Reactions ‘quite positive' so far, as Patrick Tay seeks to defend Pioneer SMC seat

Straits Times

24-04-2025

PAP labour unionist Patrick Tay (left) speaking to a resident as he went about distributing his manifesto on April 24. ST PHOTO: KIMBERLY KWEK
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SINGAPORE – It will be a straight fight between two candidates in Pioneer SMC in GE2025, but incumbent MP Patrick Tay says the shift from a three-cornered contest in the previous election will not change his campaign approach.
The PAP labour unionist is facing off against PSP newcomer Stephanie Tan, a 37-year-old full-time homemaker and former lawyer.
In GE2020, Mr Tay won 62 per cent of the vote in a three-way race against PSP's Lim Cher Hong and independent candidate Cheang Peng Wah, who received 35.22 per cent and 2.78 per cent of the vote respectively.
The 53-year-old said in an interview on April 24 : ' W e have a strategy, we have a game plan, we just execute it, and we hope to have a clean, very good campaign so that the residents can make a judgment for themselves and go to the polls on May 3.'
Pioneer SMC, which has 25,195 electors, is one of nine constituencies that remained unchanged in the latest review of Singapore's electoral map.
This is the first time Mr Tay is defending his seat. He entered Parliament in 2011 as an MP for Nee Soon GRC, and was fielded in the West Coast GRC for the 2015 General Election. He was then deployed to Pioneer in GE2020, with then-incumbent Cedric Foo retiring.
Asked how confident he is in being re-elected, Mr Tay said he 'wouldn't say, you know, super confident', but pointed out that people he has met in this campaign so far have been 'quite positive'.
'I think I've managed to power up quite a lot of things here,' Mr Tay said, noting that he had completed two rounds of house visits to the 131 blocks in his ward in the past five years, as well as interactions with residents through activities there.
He pointed to ground-up community events, like barbecues, and support schemes such as pro bono legal clinics and centres for young children with development needs, initiated during his tenure. But he said his greatest takeaway in his term there was to mobilise more volunteers across the age groups in his ward, which he said consists of 80 to 85 per cent white-collared workers, living in four- or five-room HDB flats.
If re-elected, he intends to focus on three broad pillars - the youth, families and the elderly - in the next term, with three active ageing centres already expected in the ward by the first half of 2026, with the first officially opening next week.
Broader national concerns that surround employment and the rising cost of living also remain priorities for Mr Tay, who is the National Trades Union Congress' (NTUC) assistant secretary-general.
He had introduced initiatives, such as a one-stop centre that provides legal and employment support, in his ward, and plans to build on these initiatives if re-elected.
Mr Tay said he would share more plans on social media, and maybe a rally, during this campaign period.
Meanwhile, his electoral opponent Ms Tan told ST on April 21 that she hopes to address what she sees as the two main challenges caregivers face: financial and mental health struggles. She also intends to focus on issues surrounding children's education, if elected.
Noting that her party had proposed an allowance for caregivers of young children in Parliament, she added: 'We hope that other than it being a real recognition of the unpaid contributions they make to Singapore, it also helps with their financial difficulties.'
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