PAP unveils two new faces in Aljunied GRC, refreshing slate ahead of next election

SINGAPORE: The ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) has unveiled two new faces in Aljunied, as it aims to win back the opposition-held ward at the next General Election.
Political newcomers Jagathishwaran Rajo, 37, and Kenny Sim Mong Keang, 55, were announced as the new branch chairmen of the Eunos and Paya Lebar divisions respectively, the party said in a press release on Monday (Aug 12).
They replaced bank executive Chua Eng Leong and lawyer Alex Yeo, who both contested and lost to the Workers’ Party (WP) team in the last election.
The remaining three members of the PAP’s 2020 slate still head their branches: Victor Lye in Bedok Reservoir-Punggol, Shamsul Kamar in Kaki Bukit and Chan Hui Yuh, who helms the Serangoon branch.
Mr Jagathishwaran has been an active grassroots leader in the Zhenghua ward of Holland-Bukit Timah GRC for 16 years, and was the branch secretary before moving.
He became the executive secretary of the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore Staff Union (IRASSU) and the assistant director of the NTUC’s Freelancers and Self-Employed Unit (U FSE) in April this year.
Prior to this, he was on a two-year secondment with the Ministry of Trade and Industry, as a senior assistant director in the Future Economy Planning Office.
He graduated from the National University of Singapore with a degree in political science in 2012, before doing his master’s in community leadership and social development at the Singapore University of Social Sciences.
He has been spotted at community events with his predecessor since the end of last year. Mr Chua, who took on the role in April 2013, was on the team that lost in the last two General Elections.
The other newcomer Mr Sim has been a party activist since 2015 in the Woodlands and Bukit Timah divisions.
In the Bukit Timah ward of Holland-Bukit Timah GRC, he served as the branch’s vice-chairman for six years, and was also chairman of the Citizens’ Consultative Committee (CCC).
CCCs plan and lead major grassroots activities within constituencies, oversee local assistance programmes, and organise major fund-raising projects and national campaigns.
Mr Sim is the CEO and executive director of computer and electronics manufacturing firm Serial Achieva, which was listed on the Singapore Exchange Catalist in June.
He graduated from Ngee Ann Polytechnic with a diploma in electronic engineering in 1990, before getting a degree in commerce from Murdoch University in 1998. He went on to attain a doctorate of philosophy in business administration from Honolulu University in 2015.
As new branch heads, both men will likely be part of the PAP’s slate for the next General Election, which has to be called by November next year.
Aljunied GRC was first won by the WP in the 2011 election, defeating a PAP team which included Foreign Affairs Minister George Yeo and newcomer Ong Ye Kung, who is currently Minister for Health.
It had secured 54.72 per cent of the votes, becoming the first opposition party to win a GRC since the implementation of the system in 1988.
The team was led by then-WP secretary-general Low Thia Khiang, who left his long-time stronghold of Hougang to contest the GRC. It included current Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh, party chairman Sylvia Lim, Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap and newcomer Chen Show Mao.
The WP then retained Aljunied GRC in the 2015 electoral contest, with 50.95 per cent of the votes. Given the close outcome, the PAP team applied for a recount, but was eventually still edged out.
The PAP team had comprised veteran four-term MP Yeo Guat Kwang, and four new faces, including current Kaki Bukit branch chairman Mr Shamsul.
In the last General Election in 2020, Mr Singh led his party to victory in the constituency again, in his first electoral outing after taking over the reins from Mr Low in 2018.
The 59.95 per cent of votes secured was the highest margin to date by which the WP has won a GRC.
The 2020 contest also saw a WP win in the newly created four-member Sengkang GRC, securing its second GRC.
It won 52.13 per cent of the votes against a PAP team that included three political office holders – labour chief Ng Chee Meng, Senior Minister of State for Transport and Health Lam Pin Min, and Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Home Affairs and Health Amrin Amin.
The latest announcement of the new branch chairmen follows the PAP’s earlier moves in other opposition-held constituencies, as the party refreshes its slate ahead of the next election.
In Hougang, which has been held by the WP since 1991, NTUC assistant director for its operations and mobilisation division Jackson Lam became branch chairperson on Oct 17 last year.
He took over from Mr Lee Hong Chuang, who contested and lost in Hougang in 2015 and 2020.
Mr Lam has been a PAP activist since 2013 at its Chong Pang division in Nee Soon GRC.
The PAP has also shown its hand early in Sengkang GRC, with its four-member team featuring prominently at community events and walkabouts, and also appearing on pamphlets and other party collaterals distributed to constituents.
Dr Lam is the only original Sengkang member from the PAP’s 2020 outing who remains, continuing as branch chair of Sengkang West and becoming the team’s leader.
Since Mar 27, 2022, the PAP has appointed new faces as branch chairmen in the constituency.
Helming Sengkang Central is Associate Professor Elmie Nekmat from the communications and new media department at the National University of Singapore.
Another new face is Ms Theodora Lai, principal at venture capital firm Tembusu Partners, who oversees Sengkang North.
In November last year, Mr Marcus Loh, director and head of strategic communication, public affairs and corporate marketing at digital transformation services firm Temus, took the helm of Sengkang East.