SINGAPORE: Former Non-Constituency MP Yee Jenn Jong may be a “very seasoned operator” but the team that the People’s Action Party (PAP) is fielding in East Coast GRC has the infrastructure and stable base of preceding teams to build on, said Mr Edwin Tong, who will helm the party’s slate at the upcoming polls.
Mr Tong, who is Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, said that the Workers’ Party (WP) candidate is “very seasoned” in campaigning, but emphasised the diversity of experience that his PAP slate will bring to the “tough election” ahead. While his team includes fresh faces and he himself is a new entrant to the East Coast GRC team, Mr Tong said: “Over the years, we’ve seen teams come and teams go. You might be a new candidate, but we don’t take over from ground zero because we build on and work off the work that has been done in preceding terms.”
“Historically, East Coast has always been a tough seat for the PAP, and I expect this time around to be no different. The WP is a good party, they have a credible team, and I’ve known Jenn Jong for some years,” said Mr Tong. “So I believe they will put up a good fight, and it’s something we have to take very seriously, and that’s why I regard this as possibly my toughest GE amongst the four (I have contested),” said Mr Tong. While the PAP’s line-up for East Coast GRC had already been confirmed after Nomination Day proceedings, Mr Tong formally introduced his running mates later on Wednesday (Apr 23) at the PAP’s headquarters as the ward’s anchor minister. Mr Tong will helm a team comprising Senior Minister of State Tan Kiat How and Ms Jessica Tan, as well as new faces Hazlina Abdul Halim and Dinesh Vasu Dash. Both the PAP and WP’s slates for East Coast GRC were only made known on Nomination Day itself.
The Electoral Boundaries Review Committee last month made extensive changes to the five-member East Coast GRC. It took in Chai Chee Housing Board estates and Siglap private estates from neighbouring Marine Parade GRC, while several of its districts were removed to form part of a new Pasir Ris-Changi GRC. It has 150,691 voters. In the previous General Election in 2020, the PAP’s East Coast team, led by Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat, saw a fierce contest, with the ruling party winning 53.39 per cent of votes against the WP. The PAP’s vote share was down from 2015, when it won 60.73 per cent of the vote. In 2020, the WP team had its best performance in the constituency since it began contesting in the ward in 2006, with a team led by Ms Nicole Seah winning 46.61 per cent of the vote.
“BIG FEET” TO FILL “BIG SHOES”
Echoing words he spoke earlier in the day, Mr Tong said Mr Heng has left “big shoes to fill”. The Deputy Prime Minister announced his retirement from politics on Wednesday in a Facebook post. Mr Heng was a surprise exclusion at the last minute. He was in 2020 was also the subject of a late-hour switch from Tampines GRC to East Coast GRC. But Mr Tong said that he was confident in his team, which retains only Mr Tan and Ms Tan from the PAP’s previous East Coast GRC slate in 2020. “I think amongst us, the diversity of this team, we do have some big feet. We believe the freshness that we have, coupled with experience, and the diversity of life experience…
