Singapore GE2020: PAP out in force to meet voters ahead of polls

PM Lee joins party members on walkabout for the first time after calling election

PAP's new candidate Desmond Tan greeting a resident at Loyang Point shopping mall yesterday. With him were fellow new face Mohamed Sharael Mohd Taha (second from right) and Mr Zainal Sapari (far right). PHOTO: TAMIL MURASU (From right) Speaker of Par
(From right) Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat and PAP new face Mohd Fahmi Aliman with three Workers' Party members whom they ran into at Eunos Crescent Market and Food Centre yesterday. ST PHOTO: JOYCE LIM
PAP's new candidate Desmond Tan greeting a resident at Loyang Point shopping mall yesterday. With him were fellow new face Mohamed Sharael Mohd Taha (second from right) and Mr Zainal Sapari (far right). PHOTO: TAMIL MURASU (From right) Speaker of Par
PAP's new candidate Desmond Tan greeting a resident at Loyang Point shopping mall yesterday. With him were fellow new face Mohamed Sharael Mohd Taha (second from right) and Mr Zainal Sapari (far right). PHOTO: TAMIL MURASU
PAP's new candidate Desmond Tan greeting a resident at Loyang Point shopping mall yesterday. With him were fellow new face Mohamed Sharael Mohd Taha (second from right) and Mr Zainal Sapari (far right). PHOTO: TAMIL MURASU (From right) Speaker of Par
The PAP's Ms Tin Pei Ling speaking to a resident while handing out mosquito repellent and fliers at a Housing Board block in Geylang East Avenue 1 yesterday morning. ST PHOTO: JEAN IAU

The People's Action Party's (PAP) big guns fanned out across the island to canvass support for party members as preparations for the July 10 polls kicked into high gear yesterday.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong created some early morning buzz among the breakfast crowd at the Mayflower Market and Food Centre when he arrived at about 9am with incumbent Nee Soon GRC MP Henry Kwek, whose Kebun Baru ward is now a single seat.

Dressed in party whites, both men posed for photos with residents, greeted stallholders and spoke to residents.

In response to a resident's remark that he was a "very important person", PM Lee smiled and said Mr Kwek was the "important person" that they should be looking out for in the area.

PM Lee will again lead the PAP team in Ang Mo Kio GRC, which includes the Teck Ghee ward he has held since 1984.

Mr Kwek is likely to face a challenge from Progress Singapore Party candidate Kumaran Pillai, who runs a consultancy to develop start-ups and is also the former publisher of online news portal The Independent Singapore.

Mr Pillai, who was also on a walkabout at the market yesterday morning, posed for photos with PM Lee and Mr Kwek, and handed out fliers and tissue packets with the PSP logo to Kebun Baru residents.

The Kebun Baru single seat has been carved out of Nee Soon GRC. Before the 2015 polls, it was part of Ang Mo Kio GRC.

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat criss-crossed the eastern part of the island, first going to the Eunos Crescent Market and Food Centre in Marine Parade GRC. There, Mr Heng was joined by Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin and Senior Minister of State for Law and Health Edwin Tong, as well as PAP new faces Mohd Fahmi Aliman and Tan See Leng.

Mr Fahmi, a former army colonel, is director of the National Trades Union Congress' administration and research unit, and is tipped to replace Associate Professor Fatimah Lateef, who is expected to retire as MP.

Dr Tan, former group chief executive and managing director of IHH Healthcare, will likely take over from Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, who announced last week that he is retiring as an MP.

Mr Heng - the PAP's first assistant secretary-general - then made a beeline for the newly formed Sengkang GRC.

In Compassvale, he went on a walkabout with labour chief Ng Chee Meng, Senior Minister of State for Transport and Health Lam Pin Min, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Home Affairs and Health Amrin Amin, and lawyer Raymond Lye. They are expected to form the PAP team in Sengkang GRC.

Mr Heng returned to his own constituency later, visiting the Tampines Round Market dressed in matching Tampines polo shirts with fellow Tampines GRC MP Desmond Choo.

Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC MPs Chong Kee Hiong and Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen, together with PAP new face Gan Siow Huang, were also on a walkabout, chatting with residents at a Bishan Street 13 coffee shop yesterday morning.

Ms Gan, Singapore's first woman brigadier-general, was introduced as a candidate last week and is expected to be part of the PAP team for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, which has been trimmed from five to four seats.

In Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC, new PAP candidates Desmond Tan and Mohamed Sharael Mohd Taha joined Mr Zainal Sapari at a walkabout at Loyang Point shopping mall. Mr Tan, a former brigadier-general, was chief executive of the People's Association. Mr Sharael is vice-president at Singapore Aero Engine Services on a secondment from Rolls-Royce.

Asked if he will retire as MP, Mr Zainal said: "I am perfectly fine if I have to make way for a new candidate, I am also fine if they want to deploy me to another constituency."

Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry Koh Poh Koon visited the Ang Mo Kio 628 Market and Food Centre with PAP new face Yip Hon Weng, who is former group chief of the Silver Generation Office under the Agency for Integrated Care. The market is located in Dr Koh's Yio Chu Kang single seat, which has been carved out from Ang Mo Kio GRC.

Dr Koh has not confirmed if he will remain in Yio Chu Kang for the upcoming election.

Both men sported white face masks emblazoned with the party logo. Dr Koh wrote on Facebook that they spent the morning meeting residents and hawkers and hearing their concerns. "Glad we can all now eat on the spot but I took the opportunity to remind everyone to still keep safe," he added.

  • Additional reporting by Joyce Lim, Kok Yufeng, Vengadeshwaran Subramaniam, Toh Wen Li and Jean Iau

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on June 29, 2020, with the headline PAP out in force to meet voters ahead of polls. Subscribe