SINGAPORE – Minister for National Development Desmond Lee will anchor the PAP team in the newly formed West Coast-Jurong West GRC.
The party on April 15 also introduced two new faces – orthopaedic surgeon Hamid Razak, 39, and lawyer Cassandra Lee, 33.
Rounding out the slate is Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Finance and Education Shawn Huang, 42, and three-term MP Ang Wei Neng, 58.
Labour MP Patrick Tay will stand again in Pioneer SMC, which he won in 2020.
Introducing the slate at a press conference on April 15 held at the party’s West Coast branch, Mr Lee, 48, said: “We would like to seek residents’ support so that we can implement our plans and continue to roll out the existing programmes that we have initiated over the past few years.”
He said the team is diverse, with members who have been working hard on the ground for some time.
Mr Lee added: “We’re a mix of incumbents as well as new candidates to bring in new thinking, new ways of doing things, to refresh the team serving on the ground.”
First-term MP Rachel Ong was left off the slate for West Coast-Jurong West GRC, and was not present at the press conference.
She is expected to move to Tanjong Pagar GRC as her Telok Blangah ward has shifted there under the new electoral boundaries unveiled on March 11. Mr Lee said Ms Ong has contributed to programmes supporting family and youth, and will be “greatly missed”.
Three-term MP Foo Mee Har, who oversees the Ayer Rajah-Gek Poh ward, was not on the slate, although she was present at the event.
Mr Lee thanked her for her contributions, saying she has worked on many initiatives to support seniors and families, on transport and infrastructure, and organised many community job fairs. He did not confirm if she would retire.
Ms Foo introduced Ms Lee and Dr Hamid as her successors.
Ms Foo said Ms Lee will take over in Ayer Rajah.
Ms Lee is a lawyer with experience in the public service and in the private sector, and has been a strong advocate for seniors, young families and women’s empowerment, Ms Foo said.
She added that Ms Lee has been volunteering for 16 years, since she was 17 years old.
Ms Foo introduced Dr Hamid as her successor in Gek Poh. She said he is a well respected orthopedic surgeon who has been “very active in the community for 17 years”.
She said: “As a long-time resident of Jurong West who grew up in our neighbourhood, Hamid understands our residents and aspirations deeply.”
Speaking after Ms Foo, Ms Lee said she grew up in the west, and that her experiences as a volunteer taught her that an MP plays an important role in bridging national policies with residents.
“I hope to ensure that national policies reach residents in the right way, to address their day-to-day needs and to build a strong community,” she said. “I’m committed to advocating for better support for young working families, including a stronger workplace culture for flexible work, especially for fathers, and a community that truly supports working parents.”
Dr Hamid introduced himself in English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil.
He said he has been involved in various community projects, including ones on health literacy and education.
“I grew up here. I shared these community spaces. When I was young, I received community scholarships, and I truly know what it means when the community wraps around you,” he said.
Dr Hamid added that he is concerned about health literacy, especially among older adults, as well as families at the margins of society.
He said: “Mainstream programmes like SkillsFuture may need some tinkering. We need training pathways that are more modular, flexible and come with additional support so that they don’t have to choose between learning and living.”
He added that his candidacy does not mean he will be stepping away from his surgical career.
Dr Hamid said: “This is me stepping forward.”
Trade unionist Natasha Choy, who had been seen on the ground with MPs and introduced as a PAP fresh face by Mr Lee earlier in April, was not present.
In GE2020, the constituency had in its previous form – West Coast GRC – brought in the narrowest win for the ruling party.
The PAP won 51.68 per cent of the votes against the Progress Singapore Party, led by Dr Tan Cheng Bock, a former PAP stalwart, who founded the PSP in 2019.
Under changes to electoral boundaries, the constituency’s borders have been shifted. It will absorb parts of Jurong GRC, and become West Coast-Jurong West GRC when Singaporeans go to the polls.
It also ceded areas including HarbourFront and Sentosa to the new Radin Mas SMC, and Dover and Telok Blangah to Tanjong Pagar GRC.
The new West Coast-Jurong West GRC will be a five-member one, and it will have 158,581 voters, up from the 146,089 voters in West Coast GRC during the 2020 General Election.
The constituency’s new slate reflects the boundary changes.
Mr Huang – who oversees Taman Jurong and Jurong Spring, previously under Jurong GRC – has joined the GRC, along with his wards.
Dr Hamid, who has been leading PAP efforts in Jurong Spring, has also moved.
Mr Lee has stepped up as anchor in place of former transport minister S. Iswaran, who resigned in January 2024 amid a corruption probe. He was later found guilty of illegally obtaining gifts as a public servant, and given 12 months’ jail.
Asked his thoughts on anchoring a GRC alone for the first time, against a challenge from the PSP, Mr Lee said: “As you can see, from the blend of experience and incumbency, as well as new ideas, new blood, we want to be able to use that combination in order to assure our residents of continuity of service.”
He added that there will be a robust contest, both here and all across Singapore.
“We take this contest very seriously and appeal on the work of the past many years, while assuring residents that we have new plans for the next five,” said Mr Lee.
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