General Election 2025

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Chee Hong Tat hopes ‘very much’ to stay in Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC for GE2025​

Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat giving out mandarin oranges at a community event on Jan 26.ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG

Vanessa Paige Chelvan
Jan 26, 2025

SINGAPORE – Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat, who is also an MP for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, said he “very much” hopes to remain in the constituency at the next general election (GE) due by November.

Mr Chee was first elected as an MP for the GRC in 2015, and was re-elected in 2020.

“I’ve been here for (nearly) 10 years. I hope I can continue to serve the community and the residents here,” said Mr Chee, who is also Second Minister for Finance.

He said this on the sidelines of a community event at the HDB Hub in Toa Payoh on Jan 26, four days after the formation of the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee (EBRC).

The minister was responding to a question from The Straits Times on how he is gearing up for the next GE, now that the EBRC has been set up.

Mr Chee said he and fellow Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC MPs “await the report by the EBRC to see whether there are any changes to our boundaries, but I hope very much to remain in Bishan-Toa Payoh”.

The EBRC’s report will trigger a redrawing of Singapore’s electoral constituencies, a necessary step before a GE can happen.

Mr Chee said the constituency’s MPs had started their community activities and engagements right after the last GE in July 2020.

“We did not stop market visits, house visits, community events, infrastructure improvements... (This) is something that my team and I will continue,” he said.

Mr Chee’s fellow MPs in the constituency are anchor minister Ng Eng Hen, who is Minister for Defence, as well as Mr Saktiandi Supaat and Mr Chong Kee Hiong.

In response to another question on whether he is ready to be the constituency’s anchor minister if called upon, Mr Chee said: “That is for PM (Prime Minister Lawrence Wong) to decide.”

He added: “I still have some plans and some ideas of what we can do together with our residents to improve the facilities and the services in our town, and I hope to be given the opportunity to continue to serve them in this area.”

On Jan 26, Mr Chee was joined by Mr Saktiandi and Minister of State for Education and Manpower Gan Siow Huang at the community event, where they spent nearly 30 minutes giving out 888 pairs of mandarin oranges to residents.

Ms Gan is the MP for Marymount.

The event was organised by the People’s Association Malay Activity Executive Committees Council (PA Mesra), which wanted to gift oranges to residents for Chinese New Year, which falls on Jan 29.

Mr Chee lauded the initiative, saying it showcased “the multiracial society of Singapore”.

“This is something which I hope we can continue to promote, to encourage a deeper understanding of one another’s culture, festivals and heritage,” he said.

PA Mesra chairwoman A.J. Suhani Sujari said that through the initiative, the council hopes to “strengthen the bonds between the Malay/Muslim community and our non-Malay neighbours, celebrating the richness of our multicultural tapestry during festive occasions”.

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New face spotted with PAP MPs in Nee Soon GRC ahead of GE2025​

PAP member Deryne Sim (left) with residents at an event to launch Chinese New Year celebrations in Yishun town on Jan 26.ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH

Ng Wei Kai
Jan 27, 2025

SINGAPORE – An intellectual property (IP) lawyer was on Jan 26 spotted interacting with residents alongside Nee Soon GRC MPs from the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP).

Ms Deryne Sim, 40, was seen with Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam, as well as MPs Louis Ng, Carrie Tan, Derrick Goh, and Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim, who is Minister of State for Home Affairs and National Development.

They were at an event to launch Chinese New Year (CNY) celebrations in Yishun town.

Speaking to the media on the sidelines of the event, Mr Shanmugam said Ms Sim has been “helping him with walkabouts” and is an in-house legal counsel who has also done some non-governmental organisation work.

He did not confirm if she would stand for the ruling party in the general election due by November.

Ms Sim confirmed to reporters that she is a PAP member. She specialises in media and entertainment as an IP lawyer.

She has been a volunteer at the Chong Pang PAP branch, which Mr Shanmugam chairs, for more than a year, and helps out at Meet-the-People Sessions by using her legal background to assist residents.

She has also helped with various events lately, such as Chong Pang’s Edusave Awards ceremony and the distribution of red packets to seniors in the constituency, she added.

When asked how she got involved in the party, she said: “I met minister (Mr Shanmugam) at an event, and he said ‘come and see how it’s being run and the issues that people face’.

“So I took up that invite, and I stuck on as a volunteer after that.”

Based on her profile on professional network LinkedIn, Ms Sim holds a law degree from the National University of Singapore and has worked as a legal counsel with various organisations, such as Sony Pictures Entertainment, since 2010.

She was previously a committee member of the LGBTQ+ activist group Pink Dot.

She is also the executive director of Same But Different, a group that offers legal resources to help the LGBTQ community here.

At the event, Mr Shanmugam was also asked how he is preparing for the general election and if he would still anchor the PAP team in Nee Soon GRC.

In response, Mr Shanmugam said it will be up to Prime Minister Lawrence Wong to decide as the party’s secretary-general.

“I have been serving here for many years, and you can see how the people react to me and how I react to the people,” he said.

“I enjoy the constituency… I’ve been here for 36 years, but I will serve where I am asked.”

Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam with a resident at an event to launch Chinese New Year celebrations in Yishun town on Jan 26.ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH
Mr Shanmugam has helmed the Chong Pang ward since 1988, when he was first elected.

Anticipation around the general election and its prospective date went up a notch after the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee was formed on Jan 22.

The committee’s report will trigger a redrawing of Singapore’s electoral constituencies, a necessary step before the polls can happen.

Political observers told The Straits Times after the announcement that they expect the Republic to head to the polls around May.

When asked if his team was ramping up preparations, Mr Shanmugam said: “Our focus is still primarily groundwork, and my belief is that if you focus on the ground, then the other things take care of themselves.

“But the branch every week is very busy.”

He added that the MPs are out and about during festivities such as CNY, which starts on Jan 29.

“But that’s not it alone. We need to deal with and solve the problems on the ground, both the national-level problems and also the ground-level problems.”

Mr Shanmugam said the work has been under way over the five years since the last general election in 2020.

“It’s like muscles, and if you continuously work, then the muscles are active. If not, at the last minute, you are scrambling. We are not scrambling,” he added.

Mr Shanmugam and Ms Sim were speaking to reporters on the sidelines of Springtime Splendour@Nee Soon, a group representation constituency-wide series of celebrations organised by the People’s Association to mark the beginning of CNY.

The event features food stalls and performances, including storytelling and getai shows.

It is running from Jan 24 to Feb 12 under large tents in the open field next to Yishun Pond.

The launch event on Jan 26 was attended by several hundred residents, and featured a lion dance show and fireworks display.

Mr Daniel Liu, the event’s organising chairman and chairman of the Nee Soon East Citizens’ Consultative Committee, said: “This is a big year for Singapore. It is SG60 (Singapore’s 60th year of independence), so we wanted to do something a bit different, and stretch ourselves and the community to come together and do something special, to bring in more programming and more events.

“We want to bring the festive cheer from Chinatown... up here to the north.”