GE2025: Plans for a ‘revitalised' Pasir Ris-Changi GRC can only be put into action with residents' support, says PAP's Indranee
SINGAPORE: Ms Indranee Rajah, Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, promised voters in Pasir Ris-Changi GRC that she will revitalise the town and improve transport connections, adding that this can only happen with support from voters.
At a rally by the People's Action Party (PAP) on Monday (Apr 28) held at Tampines Meridian Junior College, she also said that her team would continue plans started under Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean, who was the incumbent MP for the GRC for 28 years.
"To put these into action, we need your support. We need your vote. And at the broader national level, we need a good leadership team."
Among the PAP's five-year plans for the constituency are ways to address 'last mile gaps' such as linkways and barrier-free access, she said.
Also in the works are better connectivity options – the constituency will be getting four new MRT stations and will be linked to Changi Airport, Punggol and Jurong by rail.
In addition, the Loyang viaduct, which is under construction, will connect Loyang and Changi to Tampines.
Although PAP has plans to address concerns such as cost of living and jobs at a national level, her team would also explore plans at a local level, Ms Indranee said.
Other speakers at the rally included her PAP teammates contesting the GRC. Ms Indranee leads the team comprising Mr Desmond Tan, Senior Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office, one-term MP Sharael Taha and new face Valerie Lee.
Pasir Ris-Changi GRC, which has 100,639 voters, was formed by merging some districts under the former Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC with adjacent areas in East Coast GRC, after electoral boundaries were redrawn.
PAP faces a straight fight against a team from the Singapore Democratic Alliance comprising the opposition party's chairman Desmond Lim, secretary-general Abu Mohamed, Mr Harminder Pal Singh and newcomer Chia Yun Kai.
At an earlier speech on Monday at PAP's lunchtime rally in Raffles Place, Ms Indanee spoke out against the idea that voting for opposition parties is necessary to bring alternative voices into parliament.
She said that such voices are already 'guaranteed', referring to the Non-Constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) scheme, where the 'best losers' from among the opposition candidates are declared elected as NCMPs if fewer than 12 opposition members are voted into parliament.
TAKING OVER FROM TEO CHEE HEAN
Ms Indranee had moved from Tanjong Pagar GRC to anchor the PAP team in Pasir Ris-Changi GRC after Mr Teo, the former anchor minister in Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC, announced his retirement from politics after 33 years.
Mr Teo had been an MP in Pasir-Ris Punggol GRC since 1997.
He spoke at the rally on Monday evening alongside Dr Maliki Osman, Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, whose former ward in East Coast GRC has been folded into Pasir Ris-Changi GRC under the redrawn electoral boundaries.
Both Mr Teo and Dr Maliki, who spoke at the rally as well, are not standing for the upcoming polls, which will take place on Saturday.
On replacing Mr Teo as anchor minister, Ms Indranee said: 'Some have asked me, 'Can you fill his shoes? Have you seen how tall and how big SM Teo is? The answer is, 'No, no, I can't'.'
However, she vouched to serve residents with the same dedication and passion as he did. She said that she had a personal history with Mr Teo, because he was the one who started her journey into politics.
He was a 'very generous, very calm' host for her first tea session with the ruling party despite her being late for the appointment, she recalled.
'And I really didn't think on that fateful day when I had tea with him, that one day I would be taking over as the lead anchor for his constituency.'
Since beginning her campaign in Pasir Ris-Changi GRC, Ms Indranee said that she had found residents to be warm and friendly.
'The most often-heard phrase I have encountered in the last few days campaigning here, almost every single resident here has said to me, without fail, 'Welcome to Pasir Ris'.'
WHAT OTHER PASIR RIS-CHANGI GRC CANDIDATES SAY
The other Pasir Ris-Changi GRC candidates at the rally spoke about their wishes and ideas that they hope to carry out if elected in the May 3 polls.
Mr Tan, also deputy secretary-general of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), said that more could be done to ensure job security.
He highlighted community initiatives that had helped constituents upskill and place them in new jobs, but said that he was 'not going to stop here'.
He promised voters that he would push to strengthen the national SkillsFuture programme, to improve support systems and create better pathways to 'good jobs'.
'A good and stable job is not just important for the paycheck … It's about dignity, it's about security and it is probably the best defence for the rising cost of living and inflation and crisis,' he said.
'I will fight every day in parliament, in NTUC and in the Pasir Ris-Changi community, to make sure that we strengthen job security for all our people.'
As for newcomer Valerie Lee, she said that she wanted to advocate for the sandwiched class.
'Caught in the middle caring for both ageing parents and young children, you hold everything together, often invisibly … trying to be the best child, the best employee and the best parent, all at the same time. But the truth is, this is not an easy sandwich to bite into.'
Although Singapore has support systems such as the baby bonus, tax relief for working mothers and housing grants, Ms Lee believes that there is room to do more.
'We can do better and we must go further, because the situation is evolving. We need more flexibility at work and not just policies but culture, where it's okay to say, 'I need to take my child to the doctor and not feel guilty about it'," she added.
'I truly believe when we support the sandwiched generation, we're not just helping the middle, we are uplifting the entire family. We'll help children to thrive, we'll help seniors age with dignity and we'll help working adults breathe easier, live better and give more.'
'WE FIGHT FOR THE PEOPLE'
Mr Sharael Taha, who was elected to represent the Pasir Ris East division in 2020, also sought voters' support to continue 'the progress that we've had'.
He gave examples of community initiatives that had benefited residents in his ward, particularly those who are caregivers or from lower-income families.
'These are the real stories behind the policies that we fight for, because we fight for the people, not for the headlines. On cost-of-living pressures, while we have our national measures, here in Pasir Ris, we made a difference,' he added.
Highlighting that he had pushed for some causes in parliament, including better protections for gig workers, flexible work arrangements and supporting humanitarian efforts in Gaza, he said that it had been an 'incredible honour' to have been an MP for Pasir-Ris GRC in the past five years.
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