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CNA
27-05-2025
- Politics
- CNA
Chan Chun Sing makes first visit to SAF units as defence minister
SINGAPORE: Mr Chan Chun Sing made his first visit to high-readiness units in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) on Tuesday (May 27) as the newly minted defence minister. Mr Chan, who was previously the education minister, took on his new role at a swearing-in ceremony last Friday. During his visit on Tuesday, he observed routine readiness training by units from the Singapore Army, the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN), and the Digital and Intelligence Service (DIS). He also caught the Republic of Singapore Air Force's (RSAF) outfield helicopter deployment exercise known as Exercise Rover, which is conducted from May 22 to May 31. Mr Chan was joined by Senior Minister of State for Defence Zaqy Mohamad, Minister of State for Defence Desmond Choo, Permanent Secretary for Defence Chan Heng Kee, Chief of Defence Force Vice Admiral Aaron Beng, Permanent Secretary for Defence Development Melvyn Ong, and other senior officers from the SAF and Ministry of Defence (MINDEF). Speaking to reporters, Mr Chan said he was happy to see how the SAF has progressed. Before he entered politics in 2011, Mr Chan was the Chief of Army. "As you know, we are in a changing world. There are new challenges, new disruptions caused by technology, new forces that we have to contend with," he said. "This is also why we have to come up with new ways to overcome our challenges. And the very nice thing about this morning, from what I've seen, is that the SAF is not resting on its laurels." He added that the SAF constantly re-examines the way it operates. "For many of the things that I saw this morning, some of them were capabilities that we were talking about many years ago, and today it is a joy to see them operationalised," said Mr Chan. "Some of the capabilities are new and they are still being developed, and I have every confidence that the determination of the men and women serving in the SAF will, in time to come, be able to operationalise many of these new capabilities to address the new scenarios that we will have to confront." On Tuesday, SAF's Army Deployment Force (ADF) showcased the unit's response to peacetime contingencies such as terrorist attacks, disasters and domestic security threats. The ADF is equipped with skills and capabilities to carry out various operations, including responses to homeland security threats and disaster relief, MINDEF said in a news release. At the RSAF's Exercise Rover, part of Sembawang Country Club's golf course was converted into a temporary helicopter deployment area. This makes it capable of supporting a range of helicopter missions, such as air defence and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations, MINDEF said. About 600 RSAF personnel - of whom 230 are operationally ready national servicemen - were involved in the exercise. Two AH-64D Apache helicopters were activated to respond swiftly to a simulated air defence threat. Mr Chan also witnessed how the RSN's Maritime Security Task Force neutralised a simulated terrorist attack against Singapore from the sea.
Business Times
27-05-2025
- Business
- Business Times
Stocks to watch: Sembcorp, Bukit Sembawang, SBS Transit, Boustead
THE following companies saw new developments that may affect trading of their securities on Tuesday (May 27): Sembcorp : Its subsidiary Sembcorp Utilities entered an agreement with several of its South-east Asian counterparts to explore exporting renewable energy from Vietnam into Malaysia and Singapore, the group said on Monday. Under the agreement, the parties will focus on unlocking Vietnam's renewable energy resources, particularly offshore wind power, as a source for green electron generation and to supply clean electricity across borders. The counter ended Monday 1.4 per cent or S$0.09 higher at S$6.65, before the news. Bukit Sembawang : The property developer posted a net profit after tax of S$51.4 million for its second half ended March, a 13 per cent increase from S$45.6 million in the year-ago period. The increase was mainly due to the recognition of higher profits for residential development projects Pollen Collection, Liv@MB and Fraser Residence Orchard, the group said on Monday. Shares of Bukit Sembawang Estates closed Monday 0.3 per cent or S$0.01 lower at S$3.92, before the news. SBS Transit : Member of Parliament for Tampines Changkat Desmond Choo stepped down from the board of SBS Transit with immediate effect on Monday, following his appointment as Minister of State for Defence last Friday. Choo, who has been a board member of the transport company since April 2021, will also relinquish his membership on the board's remuneration and nominating committee. He continues to be assistant secretary-general at the National Trades Union Congress. Shares of SBS Transit closed Monday 0.4 per cent or S$0.01 higher at S$2.75, before the news. Boustead : The engineering and technology group on Monday posted a net profit of S$59.1 million for the six months ended March, representing a 58 per cent increase on the year, although revenue slid 42 per cent to S$231.9 million. The mainboard-listed company said that profits had risen despite lower revenue due to lower income tax expenses and a one-off gain. The counter ended lower by S$0.01 or 1 per cent at S$1.04, before the update. Trading halt: Printing cylinder supplier Fuji Offset called for a trading halt with immediate effect on Tuesday morning, pending an announcement. Its shares closed Monday 19.7 per cent or S$0.065 higher at S$0.395.
