SINGAPORE: The People’s Action Party (PAP) on Sunday (Apr 13) formally announced its slate of four candidates who will be contesting in the Workers’ Party-held Sengkang GRC in the upcoming General Elections.

They are: former senior minister of state Lam Pin Min, 56; National University of Singapore (NUS) lecturer Elmie Nekmat, 43; director of business development Theodora Lai Xi Yi, 39; and company director Bernadette Giam, 38.

Team leader Lam led the introductions at the PAP's Sengkang West branch, which is located at Block 303A Anchorvale Link. 

"Our team has an average age of 43 with equal gender representation. Though we come from different professional backgrounds, we share the same passion to serve Sengkang residents and to win back their trust," he said. 

"A vote for our team means experienced leadership, renewed energy, and a steadfast commitment to Sengkang's progress."

Dr Lam, an ophthalmologist and chief executive officer of Eagle Eye Centre, was previously in the Sengkang GRC team representing the ruling party for the 2020 General Election.

The 2020 team had also included labour chief Ng Chee Meng, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Home Affairs and Health Amrin Amin, as well as lawyer Raymond Lye. 

The WP eventually defeated the PAP with 52.12 per cent of the vote. The ruling party garnered 47.88 per cent in the GRC. 

Said Dr Lam: "Despite the setback, I remain committed to serving residents as a grassroots advisor and branch chairman of Sengkang West Branch."

Dr Lam made his political debut in 2006 as part of a five-member PAP team contesting in Ang Mo Kio GRC, and later won the single-member seat in Sengkang West in 2011 as well as in 2015.

He was the Senior Minister of State for Health and Transport from 2017 to 2020 and is presently a grassroots adviser in Sengkang. Dr Lam will be the only member from the previous team to contest in the coming polls.

He was also co-opted to the PAP’s Central Executive Committee in 2024. The committee is the party’s top decision-making body.

NEW FACES

The three others introduced on Sunday have no previous experience standing in a General Election. They are among roughly 30 new candidates to be fielded by the PAP in the coming contest, its largest slate of new faces in recent history.

A PAP activist since 2016, Assoc Prof Elmie teaches communications and new media in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at the National University of Singapore.

He sits on a number of boards and councils, including the Singapore Sports Council, the National Library and the Media Literacy Council.

He is also an adviser to the ruling party’s youth wing Young PAP, and is also assistant secretary in the party’s Malay Affairs Bureau.

As for Ms Lai, she started out as a party activist in 2009 and was chairperson of the PAP Policy Forum from 2019 to 2020. 

Ms Lai is the founder and partner at a venture capital firm, Moringa Ventures. She is also principal at private equity firm Tembusu Partners.  She is also the founding member and past chairperson of the Young Women’s Leadership Connection – a network which aims to empower and connect young women leaders. 

A newcomer to politics compared with the others, Mrs Giam is presently a director at Creative Eateries, a local food and beverage enterprise that includes a diverse list of brands, including Bangkok Jam and Suki-Ya, under its umbrella.

She was appointed branch chairperson of the ruling party’s Sengkang East division on Jan 23, replacing communications professional Marcus Loh.

Mrs Giam served on the Singapore Council of Women's Organisations' Women’s Register from 2016 to 2022 and has been a member of Nanyang Polytechnic's Business Management Advisory Committee since 2016.

She has also served on the Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP) Business Management Advisory Committee since 2016, as well as the Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus (CHIJ) Alumni Association.

SENGKANG GRC 

The four-member constituency did not exist before the General Election 2020. 

It was formed ahead of the polls by combining parts of the former Sengkang West Single Member Constituency (SMC), Punggol East SMC, and parts of Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC.

WP won the constituency in 2020 with its team comprising lawyer He Ting Ru, equity research analyst Louis Chua, social activist Raeesah Khan and associate professor of economics Jamus Lim. 

Sengkang has a relatively younger population compared with the national average. Over half of its residents are under 40 years old, while only 19.2 per cent are 60 and above, based on official data.

No changes were made to the constituency's boundaries in last month's report by the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee.

Ms Khan later resigned from WP and her position as MP for Sengkang GRC in Nov 2021, after admitting to making unsubstantiated allegations in parliament on multiple occasions.  

Last week, the Sengkang GRC MPs announced details of their new five-year master plan for the constituency, where residents can expect new community spaces and enhanced features in their town, including a dog run, butterfly sanctuary and a rooftop garden. 

The next General Election must be held by Nov 23 this year. The polls are expected to be called soon, following the release of the country’s revised electoral map last month.

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