GE2025: SM Teo leads Pulau Ubin walkabout with MPs and newcomer Valerie Lee
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A PAP team led by Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean visited Pulau Ubin on April 11 to reach out to residents on the island, which will be part of the new Pasir Ris-Changi GRC.
Party newcomer Valerie Lee Nai Yi, who has been spotted
She joined Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC MPs – Senior Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Desmond Tan, Senior Minister of State for Digital Development and Information and Health Janil Puthucheary and Mr Sharael Taha – as well as party volunteers on the walkabout.
In the upcoming general election, Pulau Ubin will fall within the boundaries of Pasir Ris-Changi GRC,
Currently, the island – the second-largest off mainland Singapore – is under the care of Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Maliki Osman, who oversees Siglap as part of the current East Coast GRC. He was not seen with the PAP team on April 11.
Asked about her presence on the team, Ms Lee told reporters: “It signals that I really want to work with everyone, from the volunteers all the way to the current MPs, in order to continue really serving and giving 100 per cent support to the residents that we will be serving in the future.”
On whether residents can expect SM Teo to continue contesting, Mr Tan told journalists: “I think this question will be answered in time to come.”
Under the new electoral boundaries,
The team kicked off the walkabout after arriving on the island by bumboat from Changi Point Ferry Terminal at around 4.50pm.
They reached out to the residents living in village houses on the island, who spoke about power issues such as the lack of solar panels to supply electricity to their homes.
Most of the residents whom the team met were seniors whose families are living in mainland Singapore.
Ms Lee said some issues faced by the residents include wildlife challenges and the need for more support for the elderly.
“I’m here to take care of my mother, but I myself can’t walk,” one Ubin resident, 58-year-old Madam Wong Seow Kian, told The Straits Times.
Madam Wong, who moves around with the aid of a personal mobility device, takes care of her 81-year-old mother.
They are both caretakers of the Wei Tuo Fa Gong Temple, located on a hill on the island.
(From left) PAP new face Valerie Lee and Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean with Madam Wong Seow Kian and her mother at the Wei Tuo Fa Gong Temple.
ST PHOTO: BRIAN TEO
Semi-retired van driver Ong Kim Cheng, 67, said: “Most of the people here in Ubin are old, and we take care of our elders who are still living here.”
Asked about the additional work required to understand the needs of the Ubin population, Mr Tan, who heads the Pasir Ris Central ward, said: “Every resident, whether they are in Pasir Ris, Changi or Ubin island, is important to us, and we want to reach out to them to be able to serve them more effectively.”
The new four-member Pasir Ris-Changi GRC will see 100,639 voters at the 2025 General Election, with the East Coast portion – covering areas in Changi, Loyang as well as Pulau Ubin and Pulau Tekong – contributing 12,871 voters.
At the last election, residents told ST that they had to cast their ballots at polling stations in Pasir Ris, Bedok and Tampines.
Ms Lee said there are approximately 30 voters currently on the island, and arrangements for them to cast their votes under the new GRC will be announced.
Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC saw a three-way contest in the last election between the PAP, the Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA) and Peoples Voice (PV). The PAP prevailed with 64.16 per cent of the votes, while PV lost its deposit.
It is still unclear if other parties will contest Pasir Ris-Changi GRC aside from the SDA, a coalition made up of the Singapore Justice Party and the Singapore Malay National Organisation.
SDA – which has been contesting in the area since 2006 – announced its intention to contest there on March 23.
On the upcoming contest in Pasir Ris-Changi GRC, PAP’s Mr Tan said the focus of his team is “always about serving the residents”.
“We have been here at Pasir Ris for many years and, with the inclusion of Changi, we want to be able to continue to serve the residents here in Changi and Pasir Ris.”
