pipeline accepts the offer from the PAP.<ref name=":5" /> Many decline for personal or professional reasons—some encounter employer restrictions, others face familial opposition or simply feel that politics is not for them. Likewise, when it comes to retaining serving PAP MPs in Singapore, despite the elevated salaries for ministers and Members of Parliament in Singapore, a small number also choose not to seek re-election or step aside before any given election, citing similar personal, family, lifestyle or career considerations.<ref>{{cite web |title=Have you had tea yet? A recent chat with an old friend at Our Tampines… {{!}} Chairul Fahmy H. |url=https://www.linkedin.com/posts/chairulfahmy_have-you-had-tea-yet-a-recent-chat-with-activity-7284061385867632642-iBD-/ |access-date=2025-04-30 |website=www.linkedin.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=2025-04-22 |title=Singapore election 2025: Nee Soon MPs Louis Ng, Carrie Tan and Derrick Goh to step down from politics |url=https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/singapore/ge2025-nee-soon-mps-louis-ng-carrie-tan-and-derrick-goh-step-down-politics |access-date=2025-04-30 |website=The Business Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=GE2025: Five one-term MPs step down as PAP seeks refreshed team, highest number in recent polls |url=https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/ge2025-one-term-mps-pap-refreshed-team-5086026 |access-date=2025-04-30 |website=CNA}}</ref>