GE2025: Ex-army chief David Neo joins PAP’s Tampines GRC team in run-up to election
Former chief of army David Neo has joined the PAP’s Tampines GRC team in the lead-up to the election, with the constituency’s anchor minister Masagos Zulkifli saying he hopes the line-up there will be confirmed soon.
Mr Neo, 47, has been introduced to various parts of Tampines and has been following the incumbents on house visits, said Mr Masagos, who is Social and Family Development Minister.
He has also been joining the team at many events around Tampines.
“We are happy that he’s making his rounds and getting himself familiar with them,” said Mr Masagos.
He added: “Today, I’m happy to have David Neo joining our team. We hope that the final confirmation of the team will be made soon.”
Mr Masagos made these comments on the sidelines of the Irama Aidilfitri 2025 Concert at Our Tampines Hub on April 12.
BT in your inbox
Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.
He was joined by his fellow Tampines GRC MPs – Senior Minister of State for Manpower and Sustainability and the Environment Koh Poh Koon (Tampines Central); Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Transport and Sustainability and the Environment Baey Yam Keng (Tampines North); and North East District Mayor Desmond Choo (Tampines Changkat).
Mr Neo handed over the reins as army chief on March 21. He joined the Singapore Army in 1996 and served as army chief from March 2022.
He was programme director of the Pioneer Generation Office and the founding group chief of the Silver Generation Office under the Agency for Integrated Care.
Speaking to the media after Mr Masagos formally introduced him, he said Tampines holds fond memories, especially of his time in the Silver Generation Office almost 10 years ago.
“It’s really great to be back in Tampines,” he said.
“What’s really great for me is to come back here and to meet all the different friends, volunteers and residents, and it’s a really great and warm feeling.”
He added that he hopes to “have the chance to work together with everybody and to serve our residents”.
After speaking to the media, Mr Masagos went on stage and introduced Mr Neo to the concert attendees.
Mr Neo then spoke in Malay, wishing everyone Selamat Hari Raya.
Mr Neo had appeared in an April 5 Facebook post with Mr Baey and was on April 8 spotted with Tampines grassroots volunteers at new Housing Board Build-To-Order projects in Tampines North.
In the April 5 post, Mr Baey said they had visited a block in Tampines North and “quite a few residents” had recognised Mr Neo from their time in the army or when he was heading the Pioneer Generation Office to roll out engagement efforts with seniors.
Also present at the event on April 12 was the team’s other new face, Dr Charlene Chen, 43, an assistant professor of marketing at Nanyang Technological University.
Dr Chen was introduced to Tampines residents in June 2024, and is the second grassroots adviser in the Tampines East ward.
There has been much speculation about who the PAP would field in Tampines, after the departure of former MP Cheng Li Hui and the carving out of the Tampines Changkat single seat.
Ms Cheng, who oversaw the Tampines East ward, resigned in 2023 over an extramarital affair with then Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin.
Mr Masagos took over her duties at the ward, and introduced residents to Dr Chen in 2024.
A former Buona Vista grassroots volunteer, Dr Chen has been helming Meet-the-People Sessions for residents in Tampines East since late 2024.
Tampines is set to be hotly contested at the polls, with up to three opposition parties expected to vie with the PAP for the five-member Tampines GRC and the Tampines Changkat single seat.
Shortly after the electoral boundaries were redrawn on March 11, the opposition National Solidarity Party and People’s Power Party threw their hats into the ring.
The WP has so far kept its cards close to its chest, but has been spotted actively engaging Tampines residents over the past two years, at least. THE STRAITS TIMES
Copyright SPH Media. All rights reserved.
