SINGAPORE: The Singapore People’s Party (SPP) on Tuesday (Apr 22) confirmed its slate for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC in the May 3 General Election.
They will be: SPP secretary-general Steve Chia, party chairman Melvyn Chiu, as well as new faces Mr Muhammad Norhakim, an operations executive, and Mr Lim Rui Xian, who is self-employed.
In a statement on Tuesday, Mr Chia also confirmed SPP treasurer Williiamson Lee as the party’s candidate for Potong Pasir SMC.
The party, during its manifesto launch last Saturday, unveiled the five candidates for both constituencies – the same ones it had contested in the last election – but did not state where they would be fielded.
In the 2020 election, the SPP team consisting Mr Chia, 55, Mr Chiu, 46, Mr Lee, 46 and former member Osman Sulaiman attained 32.77 per cent of the vote, losing to the People’s Action Party (PAP) lineup led by Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen.
For the coming election, the SPP slate will be up against a PAP team that will no longer be helmed by Dr Ng, who is retiring from politics.
The PAP team will instead be led by Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat. Mr Saktiandi Supaat and two new faces, charity director Elysa Chen, and social entrepreneur Cai Yinzhou, round out the four-member slate.
Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC has 98,505 registered electors. It is one of five GRCs to keep its electoral boundaries in the recent Electoral Boundaries Review Committee (EBRC) report.
This will be Mr Chia’s sixth time standing in a General Election. He was a Non-Constituency Member of Parliament from 2001 to 2006 – landing the seat after he contested Chua Chu Kang SMC under the Singapore Democratic Alliance’s banner.
During a walkabout at Block 75 Lorong 5 Toa Payoh Food Centre on Monday night, Mr Chia told reporters that Dr Ng’s retirement from politics is “a big relief for me, because he’s a giant for the PAP in this area”.
He believes his SPP team will perform better this time around.
“We are fighting to win, but we recognise that is a very uphill task, and we’re doing whatever we can to make sure that it’s a good fight, it’s a fair fight, it’s a responsible fight,” he said.
