PAP new faces Cassandra Lee, David Hoe join Jurong-Clementi Town Council as volunteers

SINGAPORE – A director of a philanthropic organisation and a long-time grassroots volunteer, both tipped as potential new faces in the coming election, have joined the Jurong-Clementi Town Council (JRTC) in a sign that they are likely to be fielded in the new Jurong East-Bukit Batok GRC.

Mr David Hoe, director of philanthropy at Majurity Trust, and Ms Cassandra Lee, who has been volunteering with the PAP in Jurong since 2015, were with PAP MPs at the

launch of the town council’s five-year masterplan.

Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu said at the event: “This team that you see today will run Jurong East-Bukit Batok GRC and Jurong Central SMC if we are given the mandate by you.”

Ms Fu is tipped to lead the PAP team in Jurong East-Bukit Batok GRC, having been in Yuhua since 2006 when it was part of then Jurong GRC and later carved out as an SMC. 

Asked about the prospect of helming a GRC in the coming election after running in an SMC in the past three elections, Ms Fu said: “Obviously, I think it is a much bigger area. We have a lot more residents to serve. But I have with me very able MPs as well, so I look forward to working as a team to look after the residents in Jurong East-Bukit Batok division.”

She added that she was confident her team would be able to run the town well, given their track record in the area. The town council is directly managed by MPs and town council staff, and not by a managing agent company.

Unveiling plans for the constituency for the next five years, Ms Fu said on April 5 that Mr Hoe and Ms Lee have joined JRTC as volunteers and will help in managing the new area. 

Mr Hoe, in his 30s, is a former teacher who spent some years in the private sector before taking on his current role in Majurity Trust, a registered charity which provides advice and grants to other charities, and creates solutions to tackle social issues.

He was

first spotted on the ground in June 2024

during walkabouts in Jalan Besar GRC with one of its MPs, Ms Denise Phua. In February 2025, he was photographed alongside Minister for Social and Family Development Masagos Zulkifli at the opening of the Tampines GreenVerge Residents’ Network centre.

Ms Fu said he has had a lot of experience as a youth leader.

Meanwhile, Ms Lee, also in her 30s, started volunteering in Yuhua 16 years ago and recently led a barrier-free accessibility project for the division to improve accessibility for people with disabilities.

According to her LinkedIn profile, she is a legal counsel at professional services company EY.

Mr Hoe and Ms Lee did not speak to the media at the event.

Speaking to residents at the launch of the JRTC masterplan, which covers areas under the current Bukit Batok SMC, Yuhua SMC and Jurong GRC, Ms Fu said of the new faces: “They will bring new energy, and experience in community bonding and building, to the current team. We welcome them.”

With the

latest electoral boundary changes announced on March 11,

Jurong GRC in its current form, long regarded as a stronghold for the PAP, will disappear from the electoral map.

Its 132,272 voters will be redistributed across multiple constituencies, with the majority – 62,424, or 47 per cent – forming the core of the newly created Jurong East-Bukit Batok GRC.

This five-member group representation constituency, which will also absorb all of Bukit Batok SMC and parts of Yuhua SMC and Hong Kah North SMC, will have a total of 142,510 voters.

Also at the April 5 JRTC event were three MPs from Jurong GRC, including Minister of State for Health and Digital Development and Information Rahayu Mahzam; Dr Tan Wu Meng; and Mr Xie Yao Quan, who chairs the town council. 

They were joined by Minister of State for Law and Transport Murali Pillai, the MP for Bukit Batok SMC.

The new Jurong East-Bukit Batok GRC will encompass parts of the current Jurong GRC, including the Bukit Batok East and Clementi wards, represented by Ms Rahayu and Dr Tan, respectively.

It will also absorb all of Bukit Batok SMC, overseen by Mr Pillai, and portions of Hong Kah North SMC, currently held by Senior Minister of State for Transport and Sustainability and the Environment Amy Khor.

Dr Khor, a five-term MP who entered politics in the 2001 General Election under the former Hong Kah GRC, is widely expected to step down from electoral politics, in line with the PAP’s practice of renewing its ranks each election by introducing new candidates and phasing out longer-serving MPs.

The remaining voters from the current Jurong GRC will be divided among three other constituencies: the new West Coast-Jurong West GRC, Jurong Central SMC, and the existing Holland-Bukit Timah GRC.

Speaking to the media on the sidelines of the event, Ms Fu said the town council team has been working hard over the years to bring improvements and upgrades to the estates.

She added that the team was in the process of learning more about Hong Kah North – an area not currently under the town council.

“We’ll do our very best, and we are confident that we can hit the ground and cover the ground quickly,” she said.

“Hong Kah North’s plans will be our plans if we get the mandate to manage the town.”

Jurong GRC has long been one of the PAP’s strongest performing constituencies, with the PAP team there winning 79.29 per cent of the vote in the 2015 General Election and 74.61 per cent in 2020. Former Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam was anchor minister in the GRC for more than 20 years, before he resigned from the Government and the PAP to successfully run for president in 2023.