Singapore’s Tampines GRC will witness a four-way battle in the upcoming General Election on 3 May, 2025, as three alternative parties take on the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP).
This marks the first time in decades that such a contest has emerged in a group representation constituency, with the Workers’ Party (WP), National Solidarity Party (NSP), and People’s Power Party (PPP) joining the fray.
The PAP team will be led by Social and Family Development Minister Masagos Zulkifli, 62, who has been a Member of Parliament since 2006.
He is joined by incumbents Koh Poh Koon, 53, Senior Minister of State for Manpower and Sustainability and the Environment, and Baey Yam Keng, 54, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Transport and Sustainability and the Environment.
Rounding out the team are two new faces: David Neo, 47, former chief of army, and Charlene Chen, 43, assistant professor of marketing at Nanyang Technological University.
Faisal Manap makes surprise shift from Aljunied to Tampines in WP’s debut GRC contest
The Workers’ Party enters the Tampines GRC race for the first time, having laid groundwork in the area since 2016.
Its five-member team includes vice-chair Faisal Manap, 49, who previously represented Aljunied GRC. His move to Tampines was only confirmed on Nomination Day.
Joining him are Jimmy Tan, 53, co-founder of Immanuel Engineering; Ong Lue Ping, 48, senior principal clinical psychologist at the Institute of Mental Health; Eileen Chong, 33, a former diplomat; and Michael Thng, 37, co-founder of technology start-up Showdrop.
Four of the five WP candidates were introduced to the public just days before Nomination Day in a series of press briefings.
NSP is making its fourth consecutive bid for Tampines GRC.
Its team consists of party president Reno Fong, 56; vice-president Mohd Ridzwan Mohammad, 63; assistant secretary-general Eugene Yeo, 49; financial planner Zee Phay, 32; and self-employed candidate Thamilselvan Karuppaya, 57.
PPP, led by secretary-general Goh Meng Seng, 55, will also contest in the GRC.
He is joined by party chairman Derrick Sim, 44; landscaping executive Vere Nathan, 26; green tech entrepreneur Peter Soh, 65; and businesswoman Arbaah Haroun, 50.
Tampines GRC has been a PAP bastion since its inception in 1988. In the 2020 General Election, the PAP secured 66.41 per cent of votes in the constituency, outperforming the national average of 61.24 per cent.
In 2015, it polled even higher at 72.06 per cent, compared to the national vote share of 69.9 per cent.
Historically, the GRC has seen few multi-cornered contests. A walkover occurred in 1997, and that same year marked the last four-way contest in Singapore politics – in Chua Chu Kang SMC.
In that election, PAP candidate Low Seow Chay won with 61.9 per cent of the vote against three challengers.
In a related contest, the newly formed Tampines Changkat SMC had been anticipated to feature a four-cornered race.
However, only the PAP and WP submitted nomination papers.
The PAP’s Desmond Choo, 47, Mayor of North East District and assistant secretary-general of the National Trades Union Congress, will defend the single seat.
He entered politics in 2011 but lost in Hougang SMC to WP’s Yaw Shin Leong. He ran again in the 2012 by-election, losing to WP’s Png Eng Huat, before entering Parliament via Tampines GRC in 2015.
Choo now faces WP candidate Kenneth Foo, 48, who previously contested in Nee Soon GRC in 2015 and East Coast GRC in 2020.
Foo, deputy organising secretary of WP and a deputy director at the Singapore Cancer Society, brings both experience and fresh challenge to the PAP in the single-member ward.
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