by Alicia Wong |
SingaporeScene – 1 hour 23 minutes ago
Minister Mentor (MM) Lee Kuan Yew indicated he would contest in
the Tanjong Pagar group representation constituency this coming
General Election (GE), putting to rest any question on whether the
so-called father of modern Singapore, who turns 88 in September,
would do so given his age.
In his video released on the ruling People's Action Party's
website on Sunday, MM Lee said, "I'm happy to be still representing
Tanjong Pagar."
MM Lee, the founding member and first secretary-general of the
PAP, first won his Tanjong Pagar seat in May 1955, and he has
retained it ever since. He is now in his 11th term since
Singapore's independence.
A total of 18 Members of Parliament will be retiring this GE,
including Senior Minister S Jayakumar and Minister Lim Boon Heng,
who have served as Members of Parliament (MPs) since 1980.
"I've seen Tanjong Pagar transform in three generations. It's no
longer a scruffy area," he said in the video in which he also
recalled how his son Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong used to follow
him during his campaigning.
"It's now as good a constituency as any in Singapore," he
said.
Senior research fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies
Gillian Koh said it is no surprise that MM Lee is contesting in the
GE. "It would be a surprise if he were not running," she said.
"His conviction about Singapore, passion for Singapore still
remains very strong as we can see in the volume he put up recently,
Hard Truths."
In the book, published by Singapore Press Holdings and launched
in January, MM Lee shared his insights into various issues ranging
from the future of Singapore's political system, immigration, the
rise of China and climate change.
Dr Koh noted that MM Lee is also renewing his team in Tanjong
Pagar and grooming younger leaders.
With MM Lee contesting, "the older voters may be happy, they may
feel a strong sense of comfort that he's still there," said Dr
Koh.
"He has his support and he's still strong in Tanjong Pagar. So
the key thing is to see who will come to challenge him," she
added.
The five-man team for Tanjong Pagar GRC consists of Members of
Parliament Indranee Rajah (Tanglin-Cairnhill), Dr Lily Neo (Kreta
Ayer-Kim Seng), Baey Yam Keng (Queenstown) and new candidate
Major-General Chan Chun Sing (Buona Vista).
Videos of other PAP candidates can be found in the microsites
for the 27 constituencies under the PAP website. The PAP's GE
website went live at noon on Sunday, timed to coincide with the
launch of the party's manifesto.
-Yahoo! News Sg
