SINGAPORE: Four out of five members of the ruling People’s Action Party’s (PAP) slate in Aljunied Group Representation Constituency (GRC) for the next general election, will be newcomers contesting for the first time.
The ruling party unveiled its slate for the opposition-held ward on Sunday (Apr 13), featuring an almost completely new line-up from its 2020 team.
Of the quintet, only Serangoon branch chair Chan Hui Yuh, 48, stood in the last contest.
The others are: unionist Jagathishwaran Rajo, 37; managing director of urban planning consultancy Daniel Liu, 40; company director Adrian Ang, 41; and dental surgeon Faisal Abdul Aziz, 37.
Ms Chan said they will focus on addressing seniors’ issues, which will then have a trickle-on impact on the wellbeing of their families and the wider community.
She then said it has been 14 years since the Aljunied GRC residents have had a PAP voice in parliament and “it’s time” for change.
Also at Sunday’s launch was Education Minister Chan Chun Sing and former Cabinet minister Lim Boon Heng, who was the former party chairman and advises the PAP Aljunied team.
Mr Chan, who is the PAP’s assistant secretary-general, introduced the Aljunied slate. He said the party’s presence in opposition-held wards is not to be opposition there, but to be a proposition of policies.
He added that the election is about voting in people who can take care of residents locally, govern nationally, and also represent Singapore well globally.
The boundaries of Aljunied GRC were redrawn in the latest electoral map review, the first time it was altered since 2011, when it became the first GRC to be won by the opposition.
Three polling districts in Aljunied GRC, which comprises almost 4,000 voters, will be moved to Tampines GRC for the next election.
The last contest in 2020 saw the incumbent Workers’ Party (WP) secure 59.95 per cent of the votes against the PAP there, the highest margin to date by which the WP has won a GRC.
