GE2025: SM Teo Chee Hean will not stand in Pasir Ris-Changi GRC, ‘remains available to contribute'
GE2025: SM Teo Chee Hean will not stand in Pasir Ris-Changi GRC, 'remains available to contribute'
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SINGAPORE - Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean will not be standing for re-election in Pasir Ris-Changi GRC.
Announcing this on April 21, he said: 'I will continue to support PM Lawrence Wong and his 4G team, and remain available to contribute to his team wherever and in whatever way PM Lawrence Wong thinks I can best serve.'
The PAP team in Pasir Ris-Changi will be led by Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Indranee Rajah, SM Teo said at a press conference. He also introduced the other members of the new team – Senior Minister of State Desmond Tan, first-term MP Sharael Taha and newcomer Valerie Lee.
SM Teo said that as he hands over the reins, 'I do so with full confidence that we have a strong team here to continue to serve you for many years'.
Asked if he would be moving to Punggol GRC, SM Teo replied: 'I ask you for a little bit of patience, wait two days and everything will be clear.'
He was referring to Nomination Day, which is on April 23.
A former Navy chief holding the rank of rear-admiral, SM Teo made his political debut in December 1992, when he was part of a team that contested and won a by-election in Marine Parade GRC.
He quickly established himself as a PAP stalwart, earning re-election six times as a Member of Parliament for Pasir Ris GRC and subsequently Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC.
SM Teo has been anchor minister for Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC since 2001.
The PAP team there has garnered vote shares between 64 per cent and 73 per cent over the years. In 2020, it won the five-member constituency with 64.15 per cent of the votes.
The five-member GRC has been split into two new four-member GRCs – Punggol and Pasir Ris-Changi – for the 2025 General Election.
Thanking residents and volunteers, SM Teo said: 'It has been my privilege and an honour to have served the residents of Pasir Ris and to have gotten to know so many of you, your children and also your grandchildren.'
He also thanked Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Maliki Osman, who announced his retirement from politics earlier on April 21. Part of Dr Maliki's ward has been redrawn into the new Pasir Ris-Changi GRC.
Dr Maliki, a five-term MP, had earlier introduced Ms Hazlina Abdul Halim as his successor in East Coast GRC.
SM Teo has helmed various ministries throughout his career, including Home Affairs, Defence and Education.
He served as deputy prime minister from 2009 to 2019, and was appointed senior minister in 2019. He has been Coordinating Minister for National Security since 2011.
Asked about the impact that veteran politicians stepping down would have on Singapore's future leadership, given that PM Wong had stressed the need for continuity and stability in an unstable geopolitical world, SM Teo said self-renewal is key.
'Because you can see in several countries, they have not self-renewed on a regular basis and a systematic basis, that the leadership becomes weak and you have a gap,' he added.
SM Teo said PM Wong already has a team of experienced as well as newer ministers in his Cabinet, but he wants to make sure that he strengthens the team and them not just for the next five years, but for the next 10 to 15 years.
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