GE2025: Adrian Ang hopes to put infrastructure expertise to use in Aljunied GRC – if voters give PAP a mandate
If elected, the Chye Thiam Maintenance director also intends to contribute to the debate on sustainability reporting
[SINGAPORE] Adrian Ang hopes his infrastructure expertise can help in improving Aljunied GRC’s amenities – that is, if the People’s Action Party (PAP) team manages to wrest back control of the Workers’ Party (WP) stronghold.
“We will have to fight for every single vote to gain the mandate,” he told The Business Times. “It’s not going to be easy, but we will put in our best effort.”
As they are not the incumbents, the PAP team has been unable to show the value that they can bring, he added.
But with a PhD in engineering, as well as experience in the built environment sector, Dr Ang hopes to tackle municipal issues.
Aljunied GRC residents have raised concerns about the quality of amenities, as well as the estate’s cleanliness and rodent issues, he noted.
The 42-year-old is director of group sustainability and new business at cleaning and facilities management company Chye Thiam Maintenance.
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As a father of five children – aged between three months old and eight years – he also believes that good infrastructure can make estates conducive for all ages and foster multigenerational households.
Improving infrastructure
Aljunied GRC became the first opposition-won GRC in the 2011 general election, when WP took 54.72 per cent of the vote. The WP has held it since, with its vote share rising to 59.95 per cent in 2020.
This election, Dr Ang is part of a PAP team with three other newcomers and leader Chan Hui Yuh, who also ran there in 2020.
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Having joined the PAP’s Bedok Reservoir-Punggol branch last year, he was appointed its chairperson in February.
While Bedok Reservoir does have amenities, he thinks these can be improved. “We can have much more exciting and bigger playgrounds, and infrastructure (for) barrier-free access,” he said, noting that some ramps are too steep for wheelchair users.
With such improvements, property values may rise and the town will be livelier, he added.
Dr Ang believes his infrastructure know-how will be useful in running a town council, with his teammates contributing similar expertise. Chan works in the construction industry, while fellow newcomer Daniel Liu leads urban planning consultancy Morrow.
But he acknowledged concerns over his role in a facilities management company. “I’m very frank here. If you scroll through the Internet, you will notice that there are some negative posts stating that there are COI (conflict of interest) issues.”
For instance, some posts ask if Chye Thiam could benefit from preferential treatment for public contracts.
Objecting to these insinuations, he noted that tenders have proper procedures and are awarded based on strategy and pricing, not affiliation.
Sustainability standards
Beyond his constituency, Dr Ang hopes to contribute to discussions on sustainability if elected, including the issue of environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting standards.
Singapore has mandated sustainability reporting for listed companies, and encourages small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to do so voluntarily. But many SMEs grapple with the costs and expertise required.
“From a national point of view, I believe that this is something that we need to move forward to. But on the localised level, for companies itself, it is very frustrating.”
Still, even SMEs should prepare for ESG reporting, to avoid having to “scramble” in future, he added.
He hopes to use his experience to contribute to the debate. Chye Thiam itself advocates for ESG reporting among companies it works with, and provides clients with data about their waste.
The company also experiments with sustainable technologies, such as a recent collaboration with supermarket operator Sheng Siong on “reverse vending machines” that reward consumers for recycling bottles.
Green issues interested Dr Ang long before he joined Chye Thiam in 2022. He began his career working on green projects at engineering company UGL Premas, then took on a consulting role in Surbana Jurong.
As an educator at Temasek Polytechnic from 2009, he helped launch a diploma in green buildings and sustainability. He also led a facility that gives students practical experience with building components.
A self-described “hands-on” person, he himself earned a diploma in electronics from Singapore Polytechnic, then a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering at the RMIT University in Australia.
He later did a master’s degree in power engineering at Nanyang Technological University before taking his PhD at Newcastle University in the UK.
“Till today, I’m still very hands-on,” he said. “I want to get my hands dirty, to work together with my guys. Though now in a leadership role, sometimes I just have to roll (up my) sleeves.”
Ground concerns
As a teenager, Dr Ang volunteered with his mother at the Chinese Development Assistance Council, sending letters and manning phone lines.
In 2012, he looked for volunteer opportunities in his neighbourhood – and decided to help out at the PAP’s Toa Payoh-West Thomson branch, under former MP Hri Kumar Nair.
Dr Ang eventually rose to the post of branch secretary and oversaw the division’s Community Development Welfare Fund, which helps residents in need.
He also took on the role of “family life champion”, leading discussions on the availability of childcare centres in new housing developments.
Asked why he agreed to run, Dr Ang said that he is motivated to voice residents’ concerns in Parliament, especially those of young families and seniors.
Municipal issues aside, many are worried about the global trade war, he said. “People are wary that with this new (US) administration, things are more volatile. People are worried about their livelihoods.
“What we can do is basically to assure them that regardless of what (happens), the government of the day will actually stand by them.”
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