SINGAPORE – Recently-resigned public servant Dinesh Vasu Dash accompanied East Coast GRC MPs for a mosque visit in Chai Chee on the morning of March 31.

Mr Dinesh, whose last day as the chief of Agency for Integrated Care was on March 27, is the first former public servant spotted on the ground with PAP MPs since the recent string of resignations from the Government.

The 50-year-old was seen walking into Al-Ansar Mosque in Chai Chee, accompanying Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat and Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong.

This comes amid speculation that he has joined the ruling party and will be fielded in the upcoming elections.

Madam Hazlina Abdul Halim, 40, the former chief executive of Make-A-Wish Singapore, was also with the group.

The senior vice-president of strategy and communications at advisory firm Teneo had previously been spotted shadowing MacPherson MP Tin Pei Ling and was formally introduced to residents and reporters at a Marine Parade GRC walkabout on March 22.

MP Jessica Tan was also in attendance. Senior Minister of State for National Development Tan Kiat How arrived slightly later and joined the group before they entered the mosque.

The other two East Coast GRC MPs – Dr Maliki Osman and Ms Cheryl Chan – were not with the group. Dr Maliki had arrived earlier on his own, while Ms Chan was on a work trip.

Speaking to The Straits Times after the visit, Mr Tong said that Mr Dinesh and Madam Hazlina are “getting a good sense of the community and what it means to be working with and working for the community”.

They are also building connections, making friends and working with the sitting MPs to see how they serve the residents, he added.

“I think (they are) making very good progress in that regard,” he said.

DPM Heng said that both have a lot that they can contribute to Singapore, pointing out Mr Dinesh’s work with the Health Ministry during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“We’re very happy that they are walking the ground to learn more about, (in particular), East Coast,” he said.

When asked about Madam Hazlina being seen in Marine Parade the week before, DPM Heng said: “Isn’t it good that she gets to know more of different parts of Singapore?”

“This is part of our exposure for all potential candidates, for them to get to know our society better,” he added.

Mr Tong added that it is a strength for her to be in different areas.

“Communities don’t organise themselves based on electoral boundaries… Serving in one area doesn’t preclude you from understanding the community in a different space,” he said.

Both ministers said that they were warmly welcomed by the members and congregants at the mosque on March 31 morning.

“One of the points we made to them was how special it is in Singapore that we’re able to celebrate an occasion like this… but making it multi-ethnic and really multi-racial,” said Mr Tong.

“I think this something that’s special and something that we need to preserve and ensure that we don’t take for granted as we look at social cohesion and harmony in Singapore,” he said.

DPM Heng added: “This year we’re celebrating SG60, and I think one of the greatest strengths of Singapore is our ability to build a multi-racial, multi-religious society where we exist in harmony.”

Mr Tong, who is currently MP for Marine Parade GRC, oversees the Joo Chiat area that was carved into East Coast GRC in the latest electoral boundaries report.

He has been in talks with East Coast GRC MPs on integrating plans between the two areas, and was seen on March 23 on a walkabout in Bedok with DPM Heng.

Mr Dinesh is the latest senior officer to quit the government sector in recent weeks.

Three other senior civil servants quit the service on March 25.

They include Mr Jeffrey Siow, second permanent secretary of the Manpower and Trade and Industry ministries, and Mr Shawn Loh, who oversaw the last two budgets and was director of security and resilience programmes at the Finance Ministry.

The third is Smart Nation Strategy Office director Goh Hanyan, who is also director of the national artificial intelligence group for policy and strategy at the Digital Development and Information Ministry.

The Straits Times had earlier reported that Ms Jasmin Lau, deputy secretary for policy at the Ministry of Health, and Mr Foo Cexiang, director for private and future mobility at the Transport Ministry, had resigned. Their last day at work will be in early April.

The civil service is a traditional PAP hunting ground for election candidates. Those who are selected usually resign from their jobs in the run-up to the polls.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.