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‘Where’s the East Coast plan?’ Some Singaporeans wonder as GE draws near
SINGAPORE: Elections in Singapore are relatively quiet proceedings when held up in comparison to others in the region or even elsewhere around the globe. However, inasmuch as there could be “hot spots” for the upcoming General Election (GE), the East Coast Group Representation Consituency (GRC) is likely to be one of them.
On Tuesday (Apr 8), The Straits Times (ST) published a report titled “Election spotlight: East Coast GRC ripe ground for GE2025’s plot twists.” The piece pointed out that in the past four elections, voting at the GRC had been close.
In the most recent GE, the results came as a shock to many, with the People’s Action Party (PAP) team, headed by the man who then believed as next in line to be Prime Minister, Deputy PM Heng Swee Keat, squeaked by with just 53.4% of the vote.
The Workers Party (WP), headed then by former Youth Wing head Nicole Seah, delivered the best results the WP had ever seen in the area, on the back of years of work on the ground by the WP team.
However, the scenario is very different today. Ms Seah resigned from the party in 2023 after news broke out that she’d had an inappropriate relationship with former WP Member of Parliament (MP) Leon Perera in 2020. Mr Perera, whose candidacy at East Coast GRC was successful enough to make him a Non-Constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) in 2015, also resigned from the party.
DPM Heng is expected to stay on at East Coast for a second term, although who would be part of the PAP slate this time around is still anyone’s guess. Aside from the incumbents Cheryl Chan, Deputy Speaker of Parliament Jessica Tan, Senior Minister of State Tan Kiat How, and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Maliki Osman, there have been others seen recently on the ground.
This includes Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong, who has represented the Joo Chiat ward in Parliament since 2015. This year, some estates of Joo Chiat are now part of East Coast GRC. There have also been two new faces on the ground recently: CEO of the Agency for Integrated Care Dinesh Vasu Dash and former news presenter Hazlina Abdul Halim.
As for The WP, Kenneth Foo and Abdul Shariff Aboo Kassim, who were part of the WP slate in 2020, will most likely contest again. Lawyer Ang Boon Yaw, who has been part of WP’s Central Executive Committee (CEC) since 2022, is expected to join them there. Another possible candidate is Jeraldine Phneah, a financial blogger who’s been active with the WP for the past 10 years at Jalan Besar and East Coast. The fifth candidate is still unknown, although ST wrote that more high-profile WP personalities, including Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh and Senior Counsel Harpreet Singh, are possibilities.
In the past few days, the plot has thickened with reports that a young restauranteur, Chia Yun Kai, has launched a recruitment drive for his political party called Most Valuable Party (MVP). Mr Chia, 32, reportedly intends to contest at East Coast GRC after he appears to have been disappointed that the “East Coast Plan” that DPM Heng talked about in 2020 has yet to come to pass.
Mr Heng went viral during the campaign period that year when he seemed to be at a loss when talking about the “East Coast Plan,” saying he had a “plan for East Coast residents. Also, a plan for East Coast. We have a East Coast, Singapore, we have a together and East Coast Plan. We care for East Coast”.
Commenting on the ST report, some netizens have also been looking for the East Coast Plan.
“The people of East Coast should ask Heng Swee Kiat where is the infamous East Coast Plan he promised,” one wrote on the ST’s Facebook page.
“East Coast Unplanned,” another quipped.
Some said they’re looking forward to the upcoming GE, especially if Mr Tong, who is popular with many, is included in the PAP team, saying that adding the minister to the slate would heat things up. /TISG
