PAP's Desmond Choo moves out of Hougang

The People's Action Party (PAP) candidate who twice lost in election bids in the Hougang single-member constituency appears unlikely to contest there for a third time.

Mr Desmond Choo, 36, was this week named as the second adviser to grassroots organisations in Tampines East, a ward in Tampines GRC.

Its MP is former national development minister Mah Bow Tan, 66, who stepped down from the Cabinet after the 2011 General Election.

The announcement of Mr Choo's move came in a People's Association (PA) statement yesterday on the appointment of grassroots leader Goh Chee Koh, 69, as adviser in Hougang, succeeding Mr Choo.

Mr Goh, who served as a grassroots volunteer in Punggol for 40 years, including as Punggol Central Citizens Consultative Committee chairman, took over in Hougang on Tuesday.

The statement also said that gynaecologist and grassroots leader Kee Wei Heong, 64, took over yesterday as grassroots adviser in Aljunied GRC's Kaki Bukit ward.

He succeeds Mr Ong Ye Kung, 44, who was part of the five-man PAP team that lost to the Workers' Party (WP) in Aljunied GRC in the 2011 polls.

Mr Ong, who served as adviser in Kaki Bukit for over three years, said in July that he had moved to Sembawang GRC.

He has no official position there, but it was previously reported that he would help at Marsiling ward, whose MP is Senior Parliamentary Secretary (Education and Manpower) Hawazi Daipi, 60.

Mr Ong and Mr Choo remain chairmen of the PAP Kaki Bukit and Hougang branches respectively.

But sources expect them to hand over the posts: Mr Ong to SMRT deputy director for infrastructure Kahar Hassan, 45, a regular face at Aljunied grassroots events in recent months; and Mr Choo to Singapore Gymnastics vice-president Lee Hong Chuang, 44.

Mr Lee, a former PA Youth Movement Central Youth Council chairman and who is in Incheon, South Korea, for the Asian Games 2014, confirmed yesterday that he is now serving in Hougang.

He became Hougang Community Club Management Committee chairman this month.

Mr Choo, reflecting on his move from Hougang, told The Straits Times yesterday that it was not easy to leave after more than three years.

The grassroots leaders and residents there had "become so much a part of my life... We have a committed team that has been serving residents ceaselessly", he said.

Mr Choo, a senior vice-president at venture capital firm Kestrel Capital, lost twice at the polls: in 2011 to the WP's Mr Yaw Shin Leong; and to the WP's Mr Png Eng Huat in the 2012 by-election called after the party sacked Mr Yaw for refusing to account to it for an alleged extramarital affair.

On his move to Tampines East, Mr Choo said he appreciated Mr Mah's "confidence in asking for me to assist and complement the team... I will be spending as much time as I can to get to know residents and better address issues together with the Tampines team".

Yesterday, Mr Ong, director of Ocean Minerals Singapore, a subsidiary of Keppel Corp, said he enjoys his work in Sembawang, where he is helping National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan.

"I look forward to knowing the area better and making more friends as I immerse myself more and more in community work there," he said.

This article was first published on Sep 19, 2014.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.