SINGAPORE: Four out of five members of the ruling People’s Action Party’s (PAP) slate in Aljunied Group Representation Constituency (GRC) for the next general election, will be newcomers contesting for the first time.

The ruling party unveiled its slate for the opposition-held ward on Sunday (Apr 13), featuring an almost completely new line-up from its 2020 team.

Of the quintet, only Serangoon branch chair Chan Hui Yuh, 48, stood in the last contest.

The others are: unionist Jagathishwaran Rajo, 37; managing director of urban planning consultancy Daniel Liu, 40; company director Adrian Ang, 41; and dental surgeon Faisal Abdul Aziz, 37.

Ms Chan, who is the team leader, highlighted seniors' issues as one key thing to address in the constituency, such as tapping on the potential of seniors who have retired but still have much to offer as they are well-educated, healthy and able.

Focusing on the seniors will also have a trickle-on impact on the well-being of their families and the wider community, she said.

She then said it has been 14 years since Aljunied GRC residents have had a PAP voice in parliament and “it’s time” for change.

Also at Sunday’s launch was Education Minister Chan Chun Sing and former Cabinet minister Lim Boon Heng, who was the former party chairman and advises the PAP Aljunied team.

Mr Chan, who is the PAP's assistant secretary-general, introduced the Aljunied slate.

He said that every contest is about electing people with integrity and commitment who can take care of residents locally, govern nationally, and also represent Singapore well globally.

The boundaries of Aljunied GRC were redrawn in the latest electoral map review, the first time it was altered since 2011, when it became the first GRC to be won by the opposition.

Three polling districts in Aljunied GRC, which comprises almost 4,000 voters, will be moved to Tampines GRC for the next election.

The last contest in 2020 saw the incumbent Workers' Party (WP) secure 59.95 per cent of the votes against the PAP there, the highest margin to date by which the WP has won a GRC.

NEW FACES

For the coming polls, the ruling party will be fielding a team comprising four political newcomers. They are among more than 30 new candidates that the PAP have lined up for GE2025, its largest slate of new faces in recent history.

Mr Jagathishwaran Rajo took over as the party’s Eunos branch chairman in August last year.

He was an active grassroots leader in the Zhenghua ward of Holland-Bukit Timah GRC for 16 years and was its branch secretary, before moving over to Aljunied.

He became the executive secretary of the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore Staff Union (IRASSU) and the assistant director of the NTUC’s Freelancers and Self-Employed Unit (U FSE) in April last year.

Prior to that, he was on a two-year secondment with the Ministry of Trade and Industry, as a senior assistant director in the Future Economy Planning Office.

In February this year, the PAP had made a triple change of branch chairmen in the constituency.

Mr Daniel Liu, managing director of urban planning consultancy Morrow Architects and Planners and executive director of urban planning data analytics firm Morrow Intelligence, took the helm of the Paya Lebar branch.

He was formerly the Citizens’ Consultative Committee chairman of the Nee Soon East ward in Nee Soon GRC.

Dr Adrian Ang, the director of facility and environmental management company Chye Thiam Maintenance, took over the Bedok Reservoir-Punggol branch.

He was previously branch secretary of Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat’s Toa Payoh West-Thomson division in Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC.

In Kaki Bukit, Dr Faisal Abdul Aziz, a dental surgeon who is a clinical director at Nuffield Holdings, took over as chairman.

He had been volunteering with the branch since 2015, and previously organised dialogues for the Young PAP – the party’s youth wing – and the party’s Malay Affairs Bureau.

The quintet will be up against an incumbent WP team, which will be in search of a fifth member, following the departure of Mr Leon Perera in the current term of parliament.

“SUICIDE SQUAD” LABEL

In response to CNA's query on the “suicide squad” label often associated with the PAP’s Aljunied line-up, the team said they are in it to win and represent residents at the national level.

“Look, at the end of the day, nobody enters an election hoping they will lose,” said Dr Faisal.

He said that the team is strong, has the commitment to serve the residents of Aljunied GRC residents, the conviction to speak up for them, and the ability to bring the community together there.

He added that “no political party deserves a free pass”, whether it is the ruling PAP or the opposition, and have to work for every single vote.

Mr Liu said that the team did not agree that there has to be an anchor minister in the slate, in order for them to help residents.

“In fact, the fact that we are not political office holders running this campaign means that we have more time to be on the ground, more time to engage and understand more holistically,” he said.

As for the “suicide squad” label, Mr Liu referenced the 2016 superhero film of the same name, saying that a suicide squad is “just a bunch of people who have very different backgrounds who come together and achieve what they want to do”. For the PAP’s Aljunied slate, that is to serve residents and win back the ward from the incumbents, he said.

Mr Chan said that the ruling party accepts that "while many Singaporeans may want a PAP government, they also want some opposition in parliament", making every contest a tough one now.

He said that the election outcome is not a given at the local nor national level, and that no PAP-held ward is a “sure win”.

“Neither should any opposition-held wards feel that they are the only ones having the responsibility to uphold the opposition presence in parliament,” said Mr Chan, adding that Singapore's parliamentary system will always have opposition representation.

Mr Chan added that the PAP’s teams in Hougang, Aljunied and Sengkang have an “especially tough mission” as they are the underdogs there.

They have worked hard to earn the trust of residents even though they may not be in parliament, he said.

“They do not just aim to be the opposition in the opposition-held wards. Instead, they aim to be the real proposition, with real value-add to the lives of our residents here,” said Mr Chan.

“They exemplify the PAP ethos to serve and take care of all Singaporeans across Singapore.”

FIRST OPPOSITION-HELD GRC

Aljunied GRC was first won by the WP in the 2011 election, defeating a PAP team which included Foreign Affairs Minister George Yeo, and newcomer Ong Ye Kung, who is currently Minister for Health.

It had secured 54.72 per cent of the votes, becoming the first opposition party to win a GRC since the implementation of the system in 1988.

The team was led by then-WP secretary-general Low Thia Khiang, who left his long-time stronghold of Hougang to contest the GRC.

It included current Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh, party chairman Sylvia Lim, Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap and newcomer Chen Show Mao.