SINGAPORE: A familiar face has been popping up at the newly-minted Jalan Kayu Single Member Constituency (SMC), leading to speculation regarding the upcoming General Election (GE).
Ng Chee Meng, the Secretary-General of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and one-term Member of Parliament (MP) for Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC (2015 to 2020), has been making his presence felt at Jalan Kayu more and more over the past weeks.
In a Facebook post on Wednesday (April 2), Mr Ng wrote, “Hello residents in Fernvale and Jalan Kayu! Over the past week, I’ve visited many of you, and thank you for the warm support and care. I’m happy that some of you reached out to me with work-related issues; rest assured, I will follow up on those. If you see me around the neighbourhood, please come and say hi! I’ll see you soon!”
He also thanked Ang Mo Kio MPs Gan Thiam Poh and Ng Ling Ling, as well as other volunteers in the area, who have been introducing him to Jalan Kayu residents.
Jalan Kayu is one of the five new SMCs announced last month when the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee (EBRC) released its report. The ERBC recommended reducing the size of Ang Mo Kio GRC, of which Jalan Kayu used to be part. Ang Mo Kio has the highest number of electors: 190,800.
With the size of Ang Mo Kio reduced, some 29,565 voters will be voting at Jalan Kanu in the upcoming election. The ward is currently represented in Parliament by Ms Ng, whom the People’s Action Party (PAP) introduced in the last election.
Mr Ng, who had reached the rank of Lieutenant-General in the Republic of Singapore Air Force, left the armed forces in 2015, when he first contested in a general election. In 2020, he was part of the ruling PAP at the then newly created Sengkang GRC, together with former Senior Minister of State Lam Pin Min, Senior Parliamentary Secretary Amrin Amin, and Raymond Lye.
Although the PAP slate was heavily favoured to win, the Workers’ Party (WP) team of relative newcomers to politics narrowly won with 52.13% of the vote, giving the opposition two GRCs for the first time. The victory also paved the way for WP Chief Pritam Singh to be officially designated as Leader of the Opposition.
Since the ERBC report was released on March 11, Mr Ng has been seen on the ground at Jalan Kayu and Fernvale. He wrote in a post that he is familiar with the area, with his family living at Seletar Hills for two decades. In his younger years, he also spent much time there when he was with the Singapore Youth Flying Club and the Air Force.
Some commenters on his latest post voiced support for Mr Ng, while others had questions, such as those who asked why he wore a shirt with an NTUC logo while going around with the PAP team.
Another asked why Mr Ng appears to have left Sengkang GRC, where his former teammate, Dr Lam, is likely to mount another bid at the GE.
“Why do you not stay back in Sengkang GRC to try to win back? Is there a reason why Lam Pin Min stays while you choose to try your luck (elsewhere)?”
A commenter agreed, writing, “As a general, you don’t abandon your teammates behind and let them continue to fight the battle. NCM (Ng Chee Meng) should show leadership and fight the battle and win back Sengkang!”
Another left this comment for Mr Ng: “Although this is good to be friendly and connect with the residents, (however) people will appreciate it more if you can voice out for them in the Parliament and come out with good policies which can benefit them.” /TISG
