SINGAPORE – The PAP’s candidate for Mountbatten SMC, Ms Gho Sze Kee, has refuted comments by opposition leader Lim Tean that she was “parachuted” into the area, saying that she has been walking the ground for the past 10 months.
“Facebook pictures don’t lie. I’ve been featured on Mr Lim Biow Chuan’s Facebook page for the past 10 months,” said Ms Gho on April 21.
Mr Lim Biow Chuan is the incumbent Mountbatten MP, stepping down after nearly two decades of service.
Ms Gho, a maritime lawyer, told The Straits Times: “In fact, I started in July 2024, so maybe (Mr Lim Tean) didn’t notice that I was on the ground since then.
“(I’m) definitely not parachuted in… plus the fact that I’ve been at Bukit Timah for 13 years. So, I don’t think the word ‘parachuted’ really applies to me.”
Ms Gho, 46, has been a PAP activist since 2012 and the party’s Bukit Timah branch secretary since December 2020.
She was asked by ST, on the sidelines of house visits in Jalan Tiga on April 21, to respond to Mr Lim Tean’s comments.
Mr Lim Tean, secretary-general of the opposition People’s Alliance for Reform (PAR), had said on April 20 during a walkabout at the Jalan Batu Market and Food Centre, off Mountbatten Road, that Ms Gho was an unknown quantity.
“She has been parachuted into Mountbatten very late in the day, and I don’t think she really knows the ground,” he had said.
PAR intends to field a candidate to contest Mountbatten SMC.
Ms Gho’s candidacy was announced on April 20 by Manpower Minister Tan See Leng, who will lead the PAP’s Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC team in the May 3 general election.
Mr Tan had also announced then that Mr Lim Biow Chuan, a four-term MP, will be stepping down.
On her plans in the lead-up to Nomination Day on April 23, Ms Gho said she would be speaking to branch activists, and coordinating plans and preparing for the day.
Ms Gho noted that she has been conducting weekly house visits to landed properties and Housing Board blocks, as well as organising block and park parties for condominium residents in Mountbatten.
She added that her team’s coverage of the area has been “quite comprehensive”.
“Of course, I wouldn’t say that I have covered every single block… but I would say I have a pretty good view, and an overall bird’s-eye view, of the various types of HDB flats, different municipal issues, and residents’ concerns,” said Ms Gho.
When asked about her campaign plans after Nomination Day, she said: “We, in Mountbatten, just believe in pure hard work.
“So you’ll see me going straight down to the ground, pounding the ground, canvassing votes and asking residents to give me a chance.”
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