SINGAPORE – With his Joo Chiat ward being drawn into East Coast GRC, Mr Edwin Tong has been in talks with the constituency’s MPs on how to integrate existing plans.
The Minister for Culture, Community and Youth said there is a lot of synergy between work done under the East Coast Plan and what his team has been doing in Joo Chiat.
The emphasis will be on minimising disruption to residents, while ensuring that programmes that have been promised or have started will continue, he added.
Addressing the media on March 23, during a three-hour-long walkabout at the food centre at Block 16 Bedok South Road, Mr Tong said: “For one, the food on both sides of the border is equally good, so we are looking to use that to enhance the offerings for residents.”
It was Mr Tong’s first public walkabout in East Coast GRC. He was accompanied by the constituency’s anchor minister, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat, whose ward is Bedok. The GRC’s four other MPs were not present.
Mr Tong’s Joo Chiat ward was carved out of Marine Parade GRC in the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee’s report released on March 11. His ward, along with some Housing Board blocks in Chai Chee, were drawn into East Coast GRC.
Asked about whether their appearance together means both men would run in the constituency, DPM Heng pointed to the fact that Joo Chiat is now a part of East Coast GRC.
“So I look forward to having Edwin here as part of East Coast,” he said.
He added that he felt that the residents “have been very warm towards having Edwin join our team”.
Asked about the challenges of integration, Mr Tong said of his relationship with DPM Heng: “Just because we’re in different GRCs, doesn’t mean we don’t know each other well.
“We came into politics in the same year, we do know each other personally.”
Deputy Prime Minister and East Coast GRC MP Heng Swee Keat (left) and Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong speaking to the media during a walkabout in Bedok on March 23.PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO
DPM Heng added that while Mr Tong had visited his ward for the walkabout on March 23, there are plans for the existing East Coast GRC team to also visit his Joo Chiat ward.
As MP for a division newly added to well-established East Coast GRC, it is important to Mr Tong to win residents’ confidence and trust, he said.
He also wants to understand their needs in a way that allows him to serve them better, added Mr Tong.
Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong (left) and Deputy Prime Minister and East Coast GRC MP Heng Swee Keat looking at an illustration map of past and future Bedok Town.PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO
When asked if he will visit other parts of East Coast, Mr Tong said: “I would like to, because I see that Joo Chiat will be in future, part of the GRC… If I do want to serve in Joo Chiat, it means I’ll be in East Coast, so I therefore have to know about the other divisions as well.”
Mr Tong said he has started meeting volunteers in other East Coast divisions, as well as those in Chai Chee.
DPM Heng has also shared his insights into the GRC, he added.
When asked about potential changes to the GRC’s line-up, DPM Heng said the full slate of candidates would be revealed by the PAP’s secretary-general, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.
“There is a schedule that he has. Please be patient,” he said.
He added: “I’ve given him my inputs and we will wait for Nomination Day or earlier.”
Goh Yan Han is political correspondent at The Straits Times. She writes Unpacked, a weekly newsletter on Singapore politics and policy.
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