GE2025
PAP unveils Desmond Lee-led team in West Coast–Jurong West GRC to fend off PSP challenge
PAP has unveiled a renewed five-member team for West Coast–Jurong West GRC in GE2025, led by Desmond Lee. Two new candidates, Hamid Razak and Cassandra Lee, will be making their electoral debut. The GRC was the tightest race in 2020, with the PAP narrowly securing 51.69% of the vote against the PSP team led by Tan Cheng Bock, which is expected to contest again.
Desmond Lee, Minister for National Development, will lead the People’s Action Party (PAP) team in the newly renamed West Coast-Jurong West GRC at Singapore’s upcoming General Election.
The announcement, made on 15 April 2025, revealed a five-member team including two first-time candidates: orthopaedic surgeon Hamid Razak, 39, and lawyer Cassandra Lee, 33.
Joining them are Senior Parliamentary Secretary Shawn Huang and incumbent Ang Wei Neng.
Huang’s Taman Jurong division was moved from Jurong GRC to the reconstituted GRC under the updated electoral map.
MPs Foo Mee Har and Rachel Ong, who represented the Ayer Rajah-Gek Poh and Telok Blangah divisions respectively, will not be part of the new line-up.
The party has not confirmed whether they will retire or be deployed elsewhere.
The GRC was formerly known as West Coast and has undergone notable changes following the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee’s recommendations.
It now includes parts of Jurong West and Taman Jurong and has been renamed West Coast-Jurong West GRC.
The total electorate has expanded to 158,581 voters.
Harbourfront and Sentosa have been shifted to Radin Mas SMC, while Dover and parts of Telok Blangah have been absorbed into Tanjong Pagar GRC.
Speaking at PAP’s West Coast branch office, Lee said the team has been active in working with residents through social programmes, especially for seniors, jobseekers and youth.
“We seek residents’ continued support so we can implement our plans and continue rolling out the initiatives we’ve started,” he said.
The GRC is set for a likely rematch with the Progress Singapore Party (PSP), which confirmed its intention to contest the ward again.
GE2020’s tightest race set for rematch
In 2020, West Coast was the most closely fought constituency.
PAP secured 51.69 per cent of the vote, narrowly defeating the PSP team led by Leong Mun Wai and Hazel Poa, who later entered Parliament as NCMPs.
Former Transport Minister S Iswaran, a long-time MP in the area, resigned in January 2024 after facing corruption charges.
He pleaded guilty to lesser offences and is currently serving a 12-month home detention sentence imposed in October last year.
Among the new PAP candidates, Hamid Razak has served as deputy branch chair at the party’s Jurong Spring branch and is also a grassroots adviser.
He said his experience as a beneficiary of government policies drew him to join the party.
“I grew up in Queenstown and benefitted from Singapore’s meritocratic system,” he said, reflecting on his upbringing and education.
He was approached to join the party in 2017. Over the past three years, he has assumed broader responsibilities, including executive planning and contributing policy ideas.
Hamid’s key interests include improving health literacy, refining SkillsFuture to benefit households with fewer resources, and advocating for migrant workers.
On facing his first electoral battle in what was the tightest race in 2020, Hamid remarked, “It’s a baptism of fire, and I think I’ll be up to the challenge.”
While acknowledging the PSP’s legacy in the area—especially under its founder Tan Cheng Bock—Hamid said the PAP team remains focused on their own capabilities and plans.
He added that he intends to continue his medical career if elected, noting, “With good planning, you can build efficiency into the system. This is not the first time a doctor has entered politics.”
Cassandra Lee, the other newcomer, brings both legal and public service experience. She is currently an assistant director and technology legal counsel at EY Singapore, where she also leads the AI legal practice for the ASEAN region.
Previously, she served in the Singapore Legal Service as a deputy public prosecutor and state counsel in the Attorney-General’s Chambers, and started her career at Enterprise Singapore.
Lee has also represented the country at ASEAN and APEC forums in trade negotiations. She was introduced to the public earlier this month by Grace Fu at the Jurong-Clementi Town Council’s master plan launch.
A dedicated community volunteer, Lee has served Yuhua residents for over 16 years.
She said her volunteering journey began as a child accompanying her mother. “As a teenager, I started volunteering in Yuhua. In the flash of an eye, it has been 16 years.”
A working mother, she spoke about the challenges of balancing career and caregiving duties. She aims to advocate for young working families, including promoting flexible work cultures for fathers and more community support for working parents.
In her outreach work, she has led initiatives to improve accessibility for the elderly, drawing from personal experience caring for her late father.
“Caring for my cancer-stricken father taught me the importance of helping our elderly residents age with dignity and respect,” she said.
