SINGAPORE – Recently-resigned public servant Dinesh Vasu Dash accompanied East Coast GRC MPs for a mosque visit in Chai Chee on the morning of March 31.
Mr Dinesh, whose last day as the chief of Agency for Integrated Care was on March 27, is the first former public servant spotted on the ground with PAP MPs since the recent string of resignations from the Government.
The 50-year-old was seen walking into Al-Ansar Mosque in Chai Chee, accompanying Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat and Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong.
This comes amid speculation that he has joined the ruling party and will be fielded in the upcoming elections.
Madam Hazlina Abdul Halim, 40, the former chief executive of Make-A-Wish Singapore, was also with the group.
She had previously been spotted shadowing MacPherson MP Tin Pei Ling and was formally introduced to residents and reporters at a Marine Parade GRC walkabout on March 22.
(Second from left) DPM Heng Swee Keat, Mr Dinesh Vasu Dash, Minister Edwin Tong, Madam Hazlina Abdul Halim and MP Jessica Tan heading towards Al-Ansar Mosque for a visit on March 31.ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG
MP Jessica Tan was also in attendance. Senior Minister of State for National Development Tan Kiat How arrived slightly later and joined the group before they entered the mosque.
The other two East Coast GRC MPs – Dr Maliki Osman and Ms Cheryl Chan – were not with the group. Dr Maliki had arrived earlier on his own, while Ms Chan was on a work trip.
Mr Tong, who is currently MP for Marine Parade GRC, oversees the Joo Chiat area that was carved into East Coast GRC in the latest electoral boundaries report.
He has been in talks with East Coast GRC MPs on integrating plans between the two areas, and was seen on March 23 on a walkabout in Bedok with DPM Heng.
Mr Dinesh is the latest senior officer to quit the government sector in recent weeks.
Three other senior civil servants quit the service on March 25.
They include Mr Jeffrey Siow, second permanent secretary of the Manpower and Trade and Industry ministries, and Mr Shawn Loh, who oversaw the last two budgets and was director of security and resilience programmes at the Finance Ministry.
The third is Smart Nation Strategy Office director Goh Hanyan, who is also director of the national artificial intelligence group for policy and strategy at the Digital Development and Information Ministry.
The Straits Times had earlier reported that Ms Jasmin Lau, deputy secretary for policy at the Ministry of Health, and Mr Foo Cexiang, director for private and future mobility at the Transport Ministry, had resigned. Their last day at work will be in early April.
The civil service is a traditional PAP hunting ground for election candidates. Those who are selected usually resign from their jobs in the run-up to the polls.
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