PUBLISHED ONApril 18, 2025 3:32 AMByYeo Shu HuiMinister for Transport Chee Hong Tat will be leading the People's Action Party's (PAP) team to contest Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC in the 2025 General Election.
Joining Chee on the team is Saktiandi Supaat, with both PAP candidates having contested the constituency in the past two elections.
Newcomers Elysa Chen and Cai Yinzhou, who were introduced at a PAP press briefing on April 18 at its Toa Payoh West-Thomson Branch, will also be part of this team.
This team will be without Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen, who is retiring from politics after over two decades in Cabinet.
Over the years, he has held various political positions, including Minister for Education and Minister for Manpower, before being appointed Minister for Defence in 2011.
"It's my liberation day," said the 66-year-old.
Dr Ng, who was an oncologist before entering politics, made his PAP debut in 2001 when he contested Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC as part of the party's five-member team then.
He expressed his appreciation to the residents, adding that they have "become good friends" over the years.
"I am thankful for the strong support from the residents from Bishan-Toa Payoh and Marymount, who have elected me to serve five terms as their Member of Parliament and also more than 20 years as a minister in the government. It has been an honour and privilege to serve my residents and Singaporeans at large for five terms."
Thanking Dr Ng, Chee said that he has learnt much from the Defence Minister and is grateful for his guidance and his mentorship since he entered politics in 2015.
"I am very honoured to be given this opportunity to take over Dr Ng as the anchor for Bishan-Toa Payoh.
"It is a very big pair of shoes to fill and I will do my best to fulfil my responsibilities to my teammates, to our volunteers and most of all to our residents," Chee added.
PAP's member Chong Kee Hiong, who was fielded in the 2015 and 2020 general elections, also revealed that he would not be standing for the upcoming election.
The 59-year-old accountant joined politics in 2015 when he was announced as part of PAP's five-member team contesting for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC and was elected into parliament when the team won that year.
He was elected MP for the second-term when PAP won the GRC again in the 2020 election.
Chee also revealed the two new candidates Chen, 41, and Cai, 35, at the press conference.
Chen, an executive director of charity CampusImpact, is a member of the Punggol Coast's Citizen's Consultative Committee and has been serving as a district councillor with the North West Community Development Council since 2020.
The former journalist with The New Paper shared that, if elected, she hopes to care for, empower and inspire the residents.
"I look forward to meeting you, listening to you, journey with you, so that together, we can build a neighbourhood with beautiful people in beautiful homes who can pursue beautiful dreams together," she added.
Social entrepreneur Cai is an executive director with Chinatown Heritage Centre. He has been serving at the Meet-the-People sessions in Nee Soon East and Punggol East since 2018 and is a Citizens' Consultative Commitee member in Punggol Coast.
He mentioned that if elected, he aims to introduce initiatives in the GRC to address the aging population and advocate for the caregivers of seniors and individuals with disabilities.
"I saw first-hand the importance of speaking up for the needs of residents and various causes through Meet-the-People sessions, Parliament and grassroots efforts. If elected, I will continue to do so through engagements with civil society and government to find common ground and solutions through collaboration," he added.
In the 2020 general election, the PAP won Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC with 67.26 per cent of the votes over the Singapore People's Party (SPP), which received 32.74 per cent of the votes.
The PAP team comprised Dr Ng, Chee, Chong and Saktiandi, while SPP's candidates were Steve Chia, Williamson Lee, Osman Sulaiman and Melvyn Chiu.
Chia, who is SPP's secretary-general, had earlier announced in a walkabout at Toa Payoh Lorong 4 on March 29 that they are intending to contest Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC again in the upcoming election.
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