SINGAPORE: Not all new faces spotted walking the ground at community events are potential candidates in the coming General Election, said Home Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam on Saturday (Mar 29) as he fielded questions from reporters about volunteers seen with him at a DBS Foundation event.

Spotted at the DBS Foundation Community Pop-Up Market in Khatib were former People's Action Party (PAP) Hougang branch chairman Jackson Lam and intellectual property lawyer Deryne Sim.

Ang Mo Kio GRC MP Nadia Ahmad Samdin was also seen dressed in a DBS Foundation polo T-shirt.

The community event was the final instalment in a series of 38 pop-up markets held by DBS where lower-income households could select around S$100 (US$74.60) worth of groceries for free.

When reporters asked why they were at the event, Mr Shanmugam said that Ms Nadia is a DBS employee, while the others were volunteers with Nee Soon GRC.

On the volunteers present, he said: "I can tell you some of them clearly are not candidates ... some of them may be potential candidates, but I'm not able to tell you who they are.

"One mustn't assume, therefore that, you know, whoever is seen is a potential candidate." 

Mr Shanmugam did not state who he was referring to that "clearly are not candidates"

When a reporter asked why Dr Syed Harun Alhabsyi, who was not present on Saturday, but had stood side by side with Nee Soon GRC MPs at another event on Thursday evening, Mr Shanmugam said: "I think I would continue to have people be curious."

Dr Syed Harun, 39, had resigned as a Nominated MP in February along with Mr Raj Joshua Thomas, fuelling speculation that both of them will be running as PAP candidates.

Mr Thomas has said that he has joined the PAP as a member. Mr Syed Harun's appearance with Mr Shanmugam and other Nee Soon advisers on Thursday was also seen as an indication that he is a potential candidate for the PAP.

Mr Lam, who stepped down as branch chair in Hougang SMC in February, was also spotted at the break-fast event on Thursday night.

Mr Shanmugam said on Saturday that Mr Lam, 40, was his branch secretary and very good "on the ground".

"I would love to see him contest the elections ...  from anywhere, he will be an asset to the party and to the government in parliament wherever he contests from. Where he contests and whether he contests, we have to wait," he said.

CNA understands that Dr Syed Harun and Mr Lam are likely candidates in the upcoming election but it is not known where they will be contesting.

Mr Lam, the director of a cleaning service and pest control company, told CNA: "I served the Nee Soon community as the branch secretary for Chong Pang branch for seven years, from 2017 to 2023.

"I believe in serving the community with a heart and will continue to do so."

Ms Sim, 40, has also been seen at walkabouts and community events in Nee Soon GRC in recent months.

She was previously a committee member of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) activist group Pink Dot, and is the executive director of Same But Different, a group that offers legal resources to help the LGBTQ community in Singapore. 

Reporters also asked why some current MPs were not at the event. There are five MPs in Nee Soon GRC, and besides Mr Shanmugam, two of them – Mr Louis Ng and Ms Carrie Tan – were there on Saturday.

Mr Shanmugam said that the other two MPs, Dr Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim and Mr Derrick Goh were busy.

The DBS Foundation announced on Saturday that DBS is introducing a new programme for seniors as part of a series of measures to commemorate Singapore's 60th year of independence. 

From June, it will reach out to 6,000 vulnerable seniors in 12 ageing towns and provide them with twice-weekly nutritious meals, monthly bonding and enrichment activities, as well as quarterly grocery shopping trips.

DBS Foundation head Karen Ngui said: “Many vulnerable seniors struggle with nutrition and social connectedness – basic needs that are essential to one’s well-being, yet extremely complex to tackle and not something a quick fix can change.

"Through this programme, we hope to create change that goes beyond short-term relief, ensuring that they are not only supported today but empowered for a better tomorrow.”