GE2025: Tan See Leng anchors Chua Chu Kang GRC in surprise move; PM Wong faces SDP in Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC
[SINGAPORE] Minister for Manpower Tan See Leng will lead the People’s Action Party (PAP) against the Progress Singapore Party (PSP) in Chua Chu Kang GRC in a surprise last-minute switch.
Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, who was expected to helm the PAP team for Chua Chu Kang GRC, did not show up and will contest Punggol GRC instead.
When Tan was asked if he was surprised to be shifted to Chua Chu Kang GRC, he said: “In an election as fierce as this, I think we have to be open to all possibilities.”
He added: “I’m glad that the PM and senior Cabinet members think that I’m qualified enough to be redeployed here because DPM Gan has very, very big shoes for me to fill.”
As widely expected, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and his team will face the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) in a contest for Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC.
He leads the PAP team, which comprises Senior Minister of State for Defence and Manpower Zaqy Mohamad, Alex Yam and Hany Soh.
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Speaking at the Jurong Pioneer Junior College nomination centre, PM Wong said: “All these years, you know us well, we’ve walked this journey with you since the (Group Representation Constituency) was formed. Please vote for us again. We will do our best to improve your lives.”
He added: “We are in a changed world with turbulence all around, so there is much at stake in this election.”
Meanwhile, SDP is fielding Gigene Wong, Alec Tok, Ariffin Iskandar Sha Ali Akbar and party stalwart Jufri Salim.
Wong is a full-time caregiver, Tok is a theatre director, and Ariffin Sha is the founder of alternative news site Wake Up Singapore.
Marsiling-Yew Tee is among nine constituencies which have not had their boundaries redrawn for GE2025. PAP won 63.18 per cent of the votes in the 2020 General Election, while SDP secured 36.82 per cent.
SDP’s slate of candidates in 2020 included Benjamin Pwee, Khung Wai Yeen, Bryan Lim and Damanhuri Abas.
The surprise change at Chua Chu Kang GRC means that Manpower Minister Tan will lead the PAP team there, together with former senior civil servant Jeffrey Siow, neuroscientist Dr Choo Pei Ling, and incumbent Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim.
The PSP team for Chua Chu Kang GRC includes Lawrence Pek, former secretary-general of the Singapore Manufacturing Federation, technology lawyer Wendy Low, PSP second vice-chairman and business consultant A’bas Kasmani, and investment specialist S Nallakaruppan.
Addressing voters at the nomination centre, PSP’s Low said she was aware that many residents have been worried about job losses.
She said: “Your doors are closed, but we see you and we hear you. But today, (those doors are) open because we are here. We are your alternative, and we are your choice.”
In 2020, PAP secured 58.64 per cent of the votes in Chua Chu Kang GRC, while PSP garnered 41.36 per cent.
Over at Bukit Gombak SMC, Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry Low Yen Ling will face PSP’s Harish Pillay, a tech veteran who was the opposition party’s former central executive committee member.
Bukit Gombak was previously a ward of Chua Chu Kang GRC. In the latest boundaries report, it was recommended that the Bukit Gombak and Hillview estates be carved out to form the new Bukit Gombak SMC.
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