The People's Action Party (PAP) team in Ang Mo Kio GRC will go all out if the group representation constituency is contested at the general election, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said.
Mr Lee, who is leading a six-member team in the GRC, told The Straits Times during a market visit yesterday: "We take all competition seriously. If there is a contest, we will give it our all."
In the last general election in 2011, the PAP team he led in Ang Mo Kio GRC garnered 69.3 per cent of valid votes against a Reform Party (RP) team, the highest margin the PAP got in a GRC.
Asked whether he expects to achieve a similar result this time, Mr Lee said: "We try our best."
The PAP team is likely to be challenged by an RP team led by activist lawyer M. Ravi and that includes blogger Roy Ngerng, who Mr Lee has successfully sued for defamation for suggesting he had misappropriated CPF savings.
Entrepreneur Osman Sulaiman, activist Gilbert Goh and party volunteers Siva Chandran and Jesse Loo make up the rest of the RP team, which was unveiled last Friday.
Yesterday, PM Lee was accompanied by his fellow candidates in the GRC - new faces Darryl David and Koh Poh Koon, as well as incumbent MPs Ang Hin Kee and Intan Azura Mokhtar, and Mr Gan Thiam Poh, who moved over from Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC.
PM Lee spent the morning meeting residents at three different markets, including Punggol South market which, with part of Mr Gan's ward, has been drawn into Ang Mo Kio GRC in the latest review of electoral boundaries.
Mr Lee said: "I just came over to say hello to the residents and get to know them. I'm very glad to see them in good spirits, their businesses doing well, and met some old friends too."
At each location, Mr Lee was stopped by young and old who wanted photos with him.
He obliged all requests and, in many cases, held up their phones for group selfies.
At the last stop in Ang Mo Kio Central, he launched the town council's new masterplan, "Ang Mo Kio-Sengkang West 2.0", and told residents they can expect new facilities and improvements in the coming years.
These include an upgraded polyclinic, more indoor gyms at void decks and a 470-bed nursing home to cater to older residents.
Accessibility will also be enhanced with plans for a new expressway and MRT stations, he said. The North-South Expressway, which will run parallel to the Central Expressway, is expected to open after 2020.
Two new MRT stations along the Thomson-East Coast Line, which will open in phases from 2019, will also run through Ang Mo Kio GRC.
Mr Lee asked residents for their continued support for his team, and said: "We look forward to your support for us so that we can work together and continue to make our town, our neighbourhood, our city, our country, better year by year for all of us. "
