The People’s Action Party (PAP) officially announced today its candidates for the newly-formed Marsiling-Yew Tee Group Representation Constituency (GRC) for the upcoming General Elections (GE). The four-member GRC will be made up of current Members of Parliament Lawrence Wong, Mdm Halimah Yacob, Mr Ong Teng Koon and Mr Alex Yam.
Mr Wong and Mdm Halimah have moved from West Coast and Jurong GRCs to serve as anchor MPs for Marsiling-Yew Tee, which absorbs Mr Ong’s Woodgrove ward from Sembawang GRC and Mr Yam’s Yew Tee ward from Chua Chu Kang GRC.
Mr Wong will take charge of the Yew Tee South ward while Mdm Halimah will take the reins at the Marsiling ward, with Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Education and Manpower Hawazi Daipi retiring after four terms as an MP.
They will likely face the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), led by secretary-general Dr Chee Soon Juan, at the polls.
The four PAP candidates for Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC will be:
42 year-old Mr Lawrence Wong - Minister for Culture, Community and Youth. Mr Wong is also the Second Minister for Communications and Information. He was the Principal Private Secretary to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong from 2005 to 2008. Mr Wong was elected as MP for West Coast GRC in the 2011 GE.
Speaking at a press conference held at a void deck at Block 3, Marsiling Road, Mr Wong said it was "not easy" leaving his former Boon Lay ward to lead his new GRC in Marsiling-Yew Tee, adding that he had to hold back tears when he saw the number of people who attended his most recent Meet-The-People's Session (MPS).
60 year-old Mdm Halimah Yacob, - Speaker of Parliament. Mdm Halimah is the first female Speaker of Parliament in Singapore’s history. She previously served as Minister of State for the then Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports from 2011 to 2013. An MP with Jurong GRC since 2001, she has been active in the labour movement for more than 30 years and has served as its Deputy Secretary General.
38 year-old Mr Ong Teng Koon - Commodities trader, Morgan Stanley. Mr Ong has been an MP with Sembawang GRC since 2011. He is also a member of the Government Parliamentary Committees for Defence and Foreign Affairs, as well as Finance and Trade and Industry.
34 year-old Mr Alex Yam - executive director, PAP Headquarters. Mr Yam has been an MP with Chua Chu Kang GRC since 2011. He is also the deputy chairman of the Defence and Foreign Affairs GPC, and serves as advisor to the United Workers of Petroleum Industries.
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