The election is not about any individual, said Manpower Minister Josephine Teo.

"In this particular year, it is about our lives, our jobs, our future," she said during a walkabout at Whampoa Market yesterday with her team of People's Action Party (PAP) candidates standing in Jalan Besar GRC.

"In fact, quite a lot of residents that I have met have encouraged me and also said that it is a very difficult situation. Covid-19 is absolutely a curveball. No one expected it," she added.

She was responding to a question on remarks made by Peoples Voice (PV) party chief Lim Tean, who said last Friday that voters in Jalan Besar GRC should treat the election as a referendum on her.

Mr Lim said Mrs Teo was responsible for the Covid-19 outbreak in foreign worker dormitories, and described her as "one of the greatest failures in the 4G leadership".

"I am not that important," Mrs Teo replied with laughter. "I don't think the residents feel that this is a referendum on me."

She added: "We never stop doing better, and we never stop learning and never stop focusing on how we can be better prepared for the next time around. That is, I think, the attitude we bring to the table."

The PV team, led by Mr Lim, is contesting in Jalan Besar GRC.

Mrs Teo leads a team that includes Mr Heng Chee How, 58, Ms Denise Phua, 59, and PAP new face Wan Rizal Wan Zakariah, 42. They have been reiterating their focus on education, jobs and skills upgrading.

Mrs Teo said: "Between Chee How and myself, having been in NTUC (National Trades Union Congress) together. Between Denise and I, been in the Government Parliamentary Committee for Education together, and now having Rizal join us, himself an educator. So, we want to do everything that we can to support our residents in terms of both education, as well as skills upgrading."

The PAP team will be looking into designing new approaches to help residents who may have been displaced from their jobs. The team has been campaigning in various estates in the constituency since Nomination Day.

Mrs Teo said residents have remarked that they know the team very well. "The relationship and trust that have been formed is built up over the years. We intend to build on this relationship and deepen it further," she said.

Mrs Teo is standing in Jalan Besar GRC for the first time, following a move from Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC.

Getting to know the residents of Jalan Besar is a top priority for her.

"In time to come, I will also be able to build up a relationship of trust and mutual support that I was able to do in Bishan-Toa Payoh," she said.

In recent times, the estate has undergone upgrading to install elderly-friendly facilities such as barrier-free access. "But there is a lot more that we can do, and we hope to do so," she added.

Mr Wan Rizal, the new member on the team, said "rejuvenation is important at every level".

"We keep on making this town thriving and exciting, and that is the key of our master plan," he said. He added that he wants to provide opportunities for children to live close to their parents.

Mrs Teo also talked about the importance of having debates in Parliament.

She said: "At the end of the day, even after having expressed our views, the important thing is to move into action mode. Speaking up is not bad, but once we speak up about a topic, we must be able to fulfil and do it.

"So, we are People's Action Party, not People's Speaking Party."