Singapore — The People’s Action Party on Friday (June 26) announced four more candidates for the General Election. They were introduced at a virtual press conference by PAP Vice-Chairman Masagos Zulkifli, who is the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources and Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs.
The candidates are:
Ms Gan Siow Huang, 46, the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Employment and Employability Institute. She was the first female general in the Singapore Armed Forces and was among the first four women to receive the SAF Merit Scholarship in 1993. Ms Gan, who is married with three daughters, has been engaging in grassroots volunteering in Bishan.
In the SAF, she started as an air traffic controller and rose through the ranks in command of these four airbases: Tengah, Sembawang, Paya Lebar and Changi.
In referring to serving the military for more than 25 years, she said that this “is not a common choice among women”, but was one of the most fulfilling choices she made, “other than marrying (her) husband”.
“It’s a place where men and women of different races, religions, backgrounds all come together, serving a common goal to protect Singapore. And I would say it is natural for people in the SAF to want to continue to serve, even when they leave the military.”
“Don’t look at me for just another general, look at me for who I am,” Ms Gan said.
She also added that she takes a lot of pride in having worked for the SAF as the people are professional and dedicated.
Ms Rachel Ong, 47, chief executive of local enterprise ROHEI Corporation. She also started Trybe, a charity with Institution of Public Character (IPC) status that runs the Singapore Boys’ Hostel, the community rehabilitation centre for first-time drug abusers, and Trybe Aftercare.
Ms Ong serves as vice-chair of the Telok Blangah Citizens’ Consultative Committee. She holds a master’s degree in business administration from INSEAD and Tsinghua University.
“I am energised by two things. The first is to see every youth succeed in life, and the second is to see adults flourish in all that they do,” said Ms Ong.
“In order for us to help youths succeed, we first must learn to listen, to see, to hear, to understand and to care for the needs of the youth,” she said. “Then we are empowered to continue to challenge them and support them — we have earned the right and the trust (of) them.”
Mr Sharael Taha, 39, is the Vice-President (Strategy and Project Management Office) at Singapore Aero Engine Services, on secondment from Rolls-Royce.
Married with three children, Mr Sharael holds a masters of business administration degree from the University of Oxford.
He was previously based in the UK and was responsible for global projects across Rolls-Royce’s engine assembly and test facilities in Britain, Scotland, Germany, Canada and Singapore.
He has also been an active volunteer in Bukit Batok East, sharing his experiences with young people on science, technology, engineering and mathematics through engagement sessions.
“I would like to work with you to develop new skills and share my experience from high-tech industries so that we can create great jobs, good jobs for the future of our families,” he said.
“But transformation cannot be at the expense of others. For the seniors, for the low-wage workers and for the less abled, we have to make sure that they are part of this journey.”
Mr Alex Yeo, 41, is the director of law firm Niru & Co, and previously served in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a foreign service officer.
Mr Yeo has been an active grassroots volunteer in Potong Pasir since 2014. In 2017, he became the branch chairman for the PAP in Paya Lebar ward in Aljunied GRC.
“It’s not about the elections, it’s about serving the residents and trying to regain and rebuild the trust and relationships that we have with the residents,” he said. “We must listen carefully, go the extra mile and try our very best. I want to do more, and I hope to be given an opportunity to do so.” /TISG