SINGAPORE: Labour chief Ng Chee Meng was spotted at a community event within the new Jalan Kayu single-seat ward on Sunday (Mar 16), alongside Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
He was also at a Meet-The-People Session held at the Fernvale branch of the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) last week, CNA understands.
Sunday’s constituency event took place at an open space between Block 466A and Block 469C Fernvale Link and the hard court beside Thanggam LRT station.
When asked if he will be running in Ang Mo Kio Group Representation Constituency (GRC) or the Jalan Kayu ward in the next General Election, Mr Ng said: “You’ll find out, I’m sure, in good time. We’ll see what happens, what the prime minister decides.”
He told reporters that he visits constituencies about once a quarter, having visited places like Bukit Batok, Ang Mo Kio and Sengkang previously.
These visits can be part of his work with the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), or due to his relationships with incumbent MPs. For example, he was at Sunday’s event at the invitation of Ang Mo Kio GRC MP Gan Thiam Poh, the sitting MP for the ward.
Mr Gan told reporters that he had invited Mr Ng to the event as the NTUC has been a firm supporter of efforts to help the needy in his ward.
As for his presence in the adjacent areas of Ang Mo Kio and Sengkang, Mr Ng said it “just happened by chance” that his engagements always happened to be in this area.
He said that he is familiar with the areas.
“I grew up here. I went to fly at the junior flying club. I used to stay around this area as well, so I’m familiar with the general area,” he said, adding that his wife grew up in Ang Mo Kio too.
THE NEW JALAN KAYU SMC
Mr Ng’s presence in the ward is noteworthy. He had told national broadsheet The Straits Times last month that he was “prepared if asked” to run in the next General Election, and that he “never stopped walking” the ground in Sengkang.
However, he is not likely to be in the PAP’s Sengkang slate for the coming polls, as the party has already unveiled three new branch chairs in the GRC, with only former political office holder Lam Pin Min remaining from the ruling party’s original team there.
The Fernvale area where Mr Ng was in on Sunday is located on the edge of Sengkang GRC, with the two constituencies separated by Sungei Punggol.
In 2015, the ward was under the now-defunct Sengkang West Single Member Constituency (SMC), and was later absorbed into Ang Mo Kio GRC in 2020. In the latest electoral boundaries review, the area was carved out of the five-member constituency.
The new Jalan Kayu SMC includes private estates along Jalan Kayu Road, the Seletar Aerospace Park and a portion of the Housing Board flats in Fernvale. There are 29,565 voters in the ward.
Mr Lee had said after the release of the new electoral map, that Jalan Kayu SMC will also go under the purview of the Ang Mo Kio Town Council after the next general election, which has to be held by Nov 23.
RETURNING ON HIS OWN TERMS
Analysts said that if Mr Ng does run for the Jalan Kayu seat, it would show that he is attempting to make it back into parliament on his own merit.
Independent political observer Felix Tan said that it would “send the signal that he can make it or break it on his own terms”, instead of having to depend on the popularity of a more senior politician.
He noted, however, that standing in an SMC “might not seem to be (a) shoo-in to political office”. Mr Ng was Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office before the 2020 defeat.
“At the very least, being in an SMC would also mean he does not have to shoulder all the (responsibilities) of being (in) a team. This will certainly give him some leeway and flexibility to position himself in the way that he wants to. There’s more control of the situation,” said Dr Tan.
Observers added that Mr Ng could be seen as a potential replacement for Senior Minister Lee as the future anchor minister in the adjacent Ang Mo Kio GRC.
Dr Mustafa Izzuddin, a senior international affairs analyst with Solaris Strategies Singapore, noted that there is a “plausible risk factor” in being fielded in the newly created SMC, “especially when you are not as familiar to the residents because you (were) not the designated MP for the area when it was under Ang Mo Kio GRC”.
In light of that, he said Mr Ng could be fielded in Ang Mo Kio GRC instead, as an understudy to Mr Lee, before taking charge of it in future elections. A current member of the GRC whom residents are more familiar with could instead contest for the Jalan Kayu seat.
“Given his military background and his political experience, he is more than well-suited to take over Ang Mo Kio in the long run if and when the time comes,” said Dr Tan of Mr Ng’s experience.
POLITICAL DEBUT
Mr Ng made his political debut in the 2015 hustings, winning as part of a five-member PAP team in Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC.
He had resigned as the Chief of Defence Force in the Singapore Armed Forces, becoming the highest-ranking military officer to become a Member of Parliament.
In 2020, Mr Ng led a team including political office holders Lam Pin Min and Amrin Amin, and newcomer Raymond Lye, in the newly created Sengkang GRC. He was back then focused on the Sengkang North portion of the constituency.
The four-member constituency had been created by merging the Punggol East single-seat ward with parts of Pasir-Ris Punggol GRC and Sengkang West SMC.
They were defeated by the Workers’ Party team of Jamus Lim, Raeesah Khan, He Ting Ru and Louis Chua, which garnered 52.13 per cent of votes.
Since then, Mr Ng has remained as secretary-general of NTUC, and was also co-opted into the ruling party’s 38th central executive committee in December last year.
