Labour chief Ng Chee Meng will lead the People's Action Party team contesting in the new Sengkang GRC in the July 10 election.
Mr Ng, who was an MP for Pasir-Ris Punggol GRC, went on a walkabout in Compassvale yesterday with the other members of his team - Senior Minister of State for Transport and Health Lam Pin Min, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Home Affairs and Health Amrin Amin, and lawyer Raymond Lye, a new face.
They wore T-shirts with the words "Sengkang GRC" on them and spoke about what they could bring to the constituency if elected.
Analysts expect a close fight between the PAP and the Workers' Party in Sengkang GRC, a new constituency formed by taking the Sengkang Central ward from Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC and combining it with the single seat of Punggol East and part of Sengkang West SMC.
Mr Ng, 51, noted that Sengkang has a younger demographic and said his team is paying attention to young families.
"The key thing is to help them keep their jobs and when displaced, help them (get) new jobs. Beyond this, we also want to address municipal issues," he said, adding that residents can also look forward to new community clubs and an aquatic playground.
Mr Lye, 54, who is tipped to replace PAP veteran Charles Chong, noted that Rivervale was the first part of Sengkang town to be built and its residents are probably slightly older.
The Punggol East Citizens Consultative Committee chairman would therefore like to bring in more barrier-free access routes, covered linkways and senior activity centres.
Mr Amrin, 41, who is moving over from Sembawang GRC, said the coronavirus pandemic is the crisis of a generation.
"We are going to put firm focus on ensuring that jobs are taken care of, that people feel secure, and so the Sengkang careers centre which will be launched will provide job-matching assistance... and this is in addition to the existing local initiatives."
Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat also took part in the walkabout. Asked to confirm that the four men would be fielded in Sengkang, he said: "You will know all the details by (the) nomination date, so please be patient."
Mr Ng and his team will vie with the WP for the support of 120,166 voters in the GRC, which contains old WP stomping grounds Punggol East and Sengkang West.
The PAP won Punggol East by a slim margin in 2015 when party stalwart Charles Chong took the single-member constituency from the WP's Ms Lee Li Lian, with 51.76 per cent of the vote. She had won the SMC in a 2013 by-election.
This year, the WP team for Sengkang could include the party's new candidates such as economist Jamus Lim, social activist Raeesah Khan, and equity research analyst Louis Chua Kheng Wee, who have been walking the ground there.
On facing the WP, Mr Ng said: "We welcome competition for the good of our GRC and for Singapore. My focus, my team's focus, will (be) on our residents - to bring the very best, regardless of the different issues of politics."
