[SINGAPORE] The constituency that had the narrowest of wins for the People’s Action Party (PAP) five years ago is fast shaping up to be another closely fought battleground.
Once again, the PAP will lock horns with the Progress Singapore Party (PSP) in West Coast-Jurong West GRC, with the opposition party on Sunday (Apr 20) declaring its intent to field its top three leaders there.
The most experienced of them is party chairman Tan Cheng Bock, a veteran politician and one-time presidential candidate who is a few days shy of his 85th birthday – and gearing up for what could be his final electoral outing.
Asked by reporters how this prospect might play on voters’ minds, National Development Minister Desmond Lee, who leads the PAP’s five-member team, said he respected Dr Tan’s contributions during his many years of service.
Dr Tan was Member of Parliament for Ayer Rajah for 26 years from 1980 to 2006. The single seat was later redrawn into the nearby West Coast GRC.
Said Lee: “(He was) a PAP MP who served Ayer Rajah for many years. He brought benefits to the residents, and my team and I respect the work he’s done and the contributions he’s made to Singapore and to Ayer Rajah.”
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He added that the PAP team – including Senior Parliamentary Secretary Shawn Huang, three-term MP Ang Wei Neng and new faces Hamid Razak and Cassandra Lee – offers a good mix of youth and experience.
“(Our) team has a mix of more experienced candidates and younger ones who bring new ideas, fresh ideas… and who are able to connect with residents of all ages and backgrounds in our very diverse communities,” he said.
Apart from Dr Tan, the PSP team comprises secretary-general Leong Mun Wai, vice-chairperson Hazel Poa, and new faces Sumarleki Amjah and Sani Ismail.
In 2020, the PSP was the “best-performing loser” among the opposition teams. The party was offered two Non-Constituency MP seats in Parliament, which eventually went to Leong and Poa.
Asked if things are different now that Leong and Poa have spent an entire term in Parliament, Lee said: “Both Leong Mun Wai and Hazel Poa have their own ideas and proposals at the national level, and we believe at the local level too.”
“We look forward to those being presented to the residents – so they can look at what the PAP and PSP offer, and voters can then make up their minds.”
Earlier in the day, Lee attended an event by NTUC’s Employment and Employability Institute that offered more than 3,500 job vacancies curated by the institute and its partners.
More than 55 jobs and skills-related events have been organised for West Coast GRC residents in recent years, noted Lee.
He added that nearly 10,000 people in the constituency have received support in job matching, career counselling, career transition, resume building and training courses in the last five years.
PAP names team for Marine Parade-Braddell Heights
Also on Sunday, the PAP introduced a five-member team to contest the new Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC.
Led by Manpower Minister Tan See Leng, the team’s other members are Minister of State Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim, Speaker of Parliament Seah Kian Peng, three-term MP Tin Pei Ling, and new face Diana Pang, who is a business development director.
Pang’s inclusion meant that incumbent MP Mohd Fahmi Aliman, who entered politics in 2020, would not be part of the Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC team. It was not clear if he would be redeployed to another constituency or step down altogether.
Separately, the PAP announced that shipping lawyer Gho Sze Kee will contest the Mountbatten single-seat ward, taking over from Lim Biow Chuan, who is stepping down after serving four terms.
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