PAP unveils 4th batch of new candidates
The People's Action Party (PAP) introduced three more new candidates for the upcoming General Election, bringing the total number unveiled to 12.
The three candidates were introduced by Education Minister Ng Eng Hen at the PAP headquarters on Wednesday. They are: Mr Edwin Tong, 42, Mr Vikram Nair, 33, both lawyers, and Mr Ang Hin Kee, 46, who is the chief executive of the National Trade Union Congress' Employment & Employability Institute (e2i).
In his opening remarks at the fourth session to introduce the new candidates, Dr Ng, who is also the PAP Organising Secretary (Special Duties) said that an extensive search for new candidates had been conducted for more than four years.
He added that over 200 individuals were considered and after many assessments, meetings and feedbacks from activists and MPs, more than 20 candidates were selected.
Dr Ng said that such exhaustive efforts and stringent standards were necessary in order 'to offer Singaporeans the best possible team to preserve what we have and take us forward into the future'.
New candidate Mr Tong is currently a partner at Allen & Gledhill. He began his involvement in grassroots activities in 2008, as a volunteer at Jalan Besar GRC and also assisted at Taman Jurong and Marsiling Constituencies. The father of three is widely expected to be fielded in Moulmein-Kallang GRC.
Another new face is Mr Nair, currently a lawyer at Norton Rose, which specialises in international arbitration. Mr Nair has been assisting at Meet-the-People sessions at Chong Pang Ward since 2008 and since this year, he has been actively serving at Admiralty wards. He is tipped to be fielded at Sembawang GRC.
The third candidate, Mr Ang, has been actively involved in grassroots activities since last year and helps out at the Meet-the-People sessions in Ang Mo Kio GRC. He is the vice chairman of the Citizens' Consultative Committee and serves as the chairman of PAP Cheng San-Seletar Branch and the PAP Community Foundation.
