GE2025: PAP to face familiar rivals in Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC and Bukit Panjang SMC (2025)

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SINGAPORE – The PAP will be up against the Singapore People’s Party (SPP) in Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC once again, with a new anchor minister at the helm for the ruling party.

Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat, 51, will lead the four-man PAP team for the group representation constituency, following Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen’s retirement from politics.

Others on the PAP slate, which was confirmed on April 23 at the Methodist Girls’ School (MGS) nomination centre, are Mr Saktiandi Supaat, 51, and political fresh faces Elysa Chen, 41, a charity director, and social entrepreneur Cai Yinzhou, 35.

The SPP team comprises secretary-general Steve Chia, 54, and party chairman Melvyn Chiu, 45, along with two new faces: operations executive Muhammad Norhakim, 31, and operations manager Lim Rui Xian, 37.

PAP had bested SPP in the previous 2020 contest, taking 67.23 per cent of the vote.

Mr Chee said his team would do their “very best to win the support, earn the trust of our residents and do more to rejuvenate our estate and improve their lives”.

He added: “Bishan-Toa Payoh is a mature estate, but we want to continue to rejuvenate our town so that it is a good home for residents of all ages... If they (the residents) give us a chance to come in, if they support us, this is something that I hope we can do more for them in the next few years.”

In his speech, SPP’s Mr Chiu saidthe short waiting time before Nomination Day “forced” many parties to work overtime.

He added: “Unfortunately, we have to disappoint them (the PAP). The Singapore People’s Party, together with other opposition parties, have risen to the challenge and we have made it.”

SPP’s secretary-general Chia added: “Time to reflect on the past five years of PAP policy. Has it made your life better?”

Bukit Panjang SMC will see a rematch between PAP incumbent MP Liang Eng Hwa, 61, and Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) chairman Paul Tambyah, 60, both of whom arrived at MGS with a host of supporters.

Professor Tambyah, a senior consultant in infectious diseases at the National University Hospital, told the crowd after nominations closed: “Vote without fear, vote for a Singapore where everyone can thrive. Vote for the SDP.”

Speaking to the media afterwards, Prof Tambyah said in Mandarin: “I’m more confident about this SMC because I understand the residents’ problems more. But it’ll be harder this time... PAP can give a whole tray of eggs for one dollar (but) we don’t have such resources. So it’ll be hard to compete with that.”

PAP’s Mr Liang told The Straits Times: “I have the resources with me, behind me to help me move things and improve things. So that’s probably my strength. I know how to get help and support from the agencies or from our community partners, even some businesses... It’s going to be a very close race. So I will do my best and hope I can provide, I can serve the residents again like how I did. And then to make life better for everyone.”

Other teams contesting Holland-Bukit Timah GRC and Marymount SMC also showed up at MGS.

In Holland-Bukit Timah GRC, the line-up for the incumbent PAP team, which remains unchanged and is led by Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, 64, will have to defend the constituency against Red Dot United (RDU), which is contesting there for the first time.

Dr Balakrishnan’s team includes Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and National Development Sim Ann, 50, lawyer Christopher de Souza, 49, and businessman Edward Chia, 41.

Thanking residents for the privilege of serving them for “many years”, Dr Balakrishnan said: “You know us, you know what we stand for, and what we believe.

“We’ve done our best, upgraded our town, stood with your families in good times and tough times, we’ve protected our greenery. But there’s so much more to be done and the world is in an uncertain place.”

“We will secure a better future for your children and your grandchildren. But we need your support, but we will need your vote.”

RDU’s Emily Woo, 59, who was originally set to be fielded in Jurong Central SMC, replaced business owner Patrick Tan, 70, to contest Holland-Bukit Timah GRC alongside financial consultant Fazli Talip, 43, assistant engineer Sharad Kumar, 25, and operations manager Nizar Subair, 57.

The decision to replace Mr Tan with Madam Woo was a “collective decision by the election committee”, said Mr Fazli.

He added: “Emily also is a good team player to the team. And she actually grew up in Holland-Bukit Timah in her younger days, so her experience really helps the team as well.”

Madam Woo, a music teacher who said she grew up in the Ghim Moh area, said: “I believe that there are people who need help, for example, the residents in the rental blocks. So we will do our best.”

As for Marymount SMC, Minister of State for Education and Manpower Gan Siow Huang, 50, will defend her seat against PSP’s Mr Jeffrey Khoo, 56.

Addressing the crowd, PAP’s Ms Gan said she was “deeply touched” by the trust of voters who elected her to serve as their MP five years ago.

“Since then I’ve made it my duty not just to listen, but to take action and to deliver with purpose,” she said, adding that she and her team have introduced new community programmes and upgraded the estate over the years.

In his address, Mr Khoo said: “It is especially in these challenging times that we need to put Singapore first, we need to have more alternative voices in Parliament for better outcomes.”

Show of support

About 200 PAP supporters arrived at MGS in buses as early as 10am.

Mr Yan Tan, 40, who works in the finance industry and has been a volunteer at the Bishan East-Sin Ming PAP branch for the past 12 years, said that “PAP is the right leadership for Singapore to move forward”.

“Being in the finance industry, we attract a lot of capital flows, because we are stable and have the right policies – this can continue to happen only if we have the right leadership.”

He came to support Ms Chen, a candidate for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC.

SDP supporter Mr Sidney Soon, 68, was among the first to arrive at MGS, at about 9am. He described Prof Tambyah as a “balanced and rational person”.

“I’m very impressed with his achievements,” said Mr Soon, a former SDA candidate who contested the 2011 General Election.

Dr Francis Pavri, 80, an adjunct professor with Singapore Management University, turned up to support PSP’s Marymount candidate, Mr Khoo. Mr Pavri was an SDP supporter while living in Woodlands, and when he moved to the West Coast a while back, he threw his support behind PSP.

He said: “I feel as a citizen it’s my responsibility. There should be more voices in Parliament. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. We need more opposition voices to temper that; it’s a check-and-balance thing.”

Mr Abdillah Zamzuri, a 41-year-old entrepreneur and RDU volunteer, showed up with about six to seven other supporters. He said that he supports RDU because he believes “in their values of building a more compassionate society”.

• Additional reporting by Christine Tan, Rosalind Ang, Samuel Devaraj and Wong Yang.

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