PAP leadership changes in Aljunied GRC fuel speculation on candidate struggles ahead of GE2025

SINGAPORE: The ruling People's Action Party (PAP) is reportedly set to replace the chairman of its Paya Lebar branch in Aljunied GRC, a stronghold of the Workers' Party (WP), just six months after its last leadership reshuffle.

Current branch chairman Kenny Sim Mong Keang (沈茂强), 55, who took on the role in August 2023, will be stepping down due to health reasons, according to state media CNA. Political newcomer Daniel Liu is expected to succeed him.

Liu is the managing director of urban planning consultancy Morrow Architects and Planners, as well as the executive director of Morrow Intelligence, an urban planning data analytics firm. He is also the Citizens’ Consultative Committee (CCC) chairman of the Nee Soon East ward in Nee Soon GRC. CCCs play a crucial role in grassroots engagement, organising major community activities, overseeing local assistance programmes, and leading national campaigns. Liu has been volunteering in Nee Soon East, which is currently represented by Member of Parliament Louis Ng, since October 2014. Additionally, Liu is the son of former Housing Development Board (HDB) and Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) CEO Liu Thai Ker. He is also the organising chairman for the ongoing Springtime Splendor Chinese New Year carnival in Nee Soon. Both Liu and the outgoing chairman Sim declined to comment when contacted by CNA.

Further leadership changes in Aljunied GRC

Beyond Paya Lebar, the PAP’s Bedok Reservoir-Punggol branch is also expected to undergo a leadership change, with vice-chairman Adrian Ang set to succeed chairman Victor Lye, according to CNA sources.

Lye was part of the PAP teams that contested WP in Aljunied GRC during the 2015 and 2020 General Elections.

Ang, 41, is the director of facility and environmental management company Chye Thiam Maintenance.

He previously served as branch secretary in Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat’s Toa Payoh West-Thomson division in Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC before joining the Aljunied team.

CNA reported that PAP has declined to comment on the leadership changes.

Aljunied GRC is not the only opposition-held constituency where the PAP has made leadership adjustments.

In Sengkang GRC, Bernadette Giam replaced Marcus Loh as Sengkang East branch chair last month, about a year and a half after he had taken over from his predecessor, Ling Weihong.

Frequent leadership changes in Aljunied GRC fuel speculation on PAP’s candidate struggles

These leadership changes have sparked discussions among political observers and the public.

Comments on CNA's Facebook page suggest that some have questioned the frequent reshuffling within PAP’s Aljunied branch, speculating that the ruling party may be struggling to find suitable candidates to contest the WP stronghold.

'Suicide squad'

Others have suggested that failing to field its strongest candidates in Aljunied could be seen as an admission of defeat, with some netizens even sarcastically referring to PAP’s potential candidate lineup as a “suicide squad.”

    

Some have proposed that PAP consider appointing a minister as an anchor candidate in its Aljunied lineup for the next General Election.

Further speculation has emerged that PAP’s difficulty in fielding strong candidates could give WP an even greater advantage in GE2025.

Given that Liu is the son of former chief planner Liu Thai Ker, some have noted that his father had previously suggested Singapore’s planning parameters should be designed to accommodate a "worst-case scenario" of a population reaching 10 million to ensure long-term sustainability.

PAP eager to reclaim Aljunied from WP

The WP first captured Aljunied GRC in the 2011 election, defeating a PAP team that included Foreign Affairs Minister George Yeo and newcomer Ong Ye Kung, who is currently Minister for Health. The WP secured 54.72% of the votes, becoming the first opposition party to win a GRC since the system’s introduction in 1988. The WP team, led by then-WP Secretary-General Low Thia Khiang, included Pritam Singh, Sylvia Lim, Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap, and newcomer Chen Show Mao. Low had left his long-standing stronghold of Hougang to contest Aljunied GRC. In the 2015 election, the WP retained Aljunied GRC with 50.95% of the votes. Despite applying for a recount, the PAP team, which included veteran MP Yeo Guat Kwang and four new faces, including current Kaki Bukit branch chairman Shamsul Kamar, was narrowly defeated. In the 2020 General Election, Pritam Singh led the WP to victory in Aljunied GRC with 59.95% of the votes, marking the highest margin by which the WP has won a GRC to date. The WP also achieved a significant win in the newly created four-member Sengkang GRC, securing its second GRC.