Singapore—In the newly formed Sengkang GRC, a close contest is expected between the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) and the opposition Workers’ Party (WP), the only party that currently has seats in Parliament. And while Lam Pin Min and Teo Ser Luck expect to contest in the upcoming GE, two other names are being floated as possible PAP candidates: Raymond Lye and Wan Rizal Wan Zakariah.
Dr Lam said that he met with Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC MP Teo Ser Luck and Punggol East MP Charles Chong on Friday (March 13), after the new GRC and other changes to the country’s electoral boundaries were announced.
Sengkang GRC will be given four seats in Parliament including areas that were under Pasir Ris-Punggol. This incorporates Punggol East SMC. Rivervale, Compassvale and Anchorvale which are also included in the GRC.
Who PAP’s candidates will be for Sengkang GRC has not been announced yet, but Dr Lam told The Straits Times that he expects that he and Mr Teo will remain. However, straitstimes.com reported on Monday (Mar 16) that two possible candidates could be Raymond Lye, the chairman of the Punggol East Citizens’ Consultative Committee, and Wan Rizal Wan Zakariah, a lecturer at Republic Polytechnic.
Mr Chong, who has served seven terms in Parliament, may be up for retirement.
Mr Lye, a managing partner at Union Law, graduated from the National University of Singapore in 1990 and was admitted to the Singapore Bar the following year.
As a litigator, he has been involved in many cases in the High Court and Court of appeal in various civil and commercial litigation matters, including a significant Court of Appeal judgment in 2014. The website of his law firm also says he has had an active criminal law practice, and has represented clients on business dealings.
Mr Lye has also been serving the community since 1993. Until August 2019, he served as the Chairman of the Ministry of Communications and Information’s Programme Advisory Committee (English). He is currently a Resource Panel member of the Government Parliamentary Committee on Defence and Foreign Affairs, and member of the Films Appeal Committee.
At Punggol, not only is he the Chairman of the Punggol East Citizens Consultative Committee, he is also the a member of the executive committee of the PasirRis – Punggol Town Council and heads the Town Council’s publicity committee.
Mr Lye is a recipient of the Public Service Medal (PBM) in the 1998 National Day Awards, the Public Service Star (BBM) in the 2008 National Day Awards, and the Community Service Medals in 2003 and 2012.
As for Dr Wan Rizal, he was one of PAP’s new faces who spoke at the party’s convention last November. He talked about how in his early days as a teacher, having amended a handball game in order to include a differently-abled student in a wheelchair inspired him to pursue further studies, to the point that he has already gotten his degree and went on to obtain his doctorate.
Even back then, The Straits Times reported that he had been seen on the ground with Punggol East MP Charles Chong and Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC MP Zainal Sapari.
From his roots as a PE teacher where he developed his passion for physical fitness, Dr Wan Rizal rose to become Senior Lecturer at Republic Polytechnic, School of Sports, Health and Leisure where he teaches Heath and Wellness, Human Motor Control and Learning, and Sports Coaching.
Dr Wan Rizal was a recipient of the Gold Medal Award from Rotary International in 2005 and was a NTU PhD scholar.
He has been an active volunteer as the Chairman for Al-Islah mosque in Punggol. -/TISG
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