GE2025: PAP to field 32 new candidates, including 13 women (2025)

SINGAPORE – The PAP will field 32 new candidates in the upcoming general election, the largest batch of fresh faces in decades, as part of a national leadership renewal.

Thirteen women candidates will make their electoral debuts on the PAP ticket, up from the 10 introduced at the 2020 polls, as the ruling party fields more women than ever before.

Unveiling the line-up on April 17 alongside the party’s election manifesto, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said one of his key priorities has been to renew the team and bring in good people to be future backbenchers, office-holders and leaders.

PM Wong, who is also PAP secretary-general, said the group will inject fresh energy, new ideas and diverse perspectives into the leadership team, strengthening its ability to govern Singapore in a more complex and uncertain world.

If elected, a number of these new candidates will form the core of the fifth-generation team and ensure that Singapore continues to be in good hands, he added.

“We have to expose them so that they can learn, grow, and eventually some of them will take on bigger responsibilities,” he said.

“That is why I’ve worked so hard and put in so much effort to renew our team in this election – so that we are well prepared for the future, so that the PAP can offer Singaporeans a capable and strong team at the helm, not just for the next five years, but also for the next 10 to 20 years.”

The PAP had fielded between 23 and 27 new candidates in general elections since the 1990s, which makes GE2025 its largest infusion of new blood in recent history.

The PAP’s slogan for GE2025 is Changed World, Fresh Team, New Resolve.

On April 17, PM Wong spoke about each of the 32 candidates, who come from a range of backgrounds, including the Singapore Armed Forces, public service, private sector, academia, unions and social service agencies.

Among the 24 who are contesting PAP-held constituencies are Mr Jeffrey Siow, a former second permanent secretary at the Ministry of Manpower and Ministry of Trade and Industry, and former Nominated MP Syed Harun Alhabsyi, a psychiatrist and advocate for mental health.

Others include long-time party activists such as industrial relations officer Jackson Lam, who was branch secretary for Chong Pang for seven years, and Ms Gho Sze Kee, a shipping lawyer who has been a PAP activist for 13 years.

The slate also features young parents, said PM Wong. They include Ms Valerie Lee, a young mother with a strong interest in sustainability and the environment, and Mr David Hoe, a new father who overcame a difficult childhood and found his calling in community service.

PM Wong also introduced the eight PAP candidates being fielded in the opposition-held constituencies of Hougang, Aljunied and Sengkang, whom he called the party’s “warriors”.

They include Dr Adrian Ang, who served as the PAP’s Toa Payoh-Thomson branch secretary for more than 10 years, long-time trade unionist and advocate for freelancers Jagathishwaran Rajo, and food and beverage entrepreneur Bernadette Giam.

New faces share their thoughts

Speaking to the media after the event, one of the PAP new faces, orthopaedic surgeon Hamid Razak, said the PAP’s manifesto is inclusive, with a wide range of issues that Singaporeans face in their daily lives.

“We have things from financial freedom for retirees, for example, to healthcare for everyone, to opportunities for families, and even environment and sustainability,” he said.

Elected MPs will have to bring these issues to the ground, he said, and communicate them in a manner that the residents can understand. This, Dr Hamid noted, will vary among constituencies as some issues may be more prevalent in certain constituencies. “So my role, if elected as an MP, will be to understand the needs of my residents on the ground,” he said.

Calling his team “the Aljunied warriors”, Dr Faisal Abdul Aziz, who is contesting Aljunied GRC, told the media that it will be a challenging fight going into the Workers’ Party-held turf.

“I think our strategy as a team is really to focus on the people and what we can offer to Singapore and Singaporeans, especially residents of Aljunied GRC,” he said.

When asked how he feels about the WP saying that some of its public policy proposals were adopted by the PAP Government, he said that being inclusive, the Government consults many people and does a lot of research when coming up with policies.

The WP had on April 16 put out a list of 15 policies it claimed it had advocated, which were later adopted “in some form” by the Government. These include issues about transport, employment and housing.

“Certainly, everyone has a place to contribute to Singapore, and I think it’s for Singaporeans to decide who best is able to bring all the voices together, unite the country together, and put forth what’s best for our country,” said Dr Faisal.

Lawyer Cassandra Lee, 33, said she was honoured to be one of the youngest PAP candidates, adding that she was also happy that many women have stepped up to serve the country.

Many of them are mothers with young children, she noted, and they share the same anxieties about raising children, being filial to parents, and pursuing their careers. The PAP candidate for West Coast-Jurong West GRC and mother of a three-year-old son said she hopes to support young working families.

“I think it is difficult to balance caregiving responsibilities with pursuing your career aspirations. I hope we can do more to elevate and to support them,” said Ms Lee.

The other area she feels strongly about is ageing with dignity, she said. Her late father was diagnosed with cancer when she was 23.

“I fully appreciate how difficult it is to be a caregiver, and also for the patient himself,” she said. “I really think that there is more that we can do to help the elderly age with dignity, and I’m very happy to see that in the manifesto.”

Mr Siow said the manifesto is not just a list of government policies, but a reflection of Singaporeans’ voices and views through the Forward Singapore engagement exercise.

“It is a very comprehensive set of plans,” he said. “Singaporeans can see both the realisation of some of these plans already, and (those) that we have laid out for the future.”

Mr Siow, who was announced as a candidate for Chua Chu Kang GRC on April 14, said he is currently focused on the residents that he will be working with in time to come, if elected.

“They will be my family, they will be the people whom I will care for,” he said. “I will be hearing them out, and understanding what their aspirations, views and concerns are.”

No matter where they stand, all PAP candidates are in for a tough election and the party must never assume it will automatically win just because it has been in power all this while, stressed PM Wong.

This is as the cost of living remains a big concern for many Singaporeans, as with people in other countries, and incumbent parties in many recent elections elsewhere were either defeated or suffered major losses, he noted.

“Always remember, the Singaporean voter is a discerning and a tough judge,” he added. “We must fight hard for every single vote in every single constituency.”

PM Wong also thanked the MPs who were stepping down. He acknowledged that these men and women had built strong relationships with residents and activists, but that self-renewal is necessary to keep the party relevant and prepared for the future.

“In the PAP, we serve not for ourselves, we serve Singaporeans,” he said. “Our MPs understand this, they understand the importance of self-renewal, and so they are doing their part to pass the torch to the new cohort.”

• Hariz Baharudin is a correspondent at The Straits Times covering politics.
• Chin Soo Fang is senior correspondent at The Straits Times covering topics such as community, politics, social issues, consumer, culture and heritage.

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