[SINGAPORE] The opposition PSP on Apr 19 unveiled its line-up of candidates for Chua Chu Kang GRC, which includes the former secretary-general for the Singapore Manufacturing Federation Lawrence Pek.
The four-member PSP team also includes three candidates with political experience.
Technology lawyer Wendy Low, 48, and PSP second vice-chairperson and business consultant A’bas Kasmani, 71, had contested Tanjong Pagar GRC in the 2020 general election.
Investment specialist S Nallakaruppan, 60, who was a PSP candidate in Nee Soon GRC in the 2020 general election, rounds up the party’s slate for Chua Chu Kang GRC.
Pek, 55, is a political new face who, as the former leader of the Singapore Manufacturing Federation, stands out among the PSP’s newcomers as having one of the most notable backgrounds.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Pek was the secretary-general of the federation between July 2020 and April 2023. The federation aims to champion the growth and global competitiveness of Singapore’s manufacturing sector.
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The PSP also said it will be fielding its former central executive member Harish Pillay in Bukit Gombak SMC. Harish, 65, had contested Tanjong Pagar GRC in GE2020.
PSP chairman Tan Cheng Bock unveiled the party’s lineup of candidates for Chua Chu Kang GRC and Bukit Gombak SMC at a media doorstop following a walkabout at Teck Whye Lane.
When Singapore goes to the polls on May 3, the PSP team will face off against the incumbent PAP MPs for Chua Chu Kang GRC.
The PAP had on Apr 14 unveiled its candidates for the constituency.
Led by Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, the PAP team also includes incumbent MP and lawyer Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim, who represented the Keat Hong ward in the GRC, as well as first-time candidates in veteran former civil servant Jeffrey Siow and neurologist Choo Pei Ling.
Under the changes to electoral boundaries announced on Mar 11, Chua Chu Kang GRC will take in the new Tengah estate, which had previously been part of Hong Kah North SMC.
The Bukit Gombak ward has also been carved out of the GRC, becoming a single-seat constituency that incumbent PAP MP Low Yen Ling will run for.
This is the second time that PSP is contesting Chua Chu Kang GRC.
DPM Gan’s PAP team in 2020 won Chua Chu Kang GRC with a vote share of 58.64 per cent, roughly an 18 percentage point drop from the 2015 election.
That year, the PSP team comprised Francis Yuen, Choo Shaun Ming, Abdul Rahman Mohamad and Tan Meng Wah.
Chua Chu Kang GRC proved to be one of the PSP’s best showings in GE2020 after West Coast GRC, where it obtained a vote share of 48.32 per cent, and Marymount SMC, with 44.96 per cent. THE STRAITS TIMES
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