Halimah to co-anchor new GRC with minister Wong
SINGAPORE — Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, Mr Lawrence Wong, today (Aug 13) said three-term Member of Parliament Halimah Yacob would jointly lead the People’s Action Party (PAP) team in contesting the newly formed Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC, as he dropped hints that the slate would have no new faces.
Mr Wong, who previously announced that he would move from West Coast GRC to contest in Marsiling-Yew Tee, said having Mdm Halimah as a fellow anchor would lend the team her experience as a “very good community builder”.
They were speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a visit to Woodlands. Asked why there was a need for two anchors in the team, Mr Wong, who entered politics in 2011, said Mdm Halimah has many more years of experience, having gone through three General Elections.
Mdm Halimah, who is Speaker of Parliament, added: “When we function as a GRC, we function as a team, so we complement each other.”
Mr Wong brings a lot of his strengths and capabilities as well, she added.
While he declined to confirm the full PAP slate for the constituency, Mr Wong signalled that first-term MPs Alex Yam (Chua Chu Kang GRC) and Ong Teng Koon (Sembawang GRC) would fill the remaining two slots. “As you can see, when you go around the GRC, I don’t think any of you have seen any new candidates around, neither have I,” he said.
Both MPs’ current wards fall under Marsiling-Yew Tee. Mr Wong added: “The only new faces are Mdm Halimah and myself from the west, and the two incumbent MPs Alex Yam and Ong Teng Koon. So we hope this is likely to be the team for Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC.”
On how the wards will be divided, Mr Wong said the division boundaries could be sorted out after the election and their focus is to ensure “minimum disruption” to residents. “If indeed Alex and Teng Koon are going to be part of the team, they are existing MPs with their own divisions. Mdm Halimah can take over from Mr Hawazi and then we will find a place for myself to operate within the entire GRC ... So that’s not something we are very preoccupied with for the time being.”
The area the duo visited today is currently under the care of Sembawang GRC’s Hawazi Daipi, who has announced that he will not contest in the coming election. His ward was merged into Marsiling-Yew Tee after electoral boundaries were redrawn last month.
Regardless of where MPs have served, Mdm Halimah said the critical factor is how they reach out to people. Mr Wong added that while every estate’s resident profile is likely to be unique, the team’s approach would continue to be “resident-centric”.
Mdm Halimah said she had done a fair amount of groundwork after visiting about 20 blocks of flats in the GRC.
