Singapore GE2020: Lawrence Wong to lead PAP team in Marsiling-Yew Tee

National Development Minister Lawrence Wong will again lead the People's Action Party (PAP) team in Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC in the coming election.

The team will include Minister of State for National Development and Manpower Zaqy Mohamad and Mr Alex Yam.

Rounding up the slate is PAP new face and lawyer Hany Soh, 33.

Mr Ong Teng Koon, who was elected to Parliament as a PAP MP for Sembawang GRC in 2011, is not standing for election.

Mr Wong, 47, announced the make-up of his team at a walkabout in Marsiling yesterday. He said: "We have put in place plans for the estate, for the town and for the entire GRC, which we will be introducing in the coming days. So, we seek the support of all residents so that we can continue to work together to secure our lives, our jobs and our future."

Mr Zaqy recently launched a five-year plan for the Marsiling ward, which will include a new Marsiling Community Club and the upgrading of Fuchun neighbourhood centre.

The PAP in 2015 won 68.7 per cent of the vote against a Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) team.

Mr Zaqy, 45, is a familiar face in Marsiling. He began helping out in the ward in 2017, when Madam Halimah Yacob resigned to contest the presidential election. Madam Halimah - Singapore's first woman Speaker of Parliament - won the election to become Singapore's first woman president.

Mr Yam, 39, is the executive director of the PAP headquarters, and will be looking to serve a third term in Parliament. He is also an adviser to the United Workers of Petroleum Industries of the National Trades Union Congress.

Ms Soh was among the new PAP faces introduced last week.

A director at MSC Law Corporation, she said she came from the Normal (Academic) stream in Bendemeer Secondary School. She obtained a diploma in law and management from Temasek Polytechnic and worked as a paralegal before saving enough money to pursue a law degree overseas.

If elected, she is likely to be Mr Ong's replacement in the Woodgrove ward.

Mr Ong, 43, is the son of former PAP stalwart and Nee Soon MP Ong Ah Heng. When asked if the decision to step down was made by him or the party, he said: "For my particular case, I think we are all party members and we will do whatever that's right for the party and for the residents."

The PAP team was on a walkabout yesterday near Marsiling MRT station, close to where the opposition Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) was also working the ground.

The SDP has indicated that it will again contest Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC. Three likely candidates for the four-member group representation constituency are Mr Bryan Lim, 43, an assistant director at a local hospital, Mr Damanhuri Abas, 49, an education consultant, and Dr James Gomez, 55, a political scientist. They have stepped up outreach efforts in recent days.

Mr Wong, when asked about the prospect of facing off against SDP, said: "We still don't know who their final slate of candidates are, but we expect them to mount a very strong contest, and we look forward to the competition. We will do our best to present our case to the residents."