• New faces Alvin Tan, Eric Chua will be fielded in Tanjong Pagar GRC
• Dr Chia Shi-Lu and Mr Sam Tan will step down as MPs
• Mr Melvin Yong will move to Radin Mas SMC
• Mr Chan Chun Sing says team is not distracted by Opposition

SINGAPORE — The People’s Action Party on Monday (June 29) announced its line-up for Tanjong Pagar Group Representation Constituency (GRC) and Radin Mas Single Member Constituency (SMC), with incumbent Members of Parliament (MPs) Sam Tan and Chia Shi-Lu stepping down.

The five-man Tanjong Pagar GRC team consists of Mr Chan Chun Sing, 50; Ms Indranee Rajah, 57; Ms Joan Pereira, 52 — all incumbent MPs — as well as new faces Alvin Tan, 39; and Eric Chua, 41.

Mr Chua, a former civil servant, replaces two-term backbencher Dr Chia, 48, in the Queenstown ward.

Mr Tan, LinkedIn’s Asia-Pacific head of public policy and economics, replaces incumbent MP Melvin Yong in the Moulmein-Cairnhill ward. Mr Yong will be fielded in Radin Mas SMC, replacing Mr Sam Tan, 61, who has served three terms of Parliament.

The candidate slate was revealed in a virtual press conference by Mr Chan, who is the party’s second assistant secretary-general.

Tanjong Pagar GRC is a PAP stronghold that went uncontested from 1991 to 2011, and was formerly helmed by late founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew. The PAP retained the GRC in 2015 with 77.7 per cent of the vote against the now-dissolved Singaporeans First party.

Progress Singapore Party (PSP) has said it will be contesting in Tanjong Pagar GRC. Its five-member team consists of Ms Wendy Low, Mr Harish Pillay, Mr Michael Chua, Mr Terence Soon and Mr Abas Kasmani.

Some members of the team went on a walkabout at Holland Village in Tanjong Pagar GRC on Saturday and were spotted with newly inducted PSP member Lee Hsien Yang, the brother of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

Tanjong Pagar GRC has 134,642 voters while Radin Mas SMC has 24,980.

Responding to a question on PSP’s intention to contest the constituency, Mr Chan said the team is only concerned about the residents and is “not focused” on who its contenders will be in the coming election.

“If we have taken good care of our residents, we have taken good care of the estates, the results will speak for themselves,” he said. 

“We don't bring lots of people around to take photographs, to do a show. We don't need to do that,” he added. 

“We have been working here for many years, the residents know our staff, the residents know that we are not distracted by who is coming and going.”

During the press conference, Mr Chan was also asked about Mr Ivan Lim’s withdrawal as a candidate, as well as allegations that have surfaced online regarding other PAP new faces Shawn Huang and Ng Ling Ling.

He said: “We have a selection process and whenever new information comes in we will take into consideration information from all sources, but we make no judgment on the case at this point in time.” 

The comments that have emerged on social media include an accusation of unsavoury conduct by Mr Huang, 38, while he was parade commander of the 2018 National Day Parade and an allegation that Ms Ng, 48, had falsely claimed to have started the Social Service Training Institute. 

Mr Huang and Ms Ng have both addressed the allegations against them on their Facebook pages.

Mr Chan said Mr Lim saw it as his responsibility to withdraw his candidacy so as not to distract the party from its campaign efforts and the issues brought about by Covid-19. 

“When there is time, we will resolve the rest of the issues,” he added. 

Commenting on the manifestos that have been released by opposition parties, Mr Chan urged voters to examine how the parties intend to fund their proposals.

“It’s very easy to promise many things,” he said. 

“Everybody can come up with plans, which they will all claim is workable. And maybe so, but the question is how are you able to execute these plans? Do you have the coherence? Do you have the unity? Do you have the consistency to execute the plans and deliver them?”

Ms Indranee addressed some of the opposition parties’ claim that voters should elect opposition members for there to be alternative voices in Parliament. 

“That’s not correct,” she said. Constitutional amendments have been made to increase the number of non-constituency MP (NCMP) seats from nine to 12, she noted.

This means the Opposition will be guaranteed 12 seats in Parliament — regardless of their electoral performance — as NCMPs who have equal voting rights as constituency parliamentarians. 

“That is the platform for which you can advocate and do all and say what you want to say with respect to the policies. So, basically, the voice in Parliament, the ability to influence policy in Parliament is all there,” she said.