Also present to launch the East Coast Plan website on Tuesday were Senior Minister of State Tan Kiat How, previous Deputy Speaker of Parliament Jessica Tan, as well as PAP new faces Hazlina Abdul Halim and Goh Pei Ming.
Mr Tan and Ms Tan were elected Members of Parliament (MPs) for East Coast GRC in the previous election.
Mdm Hazlina will be taking the place of Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Mohamad Maliki Osman – part of PAP’s winning team for East Coast in 2020 – in the upcoming election.
Dr Maliki said last Saturday that he wouldn’t be contesting in East Coast GRC in the election, although he declined to say if he would be retiring from politics or redeployed to another constituency.
In the 2020 election, East Coast was a fiercely contested GRC between the PAP and Workers’ Party. The PAP garnered 53.39 per cent of the votes, marking one of its narrowest victories in the General Election.
The PAP’s 2020 outcome in East Coast was a decline from the 60.73 per cent achieved in 2015.
Mr Tong on Tuesday pointed out that every election is “tough” and “we never take it for granted”, in response to a question about his thoughts on possibly going up against WP at the coming election.
“We respect our opponents, whoever they might be. But we do want to emphasise the work that has been done and continue to endeavour to work hard to (help) our residents. That ultimately is key, and the most important aspect of a local MP’s job,” he said.
“Beyond that, there’s also the consideration of the broader interest of Singapore, beyond East Coast. And the election is not just about the local MP, but also about the selection of the government, and the ability of the government to look after Singapore … and Singaporeans in the long-term.”
Mr Goh, the former Singapore Armed Forces Chief of Staff – Joint Staff, has been volunteering in Kampong Chai Chee since 2007, becoming chairman of its Community Club Management Committee in 2021 and vice-chairman of its Citizens’ Consultative Committee in 2019.
He told reporters that he was waiting for the slate and his deployment to be finalised, but was “making full use of every opportunity to better understand the ground” in the meantime.
“I may be familiar with Kampong Chai Chee and Bedok, since I grew up here, but there are other parts of East Coast GRC and there’s a lot more that I need to learn. So I’m eagerly … making my way around,” he said.
Mdm Hazlina, a former broadcast journalist and head of a non-profit organisation, said that she has noticed during her walkabouts that “being able to have the space to build strong, resilient families” was important for East Coast residents.
“I think every community is really close in East Coast. Having that opportunity to continue genuine connections and shared aspirations appears to be top of the mind for East Coast residents,” she said.