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SINGAPORE – The PAP team contesting the Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC in the upcoming election will be led by Manpower Minister Tan See Leng and include new face Diana Pang, a business development director and long-time party volunteer.
Also on the party’s slate for the GRC are Minister of State for Home Affairs and National Development Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim, and incumbent MPs Seah Kian Peng (Marine Parade GRC) and Tin Pei Ling (MacPherson SMC), Dr Tan told a press conference on April 20.
The newly renamed Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC is formed from parts of Marine Parade GRC, MacPherson SMC, Mountbatten SMC and Potong Pasir SMC.
Ms Pang’s confirmation on the slate means incumbent Marine Parade GRC MP Mohd Fahmi Aliman, who oversaw the Geylang Serai ward during his single term in Parliament, will not be part of the PAP’s Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC team.
Meanwhile, PAP will field shipping lawyer Gho Sze Kee to contest the Mountbatten single seat in place of incumbent Lim Biow Chuan, who is stepping down after serving four terms in Parliament.
Dr Tan, 60, who is contesting his second election, said he is grateful to the residents of Marine Parade for welcoming, supporting, encouraging and inspiring him.
He added that the PAP’s work in the group representation constituency is “never done”.
“We continue to want to improve the infrastructure, the intergenerational connectivity. Therefore, I seek a strong mandate from all of the residents.”
Dr Faishal, 56, who entered politics alongside Mr Seah in 2006, said that even though he has been an MP for Nee Soon GRC for 14 years, he has continued to be on the ground in Marine Parade.
This includes being the lead adviser to Wisma Geylang Serai, the cultural heritage integrated hub that falls within Marine Parade GRC.
Dr Faishal was a Marine Parade GRC MP in his first term in Parliament.
Noting that Dr Faishal is no stranger to Malay/Muslim residents, Dr Tan said: “Our plan for him is to take on an even more leading role in coordinating all the Malay/Muslim affairs within our entire GRC and the SMC in Mountbatten.”
Dr Faishal said that in his various roles, he has engaged the Malay/Muslim community on the ground, including as Minister of State for Home Affairs, where he has had to work with the community “on some very sensitive issues”.
“The PAP government is a government that takes action, a government that really looks at the affairs of the people together and makes sure that at the heart of the matter is our people, including the Malay/Muslim community,” he said.
Ms Pang, 51, said she believes that leadership is not about making speeches, but about “giving your heart”.
“It’s about action... I hope to be a voice, not just to listen, but I will also act on it.”
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Ms Pang was an activist for more than two decades at PAP’s Fengshan branch, where she was branch treasurer and chaired its women’s wing.
Referencing her years of service, Ms Pang said: “I learnt this in my journey: That when we care deeply and work together, anything is possible. You are not alone. There’s always a Diana around you.”
She added: “Regardless of where I go, I’m very glad that people open up to me, and I’ve got a ‘talk to me’ face and I enjoy that, and I’ll do my best to care for (the people) and do what I can to make sure their life is a little bit easier.”
At the 2020 election, the PAP team won 57.74 per cent of the vote in Marine Parade GRC, beating a WP team, which garnered 42.26 per cent.
Dr Tan said he hopes voters will give his team a strong mandate, which will have to be assessed based on the national numbers after the election.
“If we can at least be on a par with the national numbers, and maybe do slightly better, I think that would be a good mandate,” he said.
The PAP won 61.24 per cent of the popular vote in 2020.
Of the PAP’s five-member team at the 2020 election, only Dr Tan and Mr Seah, 63, are set to remain in the constituency.
Incumbent Marine Parade GRC MP Edwin Tong, who oversaw the Joo Chiat ward, is expected to run in neighbouring East Coast GRC after the ward was carved out and absorbed into East Coast.
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Former Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin, who led the PAP’s Marine Parade GRC team in 2020, resigned in 2023 over an extramarital affair with fellow MP Cheng Li Hui.
Dr Tan said it was a pity Mr Tan did not finish his term, adding that nonetheless, grassroots initiatives and programmes that Mr Tan put in place for the Kembangan-Chai Chee ward continued in his absence, without “any gap or any drops”.
“Who doesn’t make mistakes?” the minister said in Mandarin in reference to Mr Tan’s affair, adding in English that “we can’t change the past, but we can certainly, from today, work hard in fulfilling a better future together”.
The PAP team is expected to be challenged by a team from WP, which has continued to walk the ground since 2020.
Mr Fahmi, 52, was an army colonel and stepped down as deputy chief executive of the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore in March 2020 before joining politics. He is now a director at the National Trades Union Congress.
Dr Tan said that whether Mr Fahmi will be fielded in the coming election in another constituency is a “decision that we will make in the final analysis on Nomination Day itself”. Nomination Day is on April 23.
Ms Tin, 41, a three-term MP who has served MacPherson since 2011, prevailed against the People’s Power Party’s Goh Meng Seng at the 2020 polls, with 71.74 per cent of the vote.
“What is most precious is actually the connections, the personal bonds that are forged with residents. So wherever MacPherson goes, I will follow,” said Ms Tin on April 20.
She added: “It wasn’t a very easy start for me back in 2011, but my residents in MacPherson, my team there in MacPherson, accepted me and gave me the opportunity to serve.”
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Mr Seah said he has built relationships with Braddell Heights residents over the past 19 years, with many asking if he would run again in this election.
“I enjoy the trust that they have accorded to me, and I can assure you that my team and I will continue to work hard to earn their trust.”
About 75 per cent of Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC’s 131,493 voters are from the previous Marine Parade GRC (98,341).
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