GE2025: PAP wins Pasir Ris-Changi GRC
The team from the Singapore Democratic Alliance comprising Mr Desmond Lim (second from left), Mr Abu Mohamed (third from left), Harminder Pal Singh (first from left), and newcomer Chia Yun Kai. FILE PHOTO: SHIN MIN DAILY NEWS
The PAP has won Pasir Ris-Changi GRC, led by Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Indranee Rajah. Her teammates are Mr Desmond Tan, Senior Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office (third from left), one-term MP Sharael Taha (first from left), and new face Valerie Lee. ST FILE PHOTO
SINGAPORE – The PAP has won Pasir Ris-Changi GRC – led by Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Indranee Rajah – with 67.66 per cent of the vote against the Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA), a coalition of two parties and a newcomer.
Ms Indranee's teammates are Mr Desmond Tan, 54, Senior Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office, one-term MP Sharael Taha, 43, and new face Valerie Lee, 39.
They faced a straight fight against a team from SDA comprising the opposition coalition's chairman Desmond Lim, 58, secretary-general Abu Mohamed, 74, communications lead Harminder Pal Singh, 53, and newcomer Chia Yun Kai, 32.
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. Pulau Ubin was subsumed under the new boundaries of Pasir Ris-Changi GRC.
During the nine days of campaigning, Ms Indranee, who is also Second Minister for Finance and National Development, had said that while the PAP has plans to address concerns such as cost of living and jobs at a national level, her team at Pasir Ris-Changi GRC would also explore issues and plans at the local level, including improving infrastructure.
Ms Indranee had moved from Tanjong Pagar GRC where she had served for 24 years to anchor the PAP team in Pasir Ris-Changi GRC.
This was after Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean, 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.
The SDA is a coalition currently comprising the Singapore Justice Party, of which Mr Lim is the secretary-general; the Singapore Malay National Organisation (PKMS), of which Mr Abu Mohamed is the president; and Mr Chia, who had initially announced that he had founded his own party Most Valuable Party – to contest East Coast GRC. Mr Chia joined SDA on Nomination Day on April 23.
The SDA had aimed to address cost of living, issues of housing and healthcare, as well as providing better job opportunities for Singaporeans amid competition from foreign talent.
The alliance has not prevailed since it began contesting Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC in 2006.
Pasir Ris-Changi voters whom The Straits Times spoke to earlier on polling day said the voting process was smooth and hassle-free.
The day began with heavy downpours in the earlier part of the morning of May 3 before clearing up to clear skies for the rest of the day.
Voters said issues such as cost of living were on the top of their mind when it came to casting their votes.
'What's more important for me is to choose the right team to bring the country forward,' said housewife Noor Huda Abdullah, 49.
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