GE2025: New PAP face Shawn Loh spotted in Jalan Besar as town council unveils master plan

SINGAPORE: Jalan Besar Town Council unveiled its five-year master plan on Sunday (Apr 6), with a former senior civil servant introduced as a volunteer.

Mr Shawn Loh, 38, was present at two events in Jalan Besar on Apr 6, furthering speculations that he would run in the next general election.

The Budget director for 2024 and 2025 recently resigned from his public service post. He was the director of security and resilience programmes at the Ministry of Finance.

Mr Loh interacted with residents at a market distributing free household supplies to low-income families and was later seen at the launch of the master plan to enhance facilities in the area.

He appeared alongside Jalan Besar GRC’s current slate of MPs: Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo, Senior Minister of State for Defence Heng Chee How, Ms Denise Phua and Dr Wan Rizal.

Mr Loh was invited on stage to speak as a new volunteer for an initiative supporting mature job seekers, which provides access to career coaching guidance and opportunities to network with potential employers.

"Our jobs give us a sense of purpose, a sense of meaning and confidence to provide for our families," said Mr Loh. "We’re going to ensure that we connect the jobs created in the economy to the jobs that everyone here is looking for."

Another new face spotted was Mr David Hoe, director of philanthropy at The Majurity Trust, a local philanthropic organisation that supports ground-up initiatives and social impact projects in Singapore. He is also the district counsellor for the Central Singapore Community Development Council.

Mr Hoe, 36, helped in the pilot of Horizons @ Jalan Besar, a programme to nurture young leaders to serve the community. The initiative brought 19 young leaders to Vietnam for a learning experience in December 2024.

At the second event, Minister Josephine Teo announced Jalan Besar's five-year master plan (2026 to 2030), previewing over 100 proposed facilities and projects.

The plan is built around three pillars: Creating a vibrant and sustainable town, fostering a caring community, and strengthening community bonds.

To create shared spaces for different generations, the town council will improve neighbourhood parks, playgrounds for children, and fitness corners for adults and seniors.

It also plans to introduce more wayfinding features - such as motifs and colour-coded zones - help residents with dementia navigated their surroundings more easily, among other improvements. 

To shape the master plan, the town council engaged more than 3,000 residents through online surveys and street interviews to gather feedback on the living environment.

“This master plan belongs to all of us, and especially you, the residents. You took the time and effort to share with us your visions for our town – and we listened. Over the next five years, many of you will see your suggestions and ideas become reality,” said Mrs Teo.

She added that putting their feedback together was like completing a giant puzzle, but the effort was worth “every bit of energy that we put in”.

“(Together), we can continue to make Jalan Besar your best home,” she said.

Guests at the launch also viewed an exhibition highlighting major upgrades completed over the last five years. According to the town council, these improvements have benefitted more than 53,000 households since 2021.