GE2025: PAP facing off against Red Dot United in newly formed Jurong East-Bukit Batok GRC
New Jurong Central SMC sees contest between PAP’s Xie Yao Quan and RDU’s Kala Manickam
[SINGAPORE] Minister for Sustainability and Environment Grace Fu and her five-member People’s Action Party (PAP) team in Jurong East-Bukit Batok GRC is squaring off against the opposition Red Dot United (RDU) at the May 3 General Election.
Fu’s team is unchanged from what was announced on Apr 14. It includes Ministers of State Murali Pillai, 57, and Rahayu Mahzam, 44.
It is rounded out by political newcomer and The Majurity Trust’s director of philanthropy David Hoe, 37, as well as Lee Hong Chuang, 54, who contested in the Hougang seat in the 2015 and 2020 elections.
RDU’s team includes Osman Sulaiman, 50, and Liyana Dhamirah, 38 – both of whom have political experience. Sulaiman contested under different banners in the past three elections, while Dhamirah was an RDU candidate for Jurong GRC in the last election.
They will be joined by first-time candidates – contemporary artist Ben Puah, 48, marketing agency director Marcus Neo, 33, and principal software engineer Harish Mohanadas, 39.
Candidates from both parties successfully filed their nomination papers at Nan Hua High School on Wednesday (Apr 23).
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Jurong East-Bukit Batok GRC was formed after the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee’s latest report was released in March.
The five-member constituency absorbs all of Bukit Batok SMC and parts of Yuhua SMC – which was helmed by PAP’s Fu, 61 – as well as Hong Kah North SMC. The new GRC has 142,753 voters.
In the past two general elections, the former Jurong GRC – led by current President Tharman Shanmugaratnam –delivered the strongest results for the PAP, securing 79.3 per cent of the vote in 2015 and 74.6 per cent in 2020.
The Jurong Central single seat ward will see a face-off between PAP’s Xie Yao Quan and RDU’s Kala Manickam.
Kala was a last-minute switch with Emily Woo, who was originally announced to contest in the SMC. She was pulled out of Jalan Kayu SMC to make way for the Workers’ Party’s candidate.
Addressing the media, Kala said she decided to contest Jurong Central SMC in line with the party’s principle, which stated that it will avoid three-corner fights.
“When we found out that Worker’s Party (decided to contest in Jalan Kayu), we gave way to them because it doesn’t matter who goes in – as long as it is the opposition.”
The decision for her move comes after a discussion with the team. “We talked about everything, the strengths and limitations…and it is a collaborative effort,” she said.
Despite being a last minute switch-up, Kala is familiar with the area as she lived in the Jurong area for 22 years.
“The familiarity doesn’t come from just walking on the ground. It comes from how you connect with people,” she said.
During the door-stop, Kala also said the party wants to give more job opportunities to Singaporeans.
“There’s no point just going for reskilling, upskilling…the most important thing our Singaporeans must get is the best class job opportunities,” she added.
Speaking to the media, Fu noted that both PAP and RDU have new teams and will be campaigning in a newly-formed GRC.
“But we’d like to think that our five years of walking the ground and many more years of serving the residents have allowed us to know the ground better,” said Fu.
She added that PAP is “looking for a good contest” and to present the party’s plans for the GRC to the residents.
Xie has been serving the Jurong Central ward within Jurong GRC since he was elected in 2020. Kala contested Nee Soon GRC under the Progress Singapore Party in GE2020, losing to the PAP team led by Minister for Law K Shanmugam.
Both candidates also filed their nomination papers at Nan Hua High School on Wednesday.
The Jurong Central ward, which has 29,667 voters, is one of the six new SMCs resulting from the latest electoral boundaries review. It was carved out of Jurong GRC and Yuhua SMC.
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