When children ask him what his job entails, David Hoe Teck Chye, MP for Jurong East-Bukit Batok GRC, uses an analogy that is familiar to them when explaining his role in Clementi, the constituency he serves.
He describes himself as Clementi’s “form teacher”. He brings residents’ concerns to Parliament in the same way that teachers bring students’ concerns to staff meetings.
Mr Hoe told Petir that his current role as a Member of Parliament mirrors his earlier work as an educator. He is now Director of Philanthropy at Majurity Trust, a philanthropic organisation focused on community impact in Singapore.
“I am still an educator, but my classroom has expanded,” Mr Hoe said. “I used to care for students only. Now, I look after everyone—children, young adults, and seniors. Parliament is like a staff meeting where I represent the classes I teach. In my role as an MP, I bring up certain issues in Parliament.”
Since becoming an MP in May 2025, Mr Hoe has filed more than 100 parliamentary questions on diverse issues.
He has successfully pushed for several changes, including means-tested Curiosity Credits. These credits help children from lower-income backgrounds access courses that would otherwise be out of reach and discover their aspirations in life.
Announced in late July, the SG Youth Plan introduces $500 in Curiosity Credits for eligible youths aged 13 to 17 through community self-help groups, helping them explore non-academic interests like the arts, sports, technology, and culinary skills.
“I hope the scheme expands to include a wider age group. In the immediate term, I hope every child receives a means-tested curiosity credit account, so everyone can stay curious and learn something new,” said Mr Hoe.
Mr Hoe also successfully advocated for expanding the language options available on ScamShield’s 1799 helpline. The helpline previously only provided automated responses in English.
“Many of my senior residents do not speak English. When you called 1799 before, everything was in English. I realised this didn’t make sense,” he said. “To protect my residents, we must make 1799 multilingual.”
This year, the government enhanced the system to allow callers to navigate the helpline in all four official languages.
“I emphasise the ScamShield helpline because our seniors matter. We must always ask ourselves if our product effectively serves our target audience.”
Mr Hoe also advocated for allowing ActiveSG credits to be used at facilities under the Dual-Use Scheme (DUS). This scheme provides for the public to use sports facilities in Ministry of Education (MOE) schools outside of school hours.
Since November last year, the government has permitted people to use their credits at these facilities.
“We can make sports accessible for everyone and not only our children,” he said.
An MP must know the ground well to push for change in Parliament: David Hoe
Mr Hoe described Parliament as a “useful tool to enact changes” and improve the lives of people. But to push for change, he must “know the ground well” and “walk the ground”, he added.
Indeed, residents may well comment that they see Mr Hoe in Clementi almost every day.
“I do house visits three times a week. House visits are important because they help me understand what’s happening on the ground,” said Mr Hoe.”Meeting residents gives me a lot of good feedback.”
When asked about some of the challenges he faces as an MP, Mr Hoe highlighted infrastructure improvements that can benefit residents but remain unimplemented due to constraints.
He cited the overhead bridge at Block 343 Clementi Avenue 5 as an example—an issue he has raised in Parliament. For over 10 years, residents have requested a lift at this bridge to improve mobility for older residents.
“Every single time I go on house visits, residents say the same thing: ‘David, every time we stop in front of Block 343, there’s a flight of stairs. We just stand there and wait for someone to help us carry our groceries up.’ The lift matters to our seniors,” he explained.
The lift has not been built because the bridge connects to a park connector with low expected demand. Despite this, Mr Hoe raised the issue with the relevant authorities. Minister for Transport Jeffrey Siow promised that the relevant agency will look into the matter, he shared.
Mr Hoe has raised in Parliament several times the idea of converting underutilised multi-storey carpark levels at HDB developments into sports and recreation spaces.
Young parents at the built-to-order development have asked for a space where their children can run around and learn cycling, he noted.
In response, Senior Minister of State for National Development Sun Xueling said that converting carpark spaces to other uses could create parking shortages later if demand grows in the future. She mentioned that parking needs at the new BTO development have not yet stabilised.
His team continued to explore the matter. His youth activists built a forecasting model to assess whether the higher storeys will remain underutilised even after parking demand stabilises.
Mr Hoe said that being an MP has taught him patience. Ultimately, he focuses on doing his best to improve his residents’ lives.
“Some things will take longer, some things may not turn out as we desire, but the most important thing is that we must try our best,” he said.
“Change takes time and does not happen overnight. So long as we stay anchored on the ‘why’—which is to improve people’s lives—I think it’s okay to keep waiting, to keep trying.”
