SINGAPORE — Long-serving Member of Parliament (MP) Inderjit Singh, 55, may be leaving politics but he wants to continue giving back to society.

The nation’s loss would be the community’s gain it seems, with Mr Singh telling TODAY that he is hoping to be more involved in community activities, apart from spending more time on work and his family.

“I was involved as a grassroots leader, as an activist and as an MP, (and) I will be involved in other ways (after stepping down) to do my part to contribute to Singapore. I will probably focus more on the community level,” said Mr Singh, who has served four terms as MP for the Kebun Bahru division since entering politics in 1997.

For now though, Mr Singh, who is known for his hard-hitting parliamentary speeches on various issues including those affecting small and medium enterprises, has only one thing on his mind: Help the People Action’s Party (PAP) do well in the coming General Election (GE).

Mr Singh said that he will be principal election agent for Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his Ang Mo Kio Group Representation Constituency (GRC) team. “I’m planning the whole election strategy for Ang Mo Kio,” he said. As for Kebun Bahru, which will come under Nee Soon GRC following the redrawing of the electoral boundaries, he would also be helping out with activities to canvass support for the PAP team which will be fielded there.

At a press conference yesterday (Aug 15) to introduce the PAP candidates for Ang Mo Kio GRC, and the Hougang and Sengkang West single-seat wards, Mr Lee thanked Mr Singh for his contributions. Noting that Mr Singh had a “very patient touch” with residents, Mr Lee said: “The rental flat dwellers are particularly appreciative but with the private estates too, he’s spent a lot of time engaging them and understanding their concerns.”

He added: “And so I think it’s this attention to detail and concern for residents which has made a difference on the ground. Inderjit has also helped me a lot at the GRC when he was town council chairman for a term and he’s been mentoring the newer MPs in my GRC, and I look forward to him helping us in Ang Mo Kio in the next election too.”

Mr Lee also paid tribute to another retiring MP, Mr Seng Han Thong,65, who was from the same batch of PAP candidates as Mr Singh.

“Han Thong has payed closed attention to his MPS (Meet-The-People session) cases, especially the cases of the needy residents, and goes that extra mile to take care (of them). And he has persevered and he continued to serve even after the resident attacked him and he was severely injured. But he recovered and came back and still continue to do the work he was going”, said Mr Lee, referring to the 2009 incident where an elderly man who was believed to be mentally unsound set fire on Mr Seng’s back.

Mr Seng said he has been “very fortunate” to learn under all three Prime Ministers that Singapore has had - the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew, Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong and Mr Lee Hsien Loong. “We’ve experienced the difficulties, the ups and down. I inherited a constituency called Ang Mo Kio, the strong support of the grassroots and the understanding of the people,” he said.