Straits Times
03-05-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
GE2025: PAP retains Tampines GRC in 4-way fight, wins Tampines Changkat SMC
SINGAPORE – The ruling PAP has defeated three other parties to retain Tampines GRC, receiving 52.02 per cent of the vote in the constituency touted as among the most hotly contested in this election. Coming in second was WP , with 47.37 per cent of the vote. The People's Power Party (PPP) garnered 0.43 per cent of the vote and the National Solidarity Party's (NSP) got 0.18 per cent. Both fell below the minimum threshold of 12.5 per cent of votes cast and will lose their election deposits of $13,500 per candidate . At the 2020 election, the PAP won 66.41 per cent of the vote in a straight fight with NSP, which received 33.59 per cent. Meanwhile, the PAP's Mr Desmond Choo has won the new Tampines Changkat single seat against WP's Mr Kenneth Foo. In Tampines GRC, the winning PAP team, led by Social and Family Development Minister Masagos Zulkifli, 62, includes two other incumbents: Senior Minister of State Koh Poh Koon, 53, and Senior Parliamentary Secretary Baey Yam Keng, 54. The other two members of the team are new entrants to politics – former army chief David Neo, 47, and Dr Charlene Chen, 43, an assistant professor. Held by the PAP since its formation in 1988, when the group representation constituency system was introduced, Tampines GRC has traditionally seen a straight fight between the PAP and an opposition party, with the exception of a walkover in 1997. In the last three elections, the ruling party went head-to-head with NSP. In 2025, WP and PPP threw their hats into the ring for the first time. WP vice-chair Faisal Manap, 49, headed the party's team in Tampines GRC. The other members are Mr Jimmy Tan, 53, co-founder of an industrial equipment supply firm; Dr Ong Lue Ping, 48, a senior principal clinical psychologist; former diplomat Eileen Chong, 32; and Mr Michael Thng, 37, a technology start-up co-founder. PPP's team, helmed by the party's secretary-general Goh Meng Seng, 55, includes party chairman Derrick Sim, 44; landscaping executive Vere Nathan, 26; green technology firm founder Peter Soh, 65; and entrepreneur Arbaah Haroun, 50. NSP fielded its president Reno Fong, 56; vice-president Mohd Ridzwan Mohammad, 63; assistant secretary-general Eugene Yeo, 49; financial planner Zee Phay, 32; and Mr Thamilselvan Karuppaya, 57, who is self-employed. On the campaign trail, continuity was a key message for the PAP team, with its members citing the party's record in managing the town. In a rally speech on May 1, Mr Masagos cited examples such as Tampines being Singapore's first cycling town, being the test site of Wolbachia mosquitoes to reduce dengue cases, and having the country's first district cooling network. Going forward, residents will have more active ageing centres, on top of the existing nine, as well as a new Tampines North integrated hub with a community club, a hawker centre, an MRT station and a bus interchange, said the PAP team. WP has been walking the ground in Tampines since at least 2016. Its team had said it has the experience to manage residents' needs and town council matters, and would ensure ongoing projects continue, if it was elected. In a speech on Nomination Day on April 23, Mr Faisal – who moved out of Aljunied GRC to contest in Tampines – said voters had been waiting for the party to contest the constituency for years. Mr Faisal had said he did not see the contest as a battle between himself and Mr Masagos, who is also Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs. Rather, he described it as a competition between teams. The contest between the two veteran politicians was pushed online by foreigners, including those from Parti Islam SeMalaysia . This prompted the Singapore authorities to direct social media company Meta to block access to their posts and government leaders to denounce the mixing of race and religion with politics. NSP