Potong Pasir SMC Lawyer Alex Yeo replaces Sitoh on PAP slate

Lawyer Alex Yeo will stand in Potong Pasir under the PAP banner at the upcoming polls, replacing three-term MP Sitoh Yih Pin, who is stepping down from politics.

- Gabrielle Chan and Vanessa Paige Chelvan

Mr Yeo, 46, entered politics in 2020, when he was fielded in Aljunied GRC as part of a PAP slate. The PAP lost with 40.05 per cent of the vote against the Workers' Party, which won with 59.95 per cent.

In a press briefing in Potong Pasir on April 16, Mr Yeo said he is not new to Potong Pasir because he started volunteering in the constituency in 2013.

"It feels like I have come home... A part of me never actually left Potong Pasir," he added.

In his opening remarks, he thanked Mr Sitoh for teaching him the ropes in Potong Pasir.

He said: "He is a dear mentor of mine, and I have learnt many lessons in community leadership and service from him." Mr Sitoh, 61, has been the MP for Potong Pasir SMC since 2011.

Mr Yeo added that he had been coming back to the estate — even when he was on the ground in Aljunied — to run a community legal clinic he set up in 2016. He also launched a pro bono Lasting Power of Attorney programme.

"I am just a viaduct away," he said, referring to the proximity of Aljunied to Potong Pasir.

In the pipeline is a manifesto he is preparing to launch soon, which will provide details of a five-year plan for Potong Pasir, said Mr Yeo.