Madam Halimah's move to new GRC confirmed; Arthur Fong stepping down
PUBLISHED ONAugust 09, 2015 3:19 AMByNur Asyiqin Mohamad Salleh
SINGAPORE - Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam on Saturday announced changes to the People's Action Party's slate in western Singapore, with a senior MP leaving for a newly-created GRC and another long-serving legislator stepping down.
Speaker of Parliament Halimah Yacob will leave her Bukit Batok East ward in Jurong GRC and join the new Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC.
Separately, three-term MP Arthur Fong, who has been the MP for Clementi ward in West Coast GRC since 2001, is stepping down at the next general election.
His ward will come under Jurong GRC at the next polls, following boundary changes that were announced last month .
Mr Tharman, who is Jurong GRC's anchor minister, also named their likely successors when he attended separate constituency events on Saturday night.
Former civil servant Rahayu Mahzam looks to be Madam Halimah's replacement. Mr Tharman introduced her to Bukit Batok East residents at a National Day dinner in the ward, saying that as Madam Halimah leaves to join the new Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC, "a very good young person has come in to Bukit Batok East".
Mr Fong's replacement in Clementi ward is oncologist Tan Wu Meng, who has been understudying Mr Fong for some six months now.
Mr Tharman said at a concert in Clementi that he was confident Dr Tan would be able to carry on the good work there.
Meanwhile at the Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC's National Day dinner, potential candidate Sun Xueling, an investment director at Temasek Holdings, joined Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean and his fellow GRC MP on stage and said a few words.
Mr Teo told reporters afterwards that he was not formally introducing her, but he was letting residents know who she was.
Another potential PAP candidate, CIMB Bank Catalist head Yee Chia Hsing was spotted on Saturday at a walkabout in Chua Chu Kang GRC with MP Alvin Yeo.
This article was first published on August 8, 2015.
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