http://www.straitstimes.com/politic...-new-face-cheryl-chan-to-contest-fengshan-smc
GE2015: PAP introduces new face Cheryl Chan to contest Fengshan SMC
SINGAPORE - Grassroots leader Cheryl Chan will contest Fengshan single-member constituency (SMC), ending intense speculation over the identity of the People's Action Party (PAP) candidate there.
Ms Chan, 38, was unveiled together with the PAP's slate for East Coast group representation constituency (GRC) on Thursday (Aug 27) morning, at the party's branch office in Bedok.
The head of secondary industries at gas and engineering firm The Linde Group takes the place of incumbent MP Raymond Lim, who is retiring from politics after serving Fengshan for 14 years.
Mr Lim, 56, a former transport minister, formally announced his decision to retire on Aug 15. His ward was carved out from East Coast GRC - which has been downsized from five to four members - after a rejig of the electoral boundaries last month.
Handing his vote of confidence to Ms Chan, Mr Lim said she "knows the ground well" after a decade volunteering in Fengshan and is "not just capable and hardworking, but also has a kind and caring heart".
"I have no doubt that if elected, she will be a very good MP," Mr Lim added.
Ms Chan, who is single, shared that she comes from a humble family of four which emphasised character building more than education.
She said: "I started volunteering 10 years ago when I wrote to the PAP and asked how I could reach out. They said, you are a Fengshan resident, go help out there."
She recounted a memorable incident during her time assisting at Meet-the-People sessions, when a mother of four children - one of whom was disabled - wanted to stop their education.
Cheryl Chan introduction
"We took all the steps to help and two years ago I met them. The eldest child is now in university. These are the kind of cases that make my work so meaningful."
She intends to champion two causes if elected - help for the elderly and children from less privileged backgrounds.
While Ms Chan's appointment appeared to be a straightforward choice given her familiarity with the area, it is extremely rare for the PAP to field a new face in an SMC it currently holds.
Thus far, senior IT manager Lee Hong Chuang, 45, is the only other first-time PAP candidate contesting a single-seat ward. But that is in Hougang, a Workers' Party stronghold.
Word on the political grapevine is that it was a toss-up between Ms Chan and a more experienced MP; Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry and National Development Lee Yi Shyan's name was floated, but the ruling party was tight-lipped over the rumours.
WP chairman Sylvia Lim, 50, set tongues wagging when her maiden post on photo-sharing site Instagram showed her tucking into a plate of oyster omelette, or orh luak, at a hawker centre in the ward. She later cleared the air by confirming that she would remain in Aljunied GRC to defend her seat.
In response to Ms Lim praising the dish, Ms Chan said she preferred laksa to orh luak. She added that the bak chor mee, not the orh luak, was the best dish at that particular hawker centre.
Fengshan is widely expected to be one of the most hotly-contested seats at the coming polls, which will be held on Sept 11. Political watchers even mooted the possibility that it had performed poorly at the 2011 General Election, and was thus hived off from East Coast GRC.
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GE2015: PAP introduces new face Cheryl Chan to contest Fengshan SMC
SINGAPORE - Grassroots leader Cheryl Chan will contest Fengshan single-member constituency (SMC), ending intense speculation over the identity of the People's Action Party (PAP) candidate there.
Ms Chan, 38, was unveiled together with the PAP's slate for East Coast group representation constituency (GRC) on Thursday (Aug 27) morning, at the party's branch office in Bedok.
The head of secondary industries at gas and engineering firm The Linde Group takes the place of incumbent MP Raymond Lim, who is retiring from politics after serving Fengshan for 14 years.
Mr Lim, 56, a former transport minister, formally announced his decision to retire on Aug 15. His ward was carved out from East Coast GRC - which has been downsized from five to four members - after a rejig of the electoral boundaries last month.
Handing his vote of confidence to Ms Chan, Mr Lim said she "knows the ground well" after a decade volunteering in Fengshan and is "not just capable and hardworking, but also has a kind and caring heart".
"I have no doubt that if elected, she will be a very good MP," Mr Lim added.
Ms Chan, who is single, shared that she comes from a humble family of four which emphasised character building more than education.
She said: "I started volunteering 10 years ago when I wrote to the PAP and asked how I could reach out. They said, you are a Fengshan resident, go help out there."
She recounted a memorable incident during her time assisting at Meet-the-People sessions, when a mother of four children - one of whom was disabled - wanted to stop their education.
Cheryl Chan introduction
"We took all the steps to help and two years ago I met them. The eldest child is now in university. These are the kind of cases that make my work so meaningful."
She intends to champion two causes if elected - help for the elderly and children from less privileged backgrounds.
While Ms Chan's appointment appeared to be a straightforward choice given her familiarity with the area, it is extremely rare for the PAP to field a new face in an SMC it currently holds.
Thus far, senior IT manager Lee Hong Chuang, 45, is the only other first-time PAP candidate contesting a single-seat ward. But that is in Hougang, a Workers' Party stronghold.
Word on the political grapevine is that it was a toss-up between Ms Chan and a more experienced MP; Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry and National Development Lee Yi Shyan's name was floated, but the ruling party was tight-lipped over the rumours.
WP chairman Sylvia Lim, 50, set tongues wagging when her maiden post on photo-sharing site Instagram showed her tucking into a plate of oyster omelette, or orh luak, at a hawker centre in the ward. She later cleared the air by confirming that she would remain in Aljunied GRC to defend her seat.
In response to Ms Lim praising the dish, Ms Chan said she preferred laksa to orh luak. She added that the bak chor mee, not the orh luak, was the best dish at that particular hawker centre.
Fengshan is widely expected to be one of the most hotly-contested seats at the coming polls, which will be held on Sept 11. Political watchers even mooted the possibility that it had performed poorly at the 2011 General Election, and was thus hived off from East Coast GRC.
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