SINGAPORE: The People’s Action Party ( PAP ) will field four new faces in Nee Soon GRC slate in the coming General Election, the ruling party announced on Monday ( Apr 21 ).
Just Home Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam remains from the stone that won in 2020, and he will continue to buoy the five-person staff in the forthcoming elections.
Among 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.
“This is a, I would say, quite sensible, but very youthful, vibrant slate- except for me- because there is a mix of skills and talents: two potential office holders who can perform in helping govern the country as a whole, and who also have good service experience, two candidates with a lot of grassroots experience, ” said Mr Shanmugam, during a press conference at the PAP’s Chong Pang branch office.
He identified Ms Goh and Dr Syed Harun as possible political business buyers who can “go way in helping govern the country as a whole”.
The shifts mean that incumbent Louis Ng, Carrie Tan and Derrick Goh may be leaving the Nee Quickly GRC group. 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 whether they will be redeployed abroad or are quitting elections.
The minister had earlier hinted that four new faces were “likely to be fielded ” in the constituency during a Rainforest Wild Asia outing with residents in Mandai on Saturday, adding at the time that “nothing is confirmed until it ’s confirmed”.
Minister of State for Home Affairs and National Development Faishal Ibrahim, however, will be moving to battle in Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC this poll.
Nee Quickly GRC, which now has 151,634 citizens, has been held by the ruling party since its construction in 2011.
The hospital was one of nine with boundaries intact in the latest evaluation of the nation’s political chart.
In the 2020 General Election, the PAP’s Nee Quickly group secured 61. 9 per cent of the seats against the Progress Singapore Party.
Mr Shanmugam’s staff may be challenged by a Red Dot United group comprising its secretary-general Ravi Philemon and president David Foo, the opposition group announced on Sunday.
GOH HANYAN
Ms Goh, 39, was formerly an MDDI director of the Smart Nation Strategy Office and director for policy and strategy in the National Artificial Intelligence ( AI ) Group.
The mother of three young babies had left the public services on Apr 3 after 16 years.
Before MDDI, she was chairman for business and sustainability in the Prime Minister’s Office’s Strategy Group.
Ms Goh was the assistant director for strategic planning in the Singapore Economic Development Board due to that.
She hopes to be able to represent the interests of people and carers.
SYED HARUN ALHABSYI
Dr Syed Harun, 40, is a specialist psychiatrist and clinical director of The Starfish Clinic of Psychiatry & Mental Wellness.
He is the first and only Malay-Muslim psychotherapist in Singapore.
He resigned as NMP on Feb 14 this time, before the end of his term, and had been spotted walking the earth in Nee Quickly GRC since the end of March.
He holds several leadership appointments in charitable and public organisations here, including the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore ( MUIS), the Films Consultative Panel, National Youth Council, Singapore Psychiatric Association, and Muslim Healthcare Professionals Association.
Dr Syed Harun is also chairman of Lembaga Biasiswa Kenangan Maulud, a generosity that provides financial assistance to individuals, and vice chair of the Ministry of Social and Family Development’s review council for security properties.
He is married and the eldest of four children.
JACKSON LAM
Mr Lam, 40, was the former chairman of the PAP’s Hougang branch, holding the role for about one year and four months until Feb 13 this year.
Since stepping down, the father of twin boys has been active on the ground in Nee Soon GRC, where he had been volunteering since 2013.
He was branch secretary in the Chong Pang division — helmed by Mr Shanmugam — for close to seven years, until his move to Hougang in October 2023.
Mr Lam said “it felt like homecoming for me” when asked by Mr Shanmugam to return to serve in Nee Soon earlier this year, and that he is humbled to be representing the ruling party in his hometown.
LEE HUI YING
Ms Lee, 35, is the director of communications at Temasek Foundation.
For a decade, she worked in government communications within ministries including the Ministry of Digital Development and Information, Ministry of Transport and Ministry of Health.
She has also been volunteering in Nee Soon GRC for more than 15 years since she was 19.
Her volunteering work includes stints in the constituency’s Youth Executive Committee, Central Youth Council, Citizens ‘ Consultative Committee, Community Club Management Committees.
She is “passionate about building community and connecting generations” and had initiated events and programmes across different age groups in Nee Soon, according to a bio from the party.
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