PAP reveals Sembawang GRC line-up, includes former Aljunied GRC candidate Ong Ye Kung

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National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan introduced two new members for Sembawang GRC including corporate lawyer Amrin Amin and familiar face Mr Ong Ye Kung who contested Aljunied in GE2011.
PAP's Sembawang GRC team: (From left) Mr Vikram Nair, Dr Lim Wee Kiak, Mr Ong Ye Kung, National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan, and newcomer Amrin Amin. PHOTO: PAP
(From left) Dr Lim Wee Kiak, Mr Vikram Nair, National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan, Mr Ong Ye Kung, Mr Amrin Amin and Ms Ellen Lee.
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Newcomer Mr Amrin Amin (second from right) being introduced to the members of the media during the press conference.
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Mr Amrin Amin. ST PHOTO: NEO XIAOBIN
Mr Ong Ye Kung. ST PHOTO: NEO XIAOBIN
(From left) Mr Vikram Nair, Dr Lim Wee Kiak, National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan, Mr Amrin Amin, and Mr Ong Ye Kung.
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From left: Mr Ong Ye Kung, Mr Vikram Nair, Ms Ellen Lee, National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan, Mr Amrin Amin and Dr Lim Wee Kiak. ST PHOTO: NEO XIAOBIN
Ellen Lee (extreme left) retires from politics as newcomer Mr Amrin Amin (right) and former candidate in Aljunied GRC Mr Ong Ye Kung (centre) join the five-member constituency for Sembawang GRC. ST PHOTO: NEO XIAOBIN

Mr Ong Ye Kung, 45, director of group strategy at Keppel Corporation, will make his second attempt at getting into Parliament at the coming election.

The former candidate in Aljunied GRC was officially introduced as part of the new-look PAP Sembawang GRC team on Friday morning, along with newcomer Amrin Amin, 36, a corporate lawyer.

The five-member constituency, led by National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan, also includes Dr Lim Wee Kiak and Mr Vikram Nair.

That amounts to three changes to the team that contested in 2011 due to retirements and boundary changes.

Senior Parliamentary Secretary Hawazi Daipi and Ms Ellen Lee are both retiring from politics. Mr Hawazi and first-term MP Ong Teng Koon also had their wards moved to the new Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC in the latest electoral boundary changes. At the same time, Dr Lim's Canberra ward - which used to be in Nee Soon GRC - has now been absorbed into Sembawang GRC.

Though Mr Hawazi's departure from politics had been announced earlier, Ms Lee's retirement was confirmed only on Friday.

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Sembawang GRC candidate Ong Ye Kung was part of the five-man PAP team that contested Aljunied GRC in the 2011 General Election, but lost to the Workers' Party. This time around, Mr Ong is coming back stronger and more confident.

Mr Khaw paid tribute to Ms Lee, saying she had always put her "heart and soul" into everything she was doing" and brought a lot of empathy to her work in the constituency.

"We thank her from the bottom of our hearts," he said as her colleagues gave her a hearty round of applause.

He said the newcomers to his team, Mr Ong and Mr Amrin, have their hearts in the right place.

"That's what we look for in all candidates. Capabilities are easy to judge because we are recruiting them when they are working. But what's not easy to assess is values. We look for people who are honest, have integrity and selflessness," he said at the event in the SWAMI Home, a home for needy elderly.

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Mr Ong was in the high-profile PAP Aljunied GRC team that was defeated by the Workers' Party in 2011. The former top civil servant had been touted as being of ministerial calibre by various Cabinet ministers.

He said he learnt much from 2011 and added: "Never let one loss become a defeat. Never let one setback become a failure."

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Mr Amrin is corporate lawyer at Joseph Tan Jude Benny LLP. He was active in grassroots work since 2004 and was Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam's legislative assistant from 2004 to 2006.

Having come from humble beginnings - he grew up in a 3-room flat - he said on Friday that he had an "ordinary life blessed with extraordinary people in an exceptional country."

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