SINGAPORE: The 38th Central Executive Committee of the ruling People’s Action Party was announced on Wednesday (Dec 4), with some new faces in the mix. Notably, most of the former members are set to stay in the party’s top decision-making body for the next two years.
The 12 members that the PAP elected on Nov 24 are, in no particular order, Chan Chun Sing, Desmond Lee, Edwin Tong, Grace Fu, Heng Swee Keat, Indranee Rajah, K. Shanmugan, Lawrence Wong, Lee Hsien Loong, Masagos Zulkifli, Ong Ye Kung, and Vivian Balakrishnan.
Additionally, having received the 13th and 14th highest number of votes, Chee Hong Tat and Tan See Leng were co-opted into the body.
The PAP’s 38th CEC is the same as its previous iteration, aside from Mr Chee having replaced Josephine Teo, though her name was among the 19 on the CEC ballot.
However, the party announced on Wednesday that four additional members had been co-opted into the CEC: Desmond Choo, Lam Pin Min, Ng Chee Meng, and Sim Ann.
The PAP’s CEC now totals 18, the maximum number allowed by the party’s regulations.
Ms Teo, the Minister for Digital Development and Information, is not a member of the body. Nor is she among the appointed leaders also announced by the PAP on Dec 4.
New faces in PAP’s 38th CEC
Among the four persons announced as additional CEC members, only National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) Secretary-General Ng Chee Meng is a former member.
Mr Ng had served as MP at Pasir-Ris-Punggol GRC from 2015 to 2020, but was part of the PAP’s slate that lost at Sengkang in 2020.
However, he was co-opted into the party’s CEC in 2020, and then again in 2022.
A new CEC member this year is Desmond Choo, who is one of NTUC’s Assistant Secretary-Generals. He has been an MP for Tampines GRC since 2015 and represents the Tampines Chankat division of the constituency.
Another new member of the CEC is Lam Pin Min. Like Mr Ng, Dr Lam had contested and lost in Sengkang in the 2020 General Election.
His inclusion in PAP’s top body has sparked interest online. Dr Lam, who had served as Senior Minister of State for Health as well as for Transport from 2017 to 2020, is PAP’s Sengkang West branch chairman and is widely perceived as spearheading the party’s efforts to win back Sengkang in the upcoming General Election.
Aside from being co-opted into the CEC, Ms Sim was also reappointed to chair the PAP’s Women’s Wing. She is also the party’s Deputy Party Whip and has been serving as MP for Holland–Bukit Timah GRC since 2011. She represents the Bukit Timah division of the constituency. /TISG
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