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Acting Minister for Manpower Tan Chuan- Jin has taken over as anchor minister for Marine Parade GRC from Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong.
In a Facebook post yesterday, Mr Goh, 71, said that he met Members of Parliament and constituency branch leaders last Saturday morning to inform them of the decision.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a Geylang Serai Town Day event in Eunos Crescent yesterday, Mr Tan confirmed that he would take over a coordinating role from Mr Goh.
"From our perspective, we thought that it would be useful for me to play a role to help to coordinate amongst the (GRC's) Members of Parliament and activities," said Mr Tan.
He said that it would be helpful if the anchor minister is a Cabinet minister.
"The main thing is that in the GRC team, you have someone playing perhaps a slightly more forward role to front the GRC." But he said not to read too much into the change.
Mr Tan said that in many GRCs, including Marine Parade, "all of us play quite-involved roles in our respective areas and we support each other in activities".
Mr Tan, 44, entered politics when he was fielded as a candidate for Marine Parade GRC in the 2011 General Election.
He had previously served nearly 24 years in the Singapore Armed Forces and held various appointments, including Commander of the Singapore 3rd Division and Commander of the Training and Doctrine Command.
After being elected as an MP for the Marine Parade GRC, he was appointed as Minister of State for National Development and Manpower.
On Aug 1 last year, Mr Tan was appointed Acting Minister for Manpower, while concurrently holding the title of Senior Minister of State for National Development.
The other MPs in Marine Parade GRC are Mr Seah Kian Peng, Assoc Prof Fatimah Lateef and Ms Tin Pei Ling.
When asked if he would spearhead any programmes or plans in the GRC, Mr Tan said that the constituency's MPs would carry on the programmes Mr Goh had started.
But he said that the GRC's MPs are also looking at how they could coordinate common programmes in each of their divisions, as well as learn from each other.
Mr Goh has been an MP of the Marine Parade ward since 1976.
Said Prof Fatimah of Mr Goh: "(He) deserves recognition for the elderly-friendly initiatives and facilities he implemented in Marine Parade which are very significant, since it has a mature, ageing population."
Prof Fatimah and Mr Seah also praised Mr Goh for being approachable and friendly - qualities which made him extremely accessible and pleasant to work with. They further complimented Mr Goh as being a good mentor to them for these reasons.
Meanwhile, Mr Goh also said on the MParader Facebook page that he had a busy weekend with constituency work and is preparing for a working trip to Tokyo, Japan, tomorrow.
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Sibeh steam ! 
