SINGAPORE – With more than a decade of volunteering under her belt, new PAP candidate Elysa Chen is used to walking the ground and listening to people’s needs, giving her a taste of the hard work that goes into grassroots politics.
When the May 3 polls come around, she said, she hopes her track record speaks for itself.
Although she said she is very much the “newbie on the block”, with more experienced PAP teammates like Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat and Mr Saktiandi Supaat, getting to work on the ground is not new to her.
Speaking to The Straits Times on April 22, Ms Chen, 41, addressed a common criticism lobbed at new PAP candidates who are fielded in safe group representation constituencies helmed by an anchor minister.
“I’m not a babe in the woods,” she said. “Yes, it’s my first election, but I’m used to serving people, and I have a track record of finding solutions to problems.”
The former journalist and junior college teacher was also a church youth pastor earlier in her career.
After volunteering with CampusImpact as a tutor, she was in 2018 appointed executive director of the charity, which helps disadvantaged youth. She has done volunteer work since her journalist days from 2007 to 2011, and joined the PAP in October 2023.
Ms Chen is one of two new candidates being fielded in the four-member Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, which the PAP has won handily in the last two general elections.
The other is executive director of Chinatown Heritage Centre Cai Yinzhou, 35, who said he, too, believes every vote is hard won.
Before his candidacy was announced, he was better known for social advocacy work, such as for migrant workers.
If elected, he is expected to take over Toa Payoh Central, which was overseen by Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen, who is retiring from politics after 24 years.
Mr Cai said: “I think the focus for me in this election is to earn that trust, walk the ground, hear the needs and issues, and in this period, to also work together with the team to serve the broader GRC.
“We cannot take any area in this election or any election for granted – that people will naturally vote for you.”
Chee Hong Tat to helm Bishan-Toa Payoh, Gan Siow Huang to defend Marymount seatWith its new slate, PAP looks to form 5G with more diversity, minorities
In the last two general elections, the PAP secured a vote share in Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC that was higher than the national average. In 2020, the PAP team won 67.23 per cent of the votes in the GRC against the Singapore People’s Party (SPP), higher than the PAP’s overall vote share of 61.23 per cent.
A rematch is on the cards for this election. An SPP slate, likely to be led by secretary-general Steve Chia, is expected to go up against the PAP team helmed by Mr Chee.
Mr Cai was one of incumbent Nee Soon GRC MP Louis Ng’s legislative assistants for about five years, since 2018, when he joined the party. Legislative assistants help MPs carry out research for proposals they bring to Parliament.
If elected, Mr Cai said, he hopesto rally people to support identified needs in society, giving the example of helping migrant workers during the pandemic.
In 2020, he co-founded a group to distribute essential goods such as meals, groceries and toiletries to migrant workers. He was nominated for The Straits Times Singaporean of the Year award that year.
“That has been my belief – that if we see issues in the community, we can solve it together.
“That’s something that the new role of being an MP will allow greater impact to the community of Toa Payoh,” said Mr Cai, a father to two young children, including a newborn.
Likewise, Ms Chen – whose son turns two in June – said she hopes to bring along her social sector experience if she gets a chance to enter Parliament.
She added that she feels strongly about better support for mental health and social workers. For instance, standard sick leave could be allowed to be used for mental health issues, and postnatal care for mothers needs to be expanded, she added.
Said Ms Chen: “Social workers are often overstretched, and we must invest in both their numbers and their development... We should make sure they’re equipped, supported and recognised.”
Who are the 32 new PAP candidates being fielded in the election?GE2025: Get the latest on the Singaporeelection
JoinST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
Bishan-Toa Payoh GRCGE2025Elections
