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GE2025: PAP’s Henry Kwek to face PSP’s Tony Tan in Kebun Baru SMC
In the 2020 election, Mr Kwek won the seat with 62.92 per cent of the votes against another PSP candidate.
PAP's Henry Kwek will face PSP's Tony Tan in Kebun Baru SMC. (Photo: CNA/Syamil Sapari)
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SINGAPORE: The People’s Action Party’s (PAP) Henry Kwek will go head to head with the Progress Singapore Party’s (PSP) Tony Tan in Kebun Baru SMC.
Both candidates successfully filed their nomination papers at Deyi Secondary School on Wednesday (Apr 23).
Mr Kwek, 49, is the executive director of a trading, investments and consulting firm, and the chief executive of a boutique investment firm.
Kebun Baru SMC was also contested by PSP in the 2020 election, when its candidate Kumaran Pillai lost to Mr Kwek, who won 62.92 per cent of the votes. Then, it was a newly carved-out ward from Nee Soon GRC.
Mr Kwek made his political debut in 2015 as one of the five PAP candidates contesting Nee Soon GRC.
In his speech, Mr Kwek said: “Over the past decade together, we've built a caring and beautiful Kebun Baru, a home where seniors age with dignity and young families grow with hope."
Adding that the best days lie ahead, he said: "We focus on what matters most, easing the cost of living, helping everybody live long and well, and standing with you through uncertain times, just like we did during COVID, because your hope gives us purpose, your concern gives us resolve, and together we overcome challenges and build what's next with courage and care."
Going up against Mr Kwek this time around in Kebun Baru is PSP’s Tony Tan.
Mr Tan previously stood in Chua Chu Kang GRC under the National Solidarity Party (NSP) banner in 2011, where his team lost to the PAP.
The 55-year-old has been a volunteer with the PSP since the party was founded in 2019. He is married to PSP vice-chairperson Hazel Poa.
A Singapore Armed Forces scholar with an engineering background, Mr Tan is also a co-founder of a private education and gaming company.
Mr Tan said his party wants to build a better Singapore "where no one is left behind".
“The role of our MP is to debate policy,” he added. “I'd like to take this opportunity to invite Mr Henry Kwek for policy debate or discussion.”
Speaking to reporters after nomination, Mr Tan raised what he perceived as gaps in caring for an ageing population.
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While there are many social support schemes available, he said trying to access that help can be frustrating when callers are redirected to different government agencies or departments.So there is a lag time before the schemes take effect, or if the support is not approved, he stressed.
“Our population is ageing and we actually have a population pyramid that is inverted, that’s not in our favour. So in the long run, we really have quite a lot of challenges facing ahead.”
He also talked about the burdens faced by caregivers, saying: “Younger families are struggling with having to assist their elderly parents as well as their young children."
Mr Tan added that education policies are one of the key areas close to his heart. “We have to support our young people. It’s important to provide them with all the opportunities that ought to be provided.”
He said that the country should not allow the young to lose confidence in their future.“One of the symptoms of that is the low fertility rate, that they don’t want to have children. So that’s an area I’m quite concerned about for young people," he added.
"They might lose hope and then in the longer run, I don’t know whether we will still have a country.”
In this election, Kebun Baru SMC went through a minor boundary adjustment, with one polling district shifting over from Yio Chu Kang SMC.
The updated electorate count stands at 22,223 voters
