The People’s Action Party (PAP) on Tuesday (April 15) introduced their candidates for the revised West Coast-Jurong West GRC, including political newcomers Cassandra Lee and Dr Hamid Razak.

The team will be led by National Development Minister Desmond Lee and joined by incumbent Ang Wei Neng.

Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Finance and Education Shawn Huang, who is currently an MP for Jurong GRC, completed the line up.

Lee, 33, is a a long-time grassroots volunteer in Jurong and a lawyer, while Dr Hamid, 39, is an orthopaedic surgeon.

The announcement was made at the PAP branch office at Block 729 Clementi West Street 2.

The PAP team has since the last election in 2020, lost their anchor S. Iswaran, who resigned in January 2024 following a corruption probe. The former transport minister was later jailed and then placed on home detention.

In its report released in March, the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee recommended that West Coast GRC absorb some estates in Jurong West and Taman Jurong — the latter a PAP stronghold — and be renamed West Coast-Jurong West GRC.

Estates in Harbourfront and Sentosa were carved out and moved to Radin Mas SMC, while districts in Dover and Telok Blangah were moved to Tanjong Pagar GRC.

The new West Coast-Jurong West GRC will have 158,581 voters.

In a close contest in the 2020 General Election, the ruling PAP won the GRC with 51.69 per cent of the vote against the newly founded Progress Singapore Party (PSP), which was led by Dr Tan Cheng Bock, a former PAP stalwart.

The PSP, led by NCMP Leong Mun Wai, have since announced on April 6 that they will be contest the constituency in the coming election.

Foo Mee Har, who entered politics in 2011 and represented the Ayer Rajah-Gek Poh ward, and Rachel Ong, who made her electoral debut in 2020 and oversaw the Telok Blangah division, will not be part of the team.

When asked by reporters' on her political future, Foo remained coy, saying that "the prime minister will be announcing on Nomination Day".

She added that with her background with finance and wealth management, she hopes to continue to be active in the industry - to encourage lifelong learning, "champion" investment skills and on philanthropy.

During the press conference, Foo also introduced her successors Dr Hamid and Lee and said that they bring a "strong track record of service" and a "deep understanding" of residents in West Coast-Jurong West GRC.

Introducing himself in English, Mandarin, Malay and Tamil, Dr Hamid said that he is a Jurong resident for nearly 30 years and is entering politics due to of his alignment with PAP's values and his own upbringing under the party's policies.

Dr Hamid is also the deputy branch chair of PAP's Jurong Spring branch and a grassroots adviser.

"This is me stepping forward with the calling to serve," he said, adding that he will advocate for health literacy initiatives if elected.

Meanwhile, Lee said that she has been a volunteer in Yuhua for more than 16 years.

"As a young girl, I would follow my mother around as she volunteered in the community," she said. "As a teenager, later on, I started volunteering in Yuhua," she added.

Foo said that Lee will be the election candidate for Ayer Rajah in West Coast-Jurong West GRC.

PSP founder Dr Tan Cheng Bock, who is looking to contest against the PAP team again, is a familiar face among residents in the area, having been their MP for 35 years when he was a member of the ruling party.

Lee was asked by a reporter on how she will be engaging with residents who may not be familiar with her.

"Dr Tan has been an MP serving the area. We respect his contributions, but we will do our best," she said.

"I'm new to the team, but we have put a lot of work on the ground that residents would see for themselves."

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