Singaporeans must unite under one vision for its next phase: Heng Swee Keat
The PAP's candidates for Tampines GRC, (clockwise from left) Desmond Choo, Baey Yam Keng, Cheng Li Hui, Heng Swee Keat and Masagos Zulkifli.
SINGAPORE — After 50 years of independence, Singaporeans will need to be united under one vision and a sense of purpose for its next phase of nation building, said Education Minister Heng Swee Keat today (Aug 22).
Speaking about what the upcoming General Election would mean for the country at the unveiling of the People’s Action Party (PAP) candidates for Tampines GRC, Mr Heng said the country must find ways and means to harness the ideas and energy of its people and support ground-up initiatives to build a better society.
He added: “And we must have leaders with integrity, with conviction, with ideas to take Singapore forward and with the heart to serve.”
He also highlighted the significance of Our Singapore Conversation (OSC), the national public engagement exercise which saw Singaporeans engaging in deep conversations about their concerns and aspirations. It triggered many changes in housing, healthcare and education policies, added Mr Heng, who was appointed to head the OSC committee a year after he entered politics in the 2011 General Election.
Mr Heng, who is also the anchor minister for Tampines GRC, introduced two new PAP candidates – National Trades Union Congress deputy director Desmond Choo and deputy chief executive of engineering firm Hai Leck Holdings Cheng Li Hui – to the Tampines GRC team, who will replace two veteran Members of Parliament.
Mr Choo, 37, will replace three-term MP Irene Ng in her Tampines Changkat ward. No stranger to politics, Mr Choo lost to the Workers’ Party’s Yaw Shin Leong in Hougang in the 2011 General Election. He also lost to WP’s Png Eng Huat in the by-election in the same ward a year later. Mr Choo took up the post of second advisor to grassroots organisations in Tampines Changkat in February.
Ms Cheng, 39, will replace former National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan, 66, in his Tampines East ward. She was made vice-chairman of the Citizen’s Consultative Committee in Tampines East earlier this year.
Rounding up the five-man team are Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Masagos Zulkifli and backbencher Baey Yam Keng.
On the prospect of facing the National Solidarity Party, which has indicated that they will be contesting in the GRC, Mr Heng said they take every election seriously because it is about the lives of Singaporeans and the future of the country.
“Whichever party that we face, we have a very united team amongst us here, committed to serving the residents of Tampines, committed to taking Singapore forward, to serving fellow Singaporeans,” he added.
The PAP garnered 57.2 per cent of the votes at the 2011 polls – a smaller percentage than what was won in the 2006 General Election. But Mr Heng said the party focuses on how to serve residents and take Singapore forward, and it would be for the residents to judge and provide their support.
Responding to a question on his views on the criticism levelled by the Opposition against his education policies, Mr Heng said many parents and students have told him that they are very proud of the education system and have benefited from it.
“Our education system seeks to bring out the best in every child regardless of their starting point, regardless of their financial background… This is something I feel that we have built up over many, many years. It is a sharp contrast to many education systems around the world where there is no sense of the long-term, where there is no strategic direction,” he added.
He also disagreed that OSC was created to reap political dividends, adding that the conversations have changed the way government agencies engaged Singaporeans in policy-making.
Meanwhile, Mr Mah said that one of the highlights working with the residents was to have watched them grow up. “Many years ago I had either carried the person in my arms or had given him or her a bursary or a scholarship (and) now to realise that he or she is now a parent or even a grandparent...that is very memorable and moving,” he said of his term.
Ms Ng said the shocking knowledge of an old senior from a low income group commiting suicide was one of the strong incidents that made her want to do more. “When I heard of the suicide I was pierced to the core...that (event) caused me to make sure that the community does its part to care for the seniors.” Hence, Silver Connect, a wellness programme for the elderly set up in Tampines Changkat, was set up to engage seniors. ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY ANGELA TENG
