GE2025: East Coast GRC hosts head-to-head between PAP team led by Edwin Tong and WP slate with Yee Jenn Jong

SINGAPORE: The People’s Action Party (PAP) and Workers’ Party (WP) will go head-to-head in a battle for East Coast GRC at Singapore’s May 3 General Election.

Candidates from both parties successfully filed their nomination papers at Yusof Ishak Secondary School on Wednesday (Apr 23).

Anchored by Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Mr Edwin Tong, the PAP slate also consists of Senior Minister of State Mr Tan Kiat How, Ms Jessica Tan and new faces Ms Hazlina Abdul Halim as well as Mr Dinesh Vasu Dash.

Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat, who had helmed the team since the last election in 2020, was a surprise exclusion at the last-minute. He entered the nomination hall with the five other candidates, only for his name to be left off nomination papers that were filed.

DPM Heng, who in 2020 was also the subject of a late-hour switch from Tampines to East Coast GRCs, announced his retirement via a Facebook post shortly after.

The PAP team will go up against a WP slate comprising former Non-Constituency MP Yee Jenn Jong, GE2020 candidate Nathaniel Koh and fresh faces Mr Jasper Kuan, Mr Sufyan Mikhail Putra and Ms Paris V Parameswari.

Mr Yee and Mr Koh both contested in Marine Parade GRC in the last election.

"BIG FEET" TO FILL BIG SHOES

The Electoral Boundaries Review Committee last month made extensive changes to the five-member East Coast constituency. 

It took in the Chai Chee Housing Board estates and Siglap private estates from neighbouring Marine Parade GRC, while several districts were removed to form part of a new Pasir Ris-Changi GRC. 

There are 150,691 voters in East Coast GRC as of Feb 1. 

In a speech after his team's confirmed candidacy, Mr Tong said: "We will listen to your hopes and concerns. We will turn your aspirations into reality. If elected, we will serve all of you with everything that we have." 

He later told reporters that he expected a "tight" contest in the election, and that Mr Yee was a "good opponent".

"There’s a lot of work ahead of us, but we have a strong and diverse team," said Mr Tong.

On the WP slate, he said: "This is a team we are taking very seriously. We cannot take it for granted, we will work extra and doubly hard so the new faces are caught up as soon as possible."

He was also asked about Mr Heng's exit from politics, and whether he had big shoes to fill.

"Yes, but thankfully we also have big feet," was Mr Tong's response.

In Mr Yee's confirmation speech, he said: "Today, we have a dedicated team who stands upon the hard work of many thousands of volunteers and past candidates who have worked here tirelessly for the last 20 years. We will be your voice in parliament."

His WP team did not speak to reporters after.

ANOTHER CLOSE FIGHT?

In the last election in 2020, East Coast was a fiercely contested site between teams led by DPM Heng and Ms Nicole Seah of WP. 

The PAP team edged out WP with 53.39 per cent of the votes – one of the party's narrowest victories in that General Election.

This was a drop from the 60.73 per cent achieved by the PAP in the 2015 election, and was also the WP’s strongest showing in the GRC since 2006.

The ruling party had fielded Mr Heng, then-Senior Minister of State for Defence and Foreign Affairs​​​​​​ Dr Maliki Osman, Ms Jessica Tan, Ms Cheryl Chan and then-newcomer Mr Tan Kiat How. 

Dr Maliki and Ms Chan retired from politics on Monday.

Aside from Ms Seah, the WP slate then comprised Mr Terence Tan, Mr Dylan Ng, Mr Kenneth Foo and Mr Abdul Shariff Aboo Kassim.