Members of the public at Kong Hwa School, one of the nine the nomination centres, on April 23. - ST
SINGAPORE: Candidates from 11 political parties filed their papers at nine nomination centres across the island on Wednesday (April 23), kicking off the campaign for Singapore’s 15th General Election.
With the political chessboard in place, the nine-day campaign period kicked off once nomination papers were filed. Singaporeans will head to the polls on May 3, after Cooling Off Day on May 2.
Here are the key highlights from nomination day.
1. Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC walkover
The PAP team comprising Speaker of Parliament Seah Kian Peng, Minister of State for Home Affairs Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim, Tin Pei Ling, and political newcomers Diana Pang and Goh Pei Ming, were returned to power after the GRC was uncontested by the opposition.
At the last polls, WP made a play for Marine Parade GRC but this year, in what was a last-minute Nomination Day surprise, the WP did not field a team to contest the newly formed Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC.
This is the first walkover in a general election since 2011, when Tanjong Pagar GRC went uncontested and the PAP won in a walkover.
2. Surprise moves by heavyweights
The ruling PAP made a surprise move by diverting Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong from Chua Chu Kang GRC to field him in Punggol GRC instead.
Gan will lead the PAP team comprising Dr Janil Puthucheary, Sun Xueling and Yeo Wan Ling.
Meanwhile, Manpower Minister Tan See Leng moved from Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC to replace Gan in Chua Chu Kang.
The split-second switch-up came at the last minute, after Dr Tan was seen at 9.30am at PAP’s Mountbatten branch, where the Marine Parade-Braddell Heights team met earlier in the morning.
The WP also moved Faisal Manap, 49, one of its incumbent Aljunied GRC MPs, to lead its team in Tampines GRC.
3. Punggol - the electoral contest to watch
Punggol GRC is shaping up to be the electoral contest to watch at this year’s polls.
The WP chose to field one of its “star catches”, senior counsel Harpreet Singh Nehal, as part of its Punggol slate, along with its other new faces, Jackson Au, Siti Alia Abdul Rahim Mattar and Alexis Dang.
The PAP, likely anticipating a tough fight, moved Mr Gan to Punggol GRC to bolster its chances.
Before Nomination Day, pundits tipped East Coast GRC to emerge as of the hottest election battlegrounds, predicting that the WP would field one of its big names in the constituency.
The WP team in East Coast will be led by former Non-Constituency MP Yee Jenn Jong, 60. The WP will face off against a PAP team led by Culture, Community and Youth Minister Edwin Tong, 55.
4. Political veterans retire
Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean and Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat will retire from politics.
Both men were seen at nomination centres in the morning, but were not fielded as candidates.
Teo first entered politics when he was part of a PAP team that contested and won a by-election in Marine Parade GRC in 1992.
Meanwhile, Heng made his political debut in the 2011 general election as part of the five-member PAP team contesting Tampines GRC.
5. Multi-cornered fights
Tampines GRC, Sembawang GRC and Ang Mo Kio GRC, as well as Radin Mas SMC and Potong Pasir SMC will have multi-cornered fights.
In Tampines GRC, the PAP team is facing off against the WP, National Solidarity Party (NSP) and People’s Power Party (PPP) in a four-cornered fight.
Social and Family Development Minister Masagos Zulkifli, 62 will helm the Tampines GRC team that also comprises Senior Minister of State for Manpower and Sustainability and the Environment Koh Poh Koon, 53, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Transport and Sustainability and the Environment Baey Yam Keng, 54, and two new faces - former chief of army David Neo, 47, and Dr Charlene Chen, 43, an assistant professor of marketing at Nanyang Technological University.
The WP is fielding Faisal Manap, Jimmy Tan, 53, co-founder of industrial equipment supply firm Immanuel Engineering, Institute of Mental Health senior principal clinical psychologist Ong Lue Ping, 48, former diplomat Eileen Chong, 33, and Michael Thng, 37, co-founder of technology start-up Showdrop.
The NSP is fielding party president Reno Fong, 56, party vice-president Mohd Ridzwan Mohammad, 63, assistant secretary-general Eugene Yeo, 49, financial planner Zee Phay, 32, and Thamilselvan Karuppaya, 57, who is self-employed.
The PPP is fielding a slate comprising secretary-general Goh Meng Seng, 55, party chairman Derrick Sim, 44, landscaping executive Vere Nathan, 26, green tech firm founder Peter Soh, 65, and entrepreneur Arbaah Haroun, 50.
In Ang Mo Kio GRC, there will be a three-cornered fight between the PAP, Singapore United Party (SUP), and PPP.
The PAP team will be led by Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong, 73. It will also comprise incumbent Ang Mo Kio GRC MPs Darryl David, 54, and Nadia Ahmad Samdin, 35, as well as newcomer Jasmin Lau, 42, and Victor Lye, 63.
As for the SUP, its Ang Mo Kio slate comprises the party’s secretary-general Andy Zhu, 42, Noraini Yunus, 57, party chairman Ridhuan Chandran, 53, flight attendant Nigel Ng, 39, and Dr Vincent Ng, 52.
The PPP team in Ang Mo Kio comprises party treasurer William Lim, 47, retired civil servant Martinn Ho, 64, safety coordinator Thaddeus Thomas, 43, IT engineer Samuel Lee, 33, and former horticulturalist Heng Zheng Dao, 24.
Sembawang GRC will also see a three-way fight between the PAP, NSP and Singapore Democratic Party.
Health Minister Ong Ye Kung will lead the PAP team, which will be made up of incumbent MPs Vikram Nair and Mariam Jaafar, and two new faces - Gabriel Lam, 42, who is chief operating officer of moving company Shalom International Movers, and Ng Shi Xuan, 35, director of battery company Powermark Battery and Hardware.
The SDP team consists of hospital assistant director Bryan Lim, music publisher Surayah Akbar, research institute director James Gomez, entrepreneur Alfred Tan, and Damanhuri Abas, an educational consultant.
The NSP team will be led by its secretary-general Spencer Ng and include Raiyian Chia, a private-hire driver and swim coach, Republic Polytechnic lecturer Verina Ong, Republic Polytechnic associate lecturer Lee Wei, and Yadzeth Hairis, who was in NSP’s 2015 and 2020 Sembawang teams.
In the Radin Mas single seat, incumbent PAP MP Melvin Yong will defend his seat against Kumar Appavoo from the People’s Alliance for Reform (PAR) and independent candidate Darryl Lo.
In the Potong Pasir single seat, the lawyer Alex Yeo takes over the baton from outgoing PAP MP Sitoh Yi Pin, and will face off against PAR secretary-general Lim Tean, and Singapore People’s Party candidate Williamson Lee.
In GE2020, there were two multi-cornered fights in Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC and Pioneer SMC. - The Straits Times/ANN
