New PAP faces may be formally introduced soon

Potential candidates have been out in force with sitting MPs meeting residents

- Goh Yan Han Political Correspondent and Ng Wei Kai

With a general election coming, the ruling party has begun introducing potential candidates to the public.

New faces have been out in force with sitting PAP MPs, meeting residents and speaking to the media at walkabouts and community events across the island.

This will be followed by a formal introduction of the new candidates, which could be as soon as this week, observers said.

They added that the pace is likely to pick up in the first week of April. The 2025 format looks to be a mix of past approaches.

On March 29, in what was the most definitive introduction so far, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung announced moving company chief operating officer Gabriel Lam and battery company director Ng Shi Xuan as new faces likely to stand in his Sembawang GRC in the coming polls.

More are likely to follow.

Potential candidates began surfacing as early as 2024, but before the release of the new electoral boundaries, many were not formally introduced to the public and the media.

Political observers noted that the new faces have been spending more time on the ground quietly before being introduced to the public. They were spotted shadowing MPs at community events, where they identified themselves as grassroots volunteers or party activists.