GE2025: PAP new faces Cassandra Lee, Hamid Razak to contest West Coast-Jurong West GRC
Desmond Lee leads the five-member team as anchor minister; Foo Mee Har not part of the line-up
[SINGAPORE] Lawyer Cassandra Lee and orthopaedic surgeon Hamid Razak are part of the People’s Action Party (PAP) team that will contest West Coast-Jurong West GRC, which was unveiled on Tuesday (Apr 15) morning.
The newly formed five-member GRC combines most of West Coast GRC – which the PAP won by the slimmest margin of all constituencies at the last general election in 2020 – with estates from Jurong GRC.
The team will be led by Minister for National Development Desmond Lee as anchor minister. West Coast GRC was previously helmed by S Iswaran, who was then transport minister. He stepped down in 2024 amid investigations for corruption and was sentenced to 12 months’ jail in October on lesser charges.
Asked how he feels about anchoring a GRC alone and potentially facing a strong team from the Progress Singapore Party (PSP), Desmond Lee said there will be a robust contest there and across the island.
He said: “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.”
As for how voters’ concerns on housing would be addressed, the minister said: “Ever since the supply demand imbalance created by Covid-19, we have worked hard to stabilise the construction sector, because that is critical to ensuring that both public and private projects can get off the ground.”
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“We’ve significantly ramped up supply in order to meet the needs of Singaporeans on housing,” he added, reiterating that all 75,800 flats delayed during the pandemic were delivered by January 2025. There have also been initiatives to support first-timer young couples.
“The latest figures that have emerged (show) that both the public and private markets have started to stabilise.”
With increased supply, markets should start to ease, he added. “That is something we work on, not just through the electoral cycle, but through the ups and downs of the property market cycle to ensure stability and assurance of housing for Singaporeans.”
Rounding out the team are incumbent Members of Parliament Ang Wei Neng and Shawn Huang, who is senior parliamentary secretary for finance and education.
The final incumbent Foo Mee Har, who entered politics in 2011, is not part of the team but was present at the press conference.
Foo said: “As I hand over the baton to my successors, I do so with full confidence that residents will be in capable, caring and committed hands if my fellow comrades are given the opportunity to serve the residents.”
Asked if she was leaving politics or would run elsewhere, she said that the prime minister would announce this on Nomination Day.
The three-term MP added: “What I can share with the media is that I come from a finance background and I hope to continue to be very active in the industry because this industry provides good jobs for Singaporeans.”
She hopes to contribute in three areas: lifelong learning, making investment skills accessible to everyone and impact philanthropy.
New faces
Cassandra Lee, 33, is a party activist with Yuhua SMC, where she was in the PAP women’s wing.
A legal counsel at professional services company EY, she has led efforts to raise awareness about reforms that make family justice more accessible and efficient.
Of her 16 years volunteering with the PAP, she said: “These experiences have taught me the real struggles that families go through and the importance of an MP in bridging national policies with what’s happening on the ground.”
Since 2017, Hamid, 39, has been a party activist at Taman Jurong and at Jurong Spring, where he served as assistant branch secretary for more than two years. He is an advocate for equitable healthcare policies and health literacy initiatives.
“I’ve lived in Jurong for close to 30 years and I’ve served the community there for more than half the duration,” he said.
“If elected and given the opportunity, I’ll focus on a few areas, one of which is to strengthen ground-up health literacy initiatives creating meaningful pathways for our low-income families and providing opportunities for our youth to grow.”
At Tuesday’s event, it was also announced that incumbent Patrick Tay will stand in Pioneer SMC, where he has been since 2020.
Moving around
The Jurong GRC wards that were moved to West Coast-Jurong West GRC are Jurong Spring, where Huang is MP; and Taman Jurong, held by then-senior minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam for more than 20 years before he resigned in 2023 to run for president.
Now, Huang will oversee Taman Jurong while Hamid will look after Jurong Spring as well as the West Coast GRC ward of Gek Poh.
The other wards from West Coast GRC are Boon Lay, which Desmond Lee continues to oversee; Nanyang, where Ang remains; and Ayer Rajah, which Cassandra Lee will helm.
West Coast GRC’s Telok Blangah ward was moved to Tanjong Pagar GRC. Asked if the ward’s incumbent MP Rachel Ong will run elsewhere, Desmond Lee said: “As to her future movements, I think that will be something we need to keep a lookout for in the days ahead.”
Close fight
In the 2020 general election, West Coast GRC was the constituency where the PAP had the slimmest winning margin. It took 51.68 per cent of valid votes, while the PSP secured 48.32 per cent.
The PSP was therefore offered two Non-Constituency MP (NCMP) seats, which were taken by Leong Mun Wai and Hazel Poa.
On Apr 6, the PSP said it would contest West Coast-Jurong West GRC. While it has not confirmed its slate, observers expect the party’s A-team, which could include chairman Tan Cheng Bock and the two NCMPs.
In response to queries from The Business Times, a PSP spokesperson said: “We will announce our campaign plans in due course.”
The PSP also intends to contest Pioneer SMC, as it did in 2020, but had previously said it will decide who to field closer to Nomination Day.
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