SINGAPORE: The People’s Action Party (PAP) on Sunday (Apr 13) formally announced its slate of four candidates who will be contesting in the Workers’ Party-held Sengkang GRC in the upcoming General Elections.
They are: former senior minister of state Lam Pin Min, 56; National University of Singapore (NUS) lecturer Elmie Nekmat, 43; partner at deep tech venture Theodora Lai Xi Yi, 39; and company director Bernadette Giam, 38.
Team leader Lam led the introductions at the PAP’s Sengkang West branch, which is located at Block 303A Anchorvale Link.
“Our team has an average age of 43 with equal gender representation. Though we come from different professional backgrounds, we share the same passion to serve Sengkang residents and to win back their trust,” he said.
“A vote for our team means experienced leadership, renewed energy, and a steadfast commitment to Sengkang’s progress.”
Dr Lam, an ophthalmologist and chief executive officer of Eagle Eye Centre, was previously in the Sengkang GRC team representing the ruling party for the 2020 General Election.
The 2020 team had also included labour chief Ng Chee Meng, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Home Affairs and Health Amrin Amin, as well as lawyer Raymond Lye.
The WP eventually defeated the PAP with 52.12 per cent of the vote. The ruling party garnered 47.88 per cent in the GRC.
Said Dr Lam: “Despite the setback, I remain committed to serving residents as a grassroots advisor and branch chairman of Sengkang West Branch.”
Dr Lam made his political debut in 2006 as part of a five-member PAP team contesting in Ang Mo Kio GRC, and later won the single-member seat in Sengkang West in 2011 as well as in 2015.
He was the Senior Minister of State for Health and Transport from 2017 to 2020 and is presently a grassroots adviser in Sengkang. Dr Lam will be the only member from the previous team to contest in the coming polls.
He was also co-opted to the PAP’s Central Executive Committee in 2024. The committee is the party’s top decision-making body.
NEW FACES
The three others introduced on Sunday have no previous experience standing in a General Election. They are among roughly 30 new candidates to be fielded by the PAP in the coming contest, its largest slate of new faces in recent history.
A PAP activist since 2016, Assoc Prof Elmie teaches communications and new media in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at the National University of Singapore.
He sits on a number of boards and councils, including the Singapore Sports Council, the National Library and the Media Literacy Council.
He is also an adviser to the ruling party’s youth wing Young PAP, and is also assistant secretary in the party’s Malay Affairs Bureau.
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