Marine Parade MPs told about Tan See Leng leaving ‘later rather than sooner': Seah Kian Peng
Speaker of Parliament Seah Kian Peng (centre) and Mr Goh Pei Ming (left) speaking to residents in Marine Terrace on April 24. ST PHOTO: NG KENG GENE
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SINGAPORE – Manpower Minister Tan See Leng's surprise move to Chua Chu Kang GRC was something that the PAP's Marine Parade-Braddell Heights team was told about 'later rather than sooner' on Nomination Day, said Speaker of Parliament Seah Kian Peng.
Mr Seah , 63, who now leads the five-member team, told reporters on April 24 that they were not told about the move 'first thing in the morning, but it was quite closer towards... if I were to put a time to it, it will be later rather than sooner'.
He declined to state a specific time that the team learnt of Dr Tan's redeployment, to maintain the integrity of party strategy.
Mr Seah, Dr Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim, Ms Tin Pei Ling, Ms Diana Pang and Mr Goh Pei Ming were confirmed MPs on April 23 , after a walkover in the constituency.
The WP, which fielded teams in Marine Parade at the 2015 and 2020 polls, had been expected to mount a fresh challenge in 2025, but it finally decided not to, citing 'limited resources'.
Mr Goh was a late addition to the team on a drama-filled Nomination Day morning.
On April 23, Dr Tan had showed up at PAP's Mountbatten branch office – the gathering point for the party's Marine Parade-Braddell Heights candidates – only to arrive about two hours later at the nomination centre for Chua Chu Kang GRC and contest that constituency.
Just days before, on April 20, Dr Tan had introduced PAP's Marine Parade-Braddell Heights team as its anchor minister.
Asked if Dr Tan was redeployed because the PAP knew a walkover was on the cards, Ms Tin said: 'It's anyone's guess. Likewise, I think the Workers' Party also had their plans in mind.
'During a general election, it's highly dynamic – there are always changes on the ground. So we just go with the flow.'
Mr Seah added: 'Each party will have its own ways of getting inputs and all that, and we have our ways, I'm sure whichever opposition party, they will have their ways.'
Mr Goh, 43, who was formerly the Singapore Armed Force's Chief of Staff – Joint Staff, has taken over the Marine Parade ward that Dr Tan oversaw in his first term in Parliament.
(From left) Ms Tin Pei Ling, Ms Diana Pang, Dr Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim, Speaker of Parliament Seah Kian Peng and Mr Goh Pei Ming at a doorstop at Marine Terrace on April 24.
ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN
Noting that he had walked the ground in other areas before Nomination Day, Mr Goh said: 'I was preparing myself for a very good fight, either in Punggol or East Coast.'
'Given my background in the armed forces, I'm a fighter, and I was looking forward to a good contest,' he said, adding that he respects the party's decision for the redeployment.
'The decision for me to be deployed here was made closer to the deadline,' said Mr Goh, who added that it was a 'pretty late decision'.
In a livestream on April 23 night where the constituency's MPs shared their manifesto, Mr Goh said he had looked through the publication 'earlier today and yesterday as well', suggesting that he had been preparing to be fielded in Marine Parade-Braddell Heights the day before Nomination Day.
Mr Goh said he is not unfamiliar with the area , as he was a resident in Marine Parade GRC until the latest electoral boundary changes.
For instance, he said, the Block 59 Marine Terrace coffee shop where the April 24 interview was being conducted is one he has visited for many years.
Mr Goh said he has sought Dr Tan's help to understand Marine Parade residents' needs.
Asked for his response to residents who may be disappointed by the sudden departure of a Cabinet minister from the team, Mr Seah said residents need not worry that plans for the area will change because of Dr Tan's move.
The Marine Parade Town Council had on April 19 launched its five-year plan for 2025 to 2030.
Mr Seah said: 'This is a plan that was worked out by the team, and the plan – whether Dr Tan is here or not – will still proceed. That's something that we hold dear, that's our promise to our residents.
