No surprise in candidates fielded at Fengshan SMC

Singapore

THERE were no surprises for Fengshan Single Member Constituency (SMC) as the People's Action Party (PAP) fielded a candidate named earlier, while the Worker's Party's (WP) candidate also turned up as expected.

Following the filing of their nomination papers on Tuesday at Fengshan Primary School, PAP's Cheryl Chan, 38, will contest WP's Dennis Tan, 45, for Fengshan, which was carved out of East Coast Group Representation Constituency (GRC).

Ms Chan, who has volunteered as a grassroots leader in the ward for a decade, takes the place of incumbent Member of Parliament (MP) and former transport minister Raymond Lim, who is retiring from politics after serving Fengshan for 14 years.

Ms Chan, head of secondary industries at gas and engineering firm The Linde Group, thanked supporters, saying that this marks the day where they move forward together on a shared journey, to build "a better home and a more caring community for all". "We will ensure that no one is left behind; and with that, our motto remains: residents first, always," she added, before launching into a short speech in Mandarin.

Also a first-time candidate, WP's Mr Tan, a shipping lawyer, urged voters in English, Mandarin and Malay to give him and the WP a chance. "We hope you will give Workers' Party and myself a chance to serve you here in Fengshan and be your voice in Parliament."

Of the 13 SMCs, Fengshan may be the third smallest in terms of voters, at an estimated 23,404, after Potong Pasir (17,389) and Yuhua (22,599). But it is set to be one of the most hotly contested seats at the coming polls on Sept 11.

The ward has been perceived by observers to have been hived off from East Coast GRC as the GRC had performed poorly at the 2011 General Election with the narrowest win for a GRC for the ruling PAP at 54.8 per cent of votes.

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