and PPP, meanwhile, fired salvos at WP in their campaigns, criticising it for contesting in an area where it has no established roots and leaving Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC uncontested, resulting in a walkover for the PAP there. Candidates from NSP's Tampines team had suggested expanding the Senior Employment Credit scheme to include retrenched middle-aged workers with children and parents to support, among other proposals. PPP had raised issues such as Singapore's population policies, with suggestions including having the population capped at 6.5 million people. Speaking to reporters outside a counting centre at St Hilda's Secondary School at about 8pm, PPP's Mr Goh said that while some people have been supportive of PPP's campaign, that might not have be en enough to push the party through this time. He added that his party had tried to send mailers to Tampines residents through national postal service SingPost, but many said they had not received them. 'We'll get to the bottom of this,' he said. NSP secretary-general Spencer Ng told reporters after the sample count was released that the party felt it had done its best, with the loss of its candidates' election deposits being 'a small sacrifice... to serve the nation and to serve Singaporeans'. He added that the result did not reflect the effort NSP had put in, and the party will continue to contest Sembawang and Tampines GRCs in future elections. In neighbouring Tampines Changkat, the PAP's Mr Choo secured the single seat with 56.17 per cent of the vote. Mr Foo from WP garnered 43.83 per cent of the vote. The PAP and WP had campaigned on the premise that Tampines GRC and Tampines Changkat SMC would come under one umbrella, with both teams fielding candidates in the two constituencies. At Bedok Stadium, where PAP supporters were gathered, Mr Choo acknowledged Mr Foo's efforts, saying that he had contributed to the democratic process. Of the results, he said that while it showed a clear mandate for the ruling party, it also demonstrated that residents wanted alternative voices to represent them. The 47-year-old added that as the elected MP for Tampines Changkat, he will work to bring his residents' concerns to Parliament and 'hopefully we can implement better plans'. Additional reporting by Shabana Begum Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
AsiaOne
03-05-2025
- Business
- AsiaOne
PAP's Desmond Choo wins Tampines Changkat SMC with 56.17% of votes over WP's Kenneth Foo, Singapore News
Results for Tampines Changkat SMC in GE2025 Desmond Choo (PAP) 56.17% Kenneth Foo (WP) 43.83% The People's Action Party (PAP) has won the newly carved out Tampines Changkat SMC against the Workers' Party (WP). PAP's Desmond Choo, 47, received 12,441 votes while WP's Kenneth Foo, 48, received 9,707 votes. Choo is assistant secretary-general of the National Trades Union Congress and director of its policy division. He spent a decade overseeing the Tampines Changkat ward as part of the PAP's Tampines GRC team since 2015, when he was first elected as a Member of Parliament for Tampines GRC. He entered politics in 2010 and made his political debut during the 2011 General Election in Hougang SMC, where he lost to WP's Yaw Shin Leong, who received 64.8 per cent of the vote. The following year, he was a candidate during the Hougang SMC by-election, where he lost to WP's Png Eng Huat, who secured 62.08 per cent of the vote. Foo, who is the deputy director of a charitable organisation, has been a member of the WP since 2006 and has held various roles including Deputy Organising Secretary, Secretary of the Hougang Constituency Committee (HGCC), Treasurer of the Aljunied Constituency Committee (AJCC), and Legislative Assistant. Tampines Changkat SMC has 23,847 electors. Tampines Changkat SMC is among the newly formed SMCs introduced ahead of the 2025 general election, and was contested for the first time. For our GE2025 microsite, visit here. editor@