'It's out there, we will be accountable for it, and we stand to be accountable .'
Ms Tin, 41, who is entering her fourth term in Parliament and has overseen the MacPherson ward since 2011, said the team spent the rest of Nomination Day in their respective wards thanking residents after their walkover was confirmed.
She said she will respond to residents whose needs from her previous term in Parliament were left outstanding, and revisit ground that she had previously covered as 'there are new needs that may emerge depending on the situation'.
Ms Pang, 51, said she looks forward to advocating for the needs of caregivers.
She added that in the ward she will oversee – Geylang Serai – she looks forward to nurturing and mentoring volunteers, because she believes that 'we all have natural talents in every one of us'.
'I'm going to spend a bit more time getting to know them, and groom them, and I'll let you know when they have become phoenixes or dragons in their own right,' said Ms Pang, a licensed solemniser who has officiated more than 350 weddings since 2019.
Dr Faishal, 56, who entered politics in 2006 as a Marine Parade GRC MP and has served in Nee Soon GRC for the past 14 years, said he will be 'walking the ground in the neighbouring GRC to help them' in the coming days.
While Dr Faishal did not specify which GRC, he noted that some areas in Bedok North and Chai Chee that he used to oversee are now part of other constituencies, and that he will help party colleagues contesting these areas in the campaign.
As for the team, Mr Seah said they will spend the rest of April 24 in their own wards connecting with residents and supporting the party's campaign in the coming days, including possibly speaking at rallies.
'We are all part of it. This is one team, but we are all part of a bigger team,' he said.
Dr Tan's journey to the west
9.24am at PAP Mountbatten branch office: Dr Tan See Leng arrives at the office. It is the gathering point for the party's candidates for Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC and Mountbatten SMC. Arriving shortly before or after him are the other candidates that the party had announced will contest the GRC – Mr Seah Kian Peng, Dr Faishal Ibrahim, Ms Tin Pei Ling and Ms Diana Pang.
10.23am at PAP Mountbatten branch office: On Facebook, Dr Tan posts a photo taken at the branch with the PAP team, saying he's 'heading to nomination centre in a bit'.
10.54am at PAP Chua Chu Kang branch office: Three members of the PAP team for Chua Chu Kang GRC – Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim, Mr Jeffrey Siow, and Dr Choo Pei Ling – leave the party's branch office on foot for Jurong Pioneer Junior College, which is the nomination centre for the constituency they are contesting. They are joined by three members of the PAP's team for Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC, who leave without PM Lawrence Wong, their anchor minister. DPM Gan Kim Yong, who was supposed to lead the Chua Chu Kang team, was also not seen at the branch.
11.04am at Jurong Pioneer JC: The PAP's Chua Chu Kang and Marsiling-Yew Tee teams enter their nomination centre, without PM Wong or DPM Gan.
11.20am at Kong Hwa School: PAP new face Goh Pei Ming, who was expected to stand in East Coast GRC, enters the nomination centre for Marine Parade-Braddell Heights alone.
11.22am at PAP Mountbatten branch office: PAP's Marine Parade-Braddell Heights team – Mr Seah, Dr Faishal, Ms Tin and Ms Pang – leaves the Mountbatten branch office for Kong Hwa School. Dr Tan is not seen with them.
11.22am at Yusof Ishak Secondary School: DPM Gan is seen entering the nomination centre for Punggol GRC, where he is fielded.
11.23am at Jurong Pioneer JC: A car that Dr Tan is in arrives at the nomination centre for Chua Chu Kang, where he is fielded.
11.25am at Kong Hwa School: PAP's Marine Parade-Braddell Heights team – Mr Seah, Dr Faishal, Ms Tin and Ms Pang – arrive at their nomination centre.
12.48pm at Kong Hwa School: An election official confirms that Mr Seah, Dr Faishal, Ms Tin, Ms Pang and Mr Goh are officially members of Singapore's 15th Parliament, after a walkover.
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