Singapore—With election fever running high, it will not be uncommon to see candidates walking about, even during the run-up to Nomination Day on June 30, which is also day one of the nine-day campaign period.
The various parties have been hinting and/or announcing who their candidates may be, which is already shaping up to be a truly interesting field for GE 2020. As Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Tuesday (June 23), this election will be “like none other.”
One person who has been walking the ground in Kebun Baru is Progress Singapore Party’s (PSP) Kumaran Pillai. The businessman has been talking to residents, which he is evidently finding an enjoyable experience.
On Thursday, June 25, he wrote in a Facebook post about his walks around Kebun Baru, “It is a quiet neighborhood. Made new friends, listen to their stories and concerns. I must say that this is very addictive and engaging.”
Mr Pillai writes that at this point he is visiting the area twice a day, as he “Can’t get enough.…”
https://www.facebook.com/kumaran.pillai.sg/photos/a.131999515184496/132839875100460/?type=3&theater
Kebun Baru was among the areas whose status was changed as the new electoral boundaries were re-drawn. Keban Baru was part of a Group Representation Constituency (GRC) for almost thirty years—first with Ang Mo Kio GRC and then with Nee Soon GRC.
This year, it returns as a single-member constituency (SMC), with 22,413 voters from Nee Soon. Forty percent of the residents in Kebun Baru are Pioneer and Merdeka Generation seniors.
On March 13, the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee (EBRC) released its much-anticipated report that explained the changes for the upcoming GE. There were four new single seats announced: Punggol West (now part of Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC), Yio Chu Kang (now part of Ang Mo Kio GRC), Marymount (now part of Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC), and Kebun Baru.
At present, first-term ruling party PAP MP Henry Kwek, helms Kebun Baru and it is widely believed that he will yet again run for the same position.
Mr Pillai, a new entry into the arena of politics, was among several PSP members recently introduced to the public. The most high profile of PSP’s new members is Lee Hsien Yang, the son of Singapore’s Founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and younger brother of current Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. The younger Mr Lee was formally welcomed into the party by PSP Secretary-General Dr Tan Cheng Bock on Wednesday (June 24).
Mr Lee met with Dr Tan and other PSP members at Tiong Bahru Market for a breakfast meeting. Photos of him in a PSP t-shirt circulated in the media. He was presented with a membership card by Dr Tan, who told journalists present that Lee Hsien Yang had been a member of PSP “for quite some time,” but because of the pandemic, they had not yet had a chance to have a proper ceremony for presenting his membership card. —/TISG
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