Skip to main content

Advertisement

Advertisement

PAP has begun search for candidates for next General Election

SINGAPORE — The strategy of deploying new candidates on the ground early — which the People’s Action Party (PAP) adopted after the 2011 General Election — has served the party well, and work to continue this process has begun, said party chief Lee Hsien Loong today (Dec 1).

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong celebrates with supporters after the general election results on Sept 12, 2015. Photo: Reuters

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong celebrates with supporters after the general election results on Sept 12, 2015. Photo: Reuters

Follow TODAY on WhatsApp

SINGAPORE — The strategy of deploying new candidates on the ground early — which the People’s Action Party (PAP) adopted after the 2011 General Election — has served the party well, and work to continue this process has begun, said party chief Lee Hsien Loong today (Dec 1).

Speaking at an appreciation dinner held at Parliament House for 15 PAP Members of Parliament (MP) who retired this year, Mr Lee, who is Prime Minister, said party organising secretary Gan Kim Yong, who is Health Minister, has already started to identify potential new candidates for the party, taking over the role from fellow organising secretary and Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen.

Mr Gan told reporters on the sidelines of the dinner that the PAP will be holding its first “tea session” — the moniker for the party’s candidate selection process — sometime this month, in preparation for the next election due by 2021.

In his speech, Mr Lee also pointed out that the PAP made changes to its process of selecting candidates. The selection panel now not only comprises the party’s central executive committee members and Cabinet ministers, but also seasoned activists, senior backbenchers and party members who have experience in the private sector of assessing candidates for positions. The diversity “helped us to make sharper and more reliable assessments of potential candidates”, said Mr Lee.

Reiterating Mr Lee’s emphasis for a line-up that is more diverse and well-positioned to serve Singaporeans, Mr Gan said the PAP will be casting its net even wider this time round and looking at different ways to assess candidates, such as their performance in grassroots activities.

Noting that new candidates that come through could be potential office-holders to form the next government, he said: “This is a very crucial period. It is a time of renewal, we are forming a new team that will take Singapore forward ... and we certainly hope more people will step forward.”

Mr Lee said deploying potential new candidates on the ground well before the polls were called gave the new faces time to learn and settle in, and gave the public time to “size them up and warm up to them”.

The results also reflect the hard work put in by MPs, he added, as he applauded the retired MPs for their willingness to step aside for new blood to take their place, even though many of them were still able to continue serving. “The decision to retire as an MP, just like the decision to stand, is not to be taken lightly”, said Mr Lee.

In thanking the 15 retired MPs, who collectively have served 250 years, Mr Lee singled out five former office-holders, including Mr Mah Bow Tan, Mr Raymond Lim and Mr Wong Kan Seng. After stepping down, they continued to serve as backbenchers and took good care of the ground in their constituencies while nurturing able successors, he noted, adding a key contribution of retiring MPs was helping new MPs settle in.

Many of the 100 current and ex-MPs who attended the dinner yesterday came in ethnic batik attire. The retired MPs went on stage to applause from the current batch of MPs as they received letters and mementos from Mr Lee and took a group photo with him.

Read more of the latest in

Advertisement

Advertisement

Stay in the know. Anytime. Anywhere.

Subscribe to get daily news updates, insights and must reads delivered straight to your inbox.

By clicking subscribe, I agree for my personal data to be used to send me TODAY newsletters, promotional offers and for research and analysis.