Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu will lead the PAP team to contest the newly formed Jurong East-Bukit Batok GRC in the general election.
The five-member team includes former branch chairman of the PAP Hougang division Lee Hong Chuang, 55, who contested the Hougang seat in the 2015 and 2020 elections, and charity director David Hoe, 37.
The other two members are Minister of State for Health and for Digital Development and Information Rahayu Mahzam and Minister of State for Transport and Law Murali Pillai.
Introducing the PAP slate at a press conference on April 14, Ms Fu said that she is glad to stand with a diverse and dedicated team of men and women in their 30s to 60s with backgrounds spanning education, law, youth development, women and family issues and community work. They are also not new to community service or political involvement.
“We offer energy, we offer experience, and we offer empathy. If elected, we will focus on supporting families, relieving the pressures of cost of living, empowering workers and local businesses, caring for seniors, creating a green and vibrant home, as well as building a cohesive community.”
“We are excited to serve as PAP’s team for Jurong East-Bukit Batok GRC. And with humility and respect, we ask for your support and mandate.”
Lee Hong Chuang: “A unique position to better serve residents”
Mr Lee who works in an information technology multinational corporation, has been a party activist at Teck Ghee branch since 2004 and later served as Hougang branch chairman from 2014 to 2023.
The former national gymnast said that the western region of Singapore is not new to him as he grew up there. After getting married, he continued to live there during his younger days.
Mr Lee said that he has been volunteering in the community for 36 years in areas such as Teck Ghee, Boon Lay, Sengkang and Bishan-Toa Payoh, which has “placed him in a unique position to better serve the residents”.
He will be overseeing the Hong Kah North area of the new GRC, and has been walking the ground there.
“Moving forward, I do have plans to implement more family-centric programmes and activities for you and your families, to nurture greater bonds and rapport among families and among the community.”
David Hoe strives to pay it forward by creating opportunities for others
Mr Hoe is director of philanthropy at The Majurity Trust, a registered charity that provides advice and grants to other charities, and creates solutions to tackle social issues.
“I’m where I am today not because of my own efforts alone, but it is because many have graciously created opportunities for me,” Mr Hoe told the media. “And this is why I strive to pay it forward by creating opportunities for many others.”
“I envision a future where access to opportunities will be made not just for some, but for all, regardless of our starting point in life. A future where everyone, young and old, will be able to realise your own definition of success, your own definition of significance, and we will always care for one another.”
His determination to work for the under privileged is informed by his experiences in childhood. As the child of divorced parents, he had to help support the family from a young age, assisting his mother selling tissue paper at various coffee shops, after his mother went blind from an unsuccessful eye surgery.
Jurong East-Bukit Batok GRC was formed from merging Bukit Batok SMC, where Mr Murali is the serving MP, and parts of Jurong GRC, including the Bukit Batok East ward helmed by Ms Rahayu.
During the event, Ms Fu thanked Dr Amy Khor and Dr Tan Wu Meng for their service in the Hong Kah North and Clementi wards, respectively. Dr Khor has announced that she is retiring from politics. Dr Tan, in a Facebook post, said he hopes to share where he is going soon.
When asked how confident the team is in maintaining the high vote share in past general elections, Ms Fu said: “We don’t go into elections thinking that it’s an easy win. Never. Every election is a serious contest for us.”
“We work throughout the five years and gaining the trust and relationship with our residents, serving them to the fullness of our abilities and our dedication and hope that voters will, in return, give us the mandate again.”
“Jurong GRC has many big pairs of shoes to fill. President Tharman is highly popular and very well respected. It will be very difficult for any one of us to replicate it and we don’t intend to,” she continued. ” We are ourselves. We have a team with diversity. We have youth with energy. We have many backgrounds. We have experience, with energy and empathy. And we will go in [the general election] asking for the affirmation and mandate from the voters sincerely and respectfully.”
Xie Yao Quan will focus on serving residents well
Xie Yao Quan, a first-term Member of Parliament, will represent the PAP in the new Jurong Central SMC. Mr Xie has been representing the Jurong Central ward in Jurong GRC since he was elected in 2020. He has also served as the chairman of the Jurong-Clementi Town Council for the last five years.
“In these five years, I’ve walked the ground, listened deeply to residents and put my heart into all that I’ve done to serve residents,” he said.
Addressing residents of Jurong West who are now part of Jurong Central SMC, Mr Xie said he is familiar with the precincts because he was previously a community volunteer in the area from 2015 to 2020.
“So, this is, in a way, a homecoming for me,” he added.
When asked about Jurong Central ward becoming a Single Member Constituency in the upcoming election and whether he had a special strategy to contest, Mr. Xie said: “My focus is to take care of my residents, serving them well, and let the rest take care of itself.”
