GE2025: Indranee Rajah replaces SM Teo as head of PAP’s Pasir Ris-Changi GRC team
SM Teo declines to confirm if he will run elsewhere in this election
[SINGAPORE] Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean will not stand for re-election in the new Pasir Ris-Changi GRC, with Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Indranee Rajah anchoring the People’s Action Party (PAP) team there instead.
SM Teo said he will “remain available to contribute… wherever and in whatever way” Prime Minister Lawrence Wong deems fit, at the introduction of the Pasir Ris-Changi GRC team on Monday (Apr 21).
Asked by reporters if he will contest newly formed Punggol GRC, SM Teo replied: “I ask you for a little bit of patience.”
“Wait two days and everything will be clear,” he added, referring to Nomination Day on Apr 23.
Indranee, an incumbent Member of Parliament (MP) for Tanjong Pagar GRC, said: “You can be assured that the PAP will field a solid team in Tanjong Pagar.”
Outlining the key issues she will focus on at Pasir Ris-Changi GRC, she said: “I know that top of mind for residents is cost of living and jobs... I would also like to do more on this at the local level for the residents.”
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She also hopes to focus on programmes that benefit families, as well as to “plug infrastructure gaps” in the constituency and improve connectivity.
The PAP slate for Tanjong Pagar GRC will be announced on Tuesday or Nomination Day itself, she said in response to queries.
The four-person team for Pasir Ris-Changi GRC also comprises newcomer Valerie Lee and two incumbents: Senior Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Desmond Tan in Pasir Ris Central, and backbencher Sharael Taha in Pasir Ris East.
Lee is head of corporate affairs for Singapore and South-east Asia at gas and renewable energy company Sembcorp Industries – where she is proud to work, as it is “driving the energy transition”, she said.
The mother of a two-year-old, Lee wants to champion parenthood. Citing her experience with miscarriages, she noted that this generation is very “stretched”, facing pressures such as rising costs and the need to look after ageing parents.
She said she feels for those who have to be “awake at 3 am with a screaming toddler”, rush off to work and then accompany parents to medical appointments in the middle of the day.
“When young mums spoke to me about the lack of breastfeeding facilities, I felt it personally,” she said, adding that this led to a partnership to bring in a lactation pod in Pioneer SMC, where she was a volunteer.
SM Teo, a former chief of navy, joined politics in 1992 in a by-election victory in Marine Parade GRC. He was deputy prime minister from 2009 to 2019, with ministerial portfolios including home affairs, defence, education and the environment.
“It has been my privilege and an honour to have served residents in Pasir Ris,” he said. “As I step down as your MP in Pasir Ris, I do so with full confidence that we have a strong team here to continue to serve you.”
Three-cornered fight?
The PAP team will likely face the Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA), which plans to contest the Group Representation Constituency even if this means a three-cornered fight – similar to the last general election.
In GE2020, the PAP took 64.16 per cent of the vote in Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC. It defeated the SDA, which took 23.67 per cent, and Peoples Voice, which had 12.17 per cent.
This election, Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC has been split into Punggol GRC and Pasir Ris-Changi GRC.
Pasir Ris-Changi GRC absorbs the Loyang and Flora estates of East Coast GRC. Earlier on Monday, East Coast GRC incumbents Cheryl Chan and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Mohamad Maliki Osman announced their retirement from politics.
In a letter on Monday, PM Wong thanked Dr Maliki for “many years of dedicated service to Singapore”, saying: “Across your different portfolios, you have shown the ability to bring people together, bridge differences, and energise communities.”
Having entered politics in 2001, Dr Maliki’s portfolios have spanned ministries such as foreign affairs, defence, education and national development.
The PAP has yet to announce its slate for the newly formed four-member Punggol GRC, which combines estates from Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC with the former Punggol West SMC.
The incumbents are Yeo Wan Ling in the Punggol Shore ward, Senior Minister of State Janil Puthucheary in Punggol Coast and Sun Xueling in Punggol West.
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