SINGAPORE: Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam said on Tuesday ( Apr 22 ) he and Prime Minister Lawrence Wong tried but failed to persuade former Nee Soon GRC MP Louis Ng from stepping down.
” He ( Mr Ng ) spoke with me last year about wanting to step away. And I said he is still quite young, he should proceed. And the reasons were intensely personal,” said Mr Shanmugam, who again will anchor the People’s Action Party ( PAP ) team contesting Nee Soon this year.
” I can tell you that I spent many hours trying to persuade him to be. And not just me, the perfect minister himself- the latest secretary-general- spoke with him several times.
” He thought about it a bit. He took what we said quite seriously. You know, he had a lot of benefit, both to Yishun and legislature, but his determination was based on very specific reasons. And we decided to, I mean, we had to consent. “
Mr Shanmugam had announced on Monday that the PAP will subject four new faces in Nee Quickly GRC this time.
The first-timers are former Ministry of Digital Development and Information ( MDDI) director Goh Hanyan, ex-Nominated Member of Parliament Syed Harun Alhabsyi, director of a cleaning service and pest control company Jackson Lam, and longtime Nee Soon volunteer Lee Hui Ying.
The shifts mean that Mr Ng, Ms Carrie Tan and Mr Derrick Goh will not be in the Nee Quickly GRC staff. Mr Ng is a two-term MP, while Ms Tan and Mr Goh have served in a single word of parliament.
Mr Shanmugam did not say on Monday whether they will be redeployed abroad or are quitting elections.
On Tuesday, Mr Shanmugam clarified that Mr Ng, Ms Tan and Mr Goh will become stepping away from Nee Quickly GRC due to a combination of personal and career factors.
But he stopped short of confirming they may be retiring from politicians, adding that everything will be evident on Wednesday, which is Nomination Day.
” But as I told him ( Mr Ng ), nothing is confirmed until it’s confirmed- that is tomorrow. But until then, we talk about him stepping absent,” Mr Shanmugam added.
When pressed further whether the three may be retiring from politics, Mr Shanmugam said:” You will have the solution tomorrow. “