SINGAPORE: Four new faces are likely to join the People’s Action Party (PAP) slate for Nee Soon GRC at the upcoming General Election, said Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam on Saturday (Apr 19) morning.

Speaking to reporters at an event at Rainforest Wild Asia in Mandai, Mr Shanmugam said “a number of new faces” have been walking in Nee Soon.

“But as to whether they are candidates, and whether they are candidates at Nee Soon, they’re likely to be,” he added.

Mr Shanmugam, elected Member of Parliament (MP) for Nee Soon GRC in the 2020 election, also introduced the four party members who were with him on Saturday – but stopped short of confirming that they would be on the five-member slate in Nee Soon.

They are Dr Syed Harun Alhabsyi, Ms Goh Hanyan, Mr Jackson Lam and Ms Lee Hui Ying.

Dr Syed Harun, a psychiatrist and former Nominated Member of Parliament, has been spotted walking the ground in Nee Soon since the end of March. He also confirmed earlier this month that he is a potential PAP candidate for the election.

Ms Goh, a former civil servant whose last post was a director in the Smart Nation Strategy Office in the Ministry of Digital Development and Information, has also been spotted in the constituency.

Mr Lam was the former chairperson at PAP’s Hougang branch, and has been volunteering at Chong Pang – which falls under Nee Soon GRC.

Meanwhile Ms Lee has been a Nee Soon volunteer since she was 19.

Also present at the Mandai event were Nee Soon GRC’s elected MPs in the 2020 polls – Ms Carrie Tan, Mr Derrick Goh and Mr Louis Ng – fuelling speculation that they would not be running in the upcoming election. 

But Mr Shanmugam said that “nothing is confirmed until it’s confirmed”.

Associate Professor Faishal Ibrahim and elected MP for Nee Soon in 2020 was also not at Saturday’s event. He announced earlier this month that he would move to contest Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC this election.

Nee Soon GRC’s official slate for the upcoming election is expected to be announced on Monday.

In the 2020 election, PAP’s Nee Soon team secured 61.9 per cent of the votes against the Progress Singapore Party. 

Red Dot United has introduced three new faces and is expected to contest the five-member constituency in the coming election on May 3.