SINGAPORE: With a few days left before Singaporeans troop to the polls on Saturday (May 3), The Independent Singapore would like to put forward the candidates who, we feel, are the most promising newbies for GE2025.
In what some have deemed the most exciting elections in Singapore’s history, here are five candidates who, for us, have stood out among the pack.
Harpreet Singh Nehal
Whether you call him “Happy” or “Harpoon,” no one can deny that The Workers’ Party’s “biggest catch” of this election year, Harpreet Singh Nehal, 59, certainly has impressive credentials: Harvard Law School graduate, Senior Counsel of the Supreme Court, and more.
A video clip from 1996 of a 30-year-old Mr Singh raising questions to then-Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew regarding property prices and “the Singapore dream” is still shared today.
“Some of the questions like housing don’t look out of place despite being asked in 1996,” wrote a Reddit user recently.
How big a threat is Mr Singh to the powers that be? Perhaps the size of a Deputy Prime Minister, it would seem.
Alexis Dang
Some Singaporeans may vote with their heads, others with their hearts, but some may be voting with their eyes? This might explain the sudden jump in popularity of WP candidate Alexis Dang, 39, who, like Mr Singh, is part of the party’s Punggol team.
However, the supporters of Ms Dang are saying that she’s the total package of brains and beauty. A number of commenters have noted how fluent she is in Mandarin and have said they’re eager to see her debating in the language in Parliament.
“Alexis fever” reached a new high this weekend. On Sunday night (Apr 27), a clip of people queuing to take a photo with Ms Dang was shared online.
Singaporeans queue to take photo with Alexis Dang
byu/moonlighthorfun insingapore
Ariffin Sha
Wake Up, Singapore founder Ariffin Sha, 27, is part of the Singapore Democratic Party’s slate at Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC. Compared to other candidates, Mr Sha, who is a law graduate, may seem young, but in actuality, he’s been part of the national political discourse since he was 16, as CNA pointed out.
While he hopes for the best outcome for his team, he knows the fight will be a tough one. Nevertheless, he said at the PSP rally on April 24, “If you remember just one line… let it be this: smaller margins of victory lead to better policies and welfare for the people.”
Lawrence Pek
PSP candidate Lawrence Pek for Chua Chu Kang GRC is a former secretary-general of the Singapore Manufacturing Federation (SMF). Earlier this month, together with former WP MP Leon Perera, Mr Pek published a well-received article in the sociopolitical magazine Jom, making the case for a universal minimum wage to be implemented in Singapore.
As head of the SMF from 2020 to 2023, Mr Pek championed the interests of Singaporean manufacturers in discussions with government agencies and foreign embassies
“I hope that with my diverse multinational experience in the business world, I can play a part in making Singapore better at balancing the needs and interests of workers and businesses,” he says.
Bernadette Giam
Thirty-eight-year-old Bernadette Giam is the director of Creative Eateries, a local food and beverage SME. She is a People’s Action Party candidate at Sengkang GRC, having taken over as Sengkang East branch chairperson earlier this year. A community volunteer for over a decade, her focus has been on uplifting women, youth, and seniors.
Prime Minister Lawrence Wong has said that Ms Giam will be a strong advocate for working parents and young people in Sengkang, and Home and Law Affairs Minister K Shanmugam was impressed with Ms Giam’s speech in Tamil on Nomination Day.
Choo Pei Ling
Last, but by no means least, is Choo Pei Ling, who is part of the PAP slate at Chua Chu Kang GRC. Dr Choo is both a neuroscientist and physiotherapist, as well as an Assistant Professor at the Singapore Institute of Technology, where she carries out research on optimising life after a stroke as part of transforming community health, among other topics.
She has been active in the community for over two decades and has helped with Meet the People sessions for a number of years. /TISG
Read also: Rotten Tomatoes: Here are the cringiest GE2025 candidates so far