GE2020: PAP’s Lee Bee Wah not contesting polls so as to make way for new blood
Ms Lee Bee Wah (pictured), 59, said that as part of the party renewal process, she is glad that a much younger candidate has been fielded to run in the Nee Soon constituency for the General Election.
- Longtime MP for Nee Soon GRC will retire from politics after a 14-year career
- Nee Soon South ward, which she has represented since 2006, to be passed to charity founder Carrie Tan
- PAP's Nee Soon GRC team will consist of three incumbents and two new faces, led by Mr K Shanmugam
SINGAPORE — Known for her colourful speeches in Parliament and fierce dedication to residents, Ms Lee Bee Wah, a three-term Member of Parliament (MP) for Nee Soon Group Representation Constituency (GRC), will be stepping aside for new blood in the coming General Election. This puts an end to her 14-year career in politics.
Ms Lee, who is 59 and first won her seat with the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) in 2006, wrote in a Facebook post on Monday (June 29) to confirm that she will not be seeking re-election on July 10.
She said: “I am not running this term and am retiring from politics. As part of the party renewal process, I am glad that a much younger candidate has been fielded.”
She named Ms Carrie Tan, 38, founder of women’s charity Daughters of Tomorrow, as her replacement in the Nee Soon South ward of Nee Soon GRC.
Ms Lee has been the ward’s MP since 2006, when it was first under Ang Mo Kio GRC.
Her post about her leaving politics was taken down shortly after it was first published, but it was restored a few hours later.
Written in her staccato-speaking style, Ms Lee said that she was touched by the many messages of support she had received from Singaporeans.
“I am very touched. It has been a privilege to serve you for the last 14 years. You have become my family. I will miss all of you. Let’s keep in touch on my personal social media,” she wrote.
From lift upgrading to secondhand cigarette smoke, Ms Lee has persistently brought up various constituency and bread-and-butter issues in Parliament, no matter how trivial. These included her 2012 adjournment motion to urge for stronger enforcement against litterbugs.
She did not shy away from bombarding her party colleagues in Cabinet with numerous questions in order to elicit a satisfactory answer or an explanation, packing a punch in her humorous quotes that often find their way into news headlines.
Last September, she made parliamentarians laugh when she said that if the authorities had the “ambition”, they would be able to catch a high-rise litterbug who kept throwing soiled sanitary pads from a block of flats in Yishun. “Otherwise, looks like this problem will disappear only when the litterbug (reaches) menopause,” Ms Lee said.
Most recently during the Covid-19 pandemic, she questioned why traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) medical halls were not allowed to open when dessert shops could, saying: "Is TCM less tasty than ice cream and cake?"
When she did not get the answer she hoped for, she asked Health Minister Gan Kim Yong: “Do you need me to ask in English? Or you will answer?”
In the recent term of government, out of 131 parliamentary sittings, Ms Lee spoke in 92 of them, making her the fifth most active parliamentarian to speak in the House behind fellow PAP MP Louis Ng, Workers’ Party’s (WP) Non-Constituency MPs Leon Perera and Dennis Tan, as well as WP chief Pritam Singh.
She said on Facebook: “I have shared my advice and experiences with several PAP candidates, including Carrie. I hope to see them asking tough questions in Parliament in the future.
“These 14 years, so many of you have served alongside me. I have always told you, Together we can make a difference. I think we really have.”
CANDIDATES FOR NEE SOON GRC
PAP will continue to field Mr K Shanmugam, who heads the GRC, and two of its incumbent MPs, Associate Professor Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim and Mr Louis Ng. Besides Ms Tan, new face Derrick Goh, 51, will also stand in the GRC.
The slate is subject to confirmation on Nomination Day on Tuesday.
Mr Henry Kwek, who is the GRC’s incumbent MP, is expected to move to Kebun Baru Single Member Constituency, a new electoral division for the coming polls that was carved out of his ward from Nee Soon GRC.
Referring to the new GRC team, Ms Lee wrote: “Over the next few days, you might see me walking the ground with them… This election will decide who will lead Singapore through a major crisis. I hope you can continue to support the PAP.”
Ms Lee declined to comment when approached by TODAY.
