GE2025: WP's Alexis Dang on a health scare, preparing for rallies and going up against DPM Gan
The WP's Punggol GRC candidate Alexis Dang greeting a resident during a walkabout at One Punggol Hawker Centre on April 26. ST PHOTO: GIN TAY
GE2025: WP's Alexis Dang on a health scare, preparing for rallies and going up against DPM Gan
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SINGAPORE – When the gates at Temasek Junior College opened ahead of WP's second rally on April 26, the party's supporters streamed into the compound with banners, inflatable hammers and loudhailers.
Backstage, WP candidate Alexis Dang paced back and forth, quietly mouthing her script to herself as she prepared to emcee the rally.
She took copious notes as former Hougang SMC MP Png Eng Huat briefed her on the rally line-up and gave her tips on how to engage the audience.
'The first rally went well, so we need to keep that energy up,' he told her.
After exchanging hugs, handshakes and pats on the back with fellow WP candidates, Ms Dang took several deep breaths before walking up on stage to greet the throng of supporters.
Ms Dang, 39, is part of the WP slate for Punggol GRC – one of the most hotly contested constituencies in the election.
The senior director at global advertising tech firm Teads gave her first rally speech at the party's Sengkang GRC rally on April 24.
'I went through a lot of soul-searching'
Her path to becoming a new WP candidate began in 2020, when she joined the party as a volunteer and started helping with house visits and Meet-the-People Sessions.
Campaign videos by the WP drew her attention, she said, because of the party's 'willingness to work hard for the people, even though it is not easy'.
'That resonated with me, because I think I'm definitely not somebody who likes to take the easy route, and that's the reason I'm here,' she added.
For Ms Dang, a turning point came after a routine check-up in April 2024 detected high levels of tumour markers in her body.
The results meant there was a likelihood she had cancer, and a doctor she consulted said the tumour markers likely indicated late-stage cancer.
After months of scans and tests, doctors eventually found that it was a bacteria infection that caused her tumour markers to spike. She has since been cleared of the infection.
'During that period, I went through a lot of soul-searching. When facing something like that, you don't think about the things in life you regret doing. Instead, you think about what you did not do. It really put things in perspective for me,' said Ms Dang.
She began thinking about what she wanted to do with her life that would give her more purpose and fulfilment. While her health scare turned out to be nothing serious, she said: 'If I had not gone through this, I don't think I would have been strong enough to stand in this election.'
WP candidate Alexis Dang with former Hougang SMC MP Png Eng Huat before a rally at Temasek Junior College on April 26.
ST PHOTO: GIN TAY
Ms Dang, who is single, lives with her mother and her younger sister.
Her younger sister, who is two years her junior, is her greatest source of support and '100 per cent aligned in this political endeavour', she said.
Her older sister supports the PAP.
'She didn't really understand why I wanted to align myself with the opposition initially,' Ms Dang said, adding that her sister was surprised by the amount of support the WP received after campaigning started.
'Now, she is more open-minded about hearing what people have to say, and I think that is a good start. We definitely don't have to be aligned in our political views, and we can agree to disagree in this family.'
Jitters on Nomination Day
Things have moved quickly for Ms Dang since the Writ of Election was issued.
On April 18, she was introduced as one of the WP's new faces. On Nomination Day, it emerged that the party had decided to field her in Punggol GRC alongside three other political newcomers: Mr Harpreet Singh, Mr Jackson Au and Ms Alia Mattar.
Describing it as an exhilarating experience, Ms Dang said: 'Before we left for the nomination centres, (WP chief Pritam Singh) gave us a pep talk and we were all very pumped up. We thought – okay, we got to do this well, we're here for a mission.'
(Clockwise from left) Ms Dang and her fellow Punggol GRC candidates Jackson Au, Harpreet Singh and Alia Mattar taking a wefie after a walkabout at One Punggol Hawker Centre on April 26.
ST PHOTO: GIN TAY
Going head-to-head with Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong and his PAP team is something she does not take lightly.
'This is a formidable opponent that we are up against... More than a week ago, I was just a typical, average Singaporean, just like everyone else. Now, my team and I are going up against the DPM,' she said.
If elected, Ms Dang said she will bring up issues residents have raised as pain points, including two topics close to her heart – with the first being education.
She views education as the main driver of social mobility today. 'I hope I can help to look into new policies that will enable students from all sorts of family backgrounds to put their potential to the best use, absorb well and not just rush through the syllabus,' she said.
Ms Dang added that she intends to look into helping students whose families are unable to afford tuition, by providing them with supplementary educational support.
She also wants to help those making career transitions. She said she had switched jobs, from a role in finance to one in the technology sector, and knows such transitions are not easy.
'I want to help put together a programme that will empower our citizens to improve their skills in the right way and prepare them for a new economy. That is something I want to champion,' she said.
On the campaign trail
On April 26, Ms Dang began her day early in the morning with a cup of iced milk tea with honey.
She then rushed out to meet her teammates at One Punggol for a walkabout, which The Straits Times observed.
Ms Dang said she would usually take long morning walks at MacRitchie Reservoir, but has given those a miss since the start of the hustings due to a packed campaign schedule.
As she made her rounds at One Punggol Hawker Centre with her fellow Punggol GRC candidates, queues formed as residents waited to meet them.
The four of them have grown close over the course of the campaign, Ms Dang said.
Mr Au is the 'backbone of the team', and Mr Harpreet Singh is the one that she and Ms Alia turn to for advice.
'Our WhatsApp group chat name is 'solid solid team', which is what Harpreet referred to us as on Nomination Day,' she said.
Ms Dang posing for photos with residents during a walkabout at One Punggol Hawker Centre on April 26.
ST PHOTO: GIN TAY
When Ms Dang sat down for lunch, her plate of ayam penyet was barely touched as residents continually went up to her for handshakes and photos.
Speaking to ST between bites, she said: 'The Punggol residents have been nothing but warm and welcoming to us. We definitely have to give it our best shot. We cannot disappoint the residents.'
Asked how she felt about the comments on her appearance when she was first introduced as a WP new face, Ms Dang said: 'I was definitely a little bit surprised, because I don't think of myself in that way.
'I think what we should be focusing on is the work we are trying to do here. I am appreciative of any positive feedback that people have shared so far, but I definitely hope that people can also focus on what the Workers' Party is trying to bring to the table, which is diversity of thoughts and more representation in Parliament.'
She added: 'Ultimately, we want to bring different voices from different communities to Parliament to help us formulate better policies that are reflective of what Singaporeans need and want.'
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