SINGAPORE: Rumours that the next general election may be called as soon as this year have intensified after a high profile new face was spotted joining the ruling People’s Action Party team on the ground at Marine Parade GRC, recently.
Dr Choo Pei Ling, an Assistant Professor with the Health and Social Sciences Cluster at Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT), was spotted in Facebook photos on Mar 26 (Tuesday) shared by Manpower Minister Tan See Leng, who has been representing Marine Parade in Parliament since 2020.
Dr Tan posted photos of the PAP MPs Edwin Tong and Seah Kian Peng in white shirts with the words “Marine Parade” on the upper left side. Prof Choo is seen also wearing the same shirt.
“Sharing more photos from our walkabout at Marine Parade Central Food Centre last Sunday. Am grateful for my residents’ warmth and kindness as Edwin, Kian Peng, and I made our rounds. Hope everyone’s having a good week so far,” wrote Dr Tan.
Dr Choo’s presence at Marine Parade has given rise to speculation that the PAP would field her as a new candidate in the area for the next GE.
Who is Choo Pei Ling?
An online biography says that Dr Choo is a neuroscientist and physiotherapist who trained in Scotland.
“Dr Choo has significant overseas academic and clinical experience in neurological rehabilitation. Her research exploits multi-modal neuroimaging methods (i.e. fMRI, DTI) and 3D human motion capture to study neural mechanisms of sensorimotor recovery in ageing/disease, so as to realise regenerative and precision rehabilitation.”
It also mentions that she is an active volunteer “in various capacities.”
However, Dr Tan told Lianhe Zaobao that it’s too early to tell if she’ll contest in Marine Parade in the next GE, but he added that she’s been volunteering in the constituency for a number of years now.
The PAP team at Marine Parade is considerably stacked. Aside from Dr Tan’s ministerial position, Mr Tong is the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth and Mr Seah is Speaker of Parliament, having replaced former Marine Parade MP Tan Chuan Jin last year, who stepped down after his extramarital affair was made public.
Incidentally, Dr Choo is not the only high-profile new face at Marine Parade. Senior Counsel of the Supreme Court of Singapore Harpreet Singh has been joining the Workers’ Party team’s on-ground activities in the area since last August, also sparking rumours that he will contest in the next GE. /TISG