GE2025: Parties start to show their hand with formal introductions of candidates
[SINGAPORE] Election season went into high gear on Saturday (Apr 12), after Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced that the People’s Action Party (PAP) had finalised its slate of candidates for the upcoming polls.
Over the weekend, the PAP as well as opposition parties formally introduced the candidates that they will be fielding in the various constituencies.
Here is a round-up of some of the activities that took place:
PAP to field over 30 new candidates
The 30-plus new candidates that the PAP will field is the largest slate in recent history, said PM Wong. This group will include the core of the next-generation leadership.
He also confirmed that the team for Marsiling-Yew Tee Group Representation Constituency (GRC), which he helms, will be unchanged. The other three incumbents are Alex Yam, Hany Soh and Zaqy Mohamad.
PAP unveils teams for opposition-held Aljunied, Sengkang
The PAP’s five-member team to try and wrest back Aljunied GRC from the Workers’ Party (WP) will feature four new faces: Dr Faisal Abdul Aziz, Daniel Liu, Dr Adrian Ang and Jagathishwaran Rajo.
Dr Faisal is a clinical director at dental group Nuffield Dental. Liu, the son of Singapore’s first master planner Liu Thai Ker, is the managing director of urban planning consultancy Morrow Architects and Planners.
Dr Ang is a director at facility and environmental management company Chye Thiam Maintenance. Jagathishwaran is a trade unionist.
Chan Hui Yuh, the only member from the PAP’s GE2020 team in Aljunied, will lead the refreshed team.
Over in Sengkang, former senior minister of state Lam Pin Min and three new faces will try to win back Sengkang GRC from the WP.
They are Theodora Lai, a principal at private equity firm Tembusu Partners; Dr Elmie Nekmat, who teaches communications and new media at the National University of Singapore; and Bernadette Giam, a director at local food and beverage enterprise Creative Eateries.
Jasmin Lau, Victor Lye seen with SM Lee in Ang Mo Kio
Former senior civil servant Jasmin Lau and PAP veteran Victor Lye were spotted at an event in Ang Mo Kio GRC on Sunday. They were seen alongside Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong at Hougang Village. SM Lee stopped short of confirming the Ang Mo Kio GRC team that he helms. However, referring to Lau and Lye, he said that he would be delighted to have both of them in his team.
Kawal Pal Singh, Elysa Chen spotted at PAP walkabout in Bishan-Toa Payoh
Two potential members of the PAP’s slate for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC were seen during a walkabout in Toa Payoh on Sunday.
Kawal Pal Singh, the managing partner at law firm Tito Isaac & Co, and Elysa Chen, executive director of charity CampusImpact, were seen speaking to residents at Toa Payoh West Market and Food Centre. They were with Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat, one of four incumbents in the constituency. Asked if Singh and Chen would be contesting in Bishan-Toa Payoh, Chee would only say this would be confirmed on Nomination Day.
SDP confirms candidates for Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC
The founder of alternative news site Wake Up Singapore, a former Progress Singapore Party candidate, and a film-maker who was a Red Dot United (RDU) member will form the Singapore Democratic Party’s (SDP) team as it contests Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC.
The candidates are Ariffin Iskandar Sha Ali Akbar, Gigene Wong and Alec Tok, respectively. SDP stalwart Jufri Salim, who is the party’s organising secretary, is also part of the team.
RDU introduces potential candidates for Nee Soon GRC
It introduced three potential candidates as it embarked on a campaign for Nee Soon GRC.
They are Dr Syed Alwi Ahmad, a private school teacher and the party’s head of policy and its Malay bureau; Pang Heng Chuan, a tech startup business director; and Sharon Lin, a senior consultant in the IT sector.
On Saturday, RDU said it would withdraw from an alliance of opposition parties that also includes the National Solidarity Party (NSP), Singapore United Party and Singapore People’s Party.
This was after the NSP refused to back down from preventing a three-cornered fight in Sembawang GRC.
Additional reporting by Sharanya Pillai
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