GE2025: PAP to launch more programmes, scale up existing ones at West Coast-Jurong West GRC, says Desmond Lee (2025)

SINGAPORE: Minister for National Development Desmond Lee on Sunday (Apr 27) said that the People’s Action Party (PAP) team in West Coast-Jurong West GRC is committed to rolling out more programmes and scaling up existing ones for residents.

Speaking at the party’s rally for West Coast-Jurong West GRC and Pioneer SMC at Jurong West Stadium, the anchor minister for the GRC reiterated the nine pillars of focus if they are elected.

These pillars, which include helping households cope with the cost of living by “supplementing national policies and programmes”, helping job seekers find good jobs and empowering people with disabilities, were also outlined in the five-year plan for the constituency that was unveiled on Nomination Day.

Mr Lee said on Sunday that having spoken to residents over the past five years, his team have heard their aspirations for good jobs and homes as well as concerns over cost of living.

"We hear you, and we have worked hard over the past five years, not just in debating national policies in parliament, but also rolling out programmes and services here on the ground to meet these needs, to make sure that nobody falls between the cracks," he said.

"So my team and I are committed to rolling out more programmes and scaling up existing initiatives to support you and make your homes and lives better."

During the rally, Mr Lee also briefly issued a response to the opposition party.

“The message that you hear from the opposition is that ‘we are moving in the wrong direction and the PAP is doing wrong by Singaporeans’” said Mr Lee.

“That is not true.”

Mr Lee said the PAP has always planned for current and future generations.

“We may not have all the answers all the time, but we are staying on course and charting our new way forward,” he said.

By coming up with solutions that are “grounded in the present” without taking their eyes off the future, Mr Lee said that the PAP has built a better Singapore.

“We will never stop doing so,” he said.

Both West Coast-Jurong West GRC and Pioneer SMC will see a rematch between PAP and the Progress Singapore Party (PSP).

Ahead of the rally on Sunday, there were exchanges between the two parties over the issue of policy debates and plans for the constituency.

Upon the confirmation of their nomination on Wednesday, the PSP slate for West Coast-Jurong West GRC challenged their PAP counterparts to debate on policies to “let voters decide who has better ideas”.

In response, after releasing his team’s five-year plan for the GRC, Mr Lee said that political parties that have walked the ground should be able to put out detailed proposals and local plans to benefit residents.He also called on PSP to publish these local plans for residents to study.

On Sunday, the PAP candidates for West Coast-Jurong West GRC outlined some of the programmes that the previous team had carried out, and how these initiatives will be expanded on in the next five years.

Speaking before Mr Lee were his teammates, former MPs Shawn Huang, Ang Wei Neng and new faces Cassandra Lee and Hamid Razak.

Of the four, only Mr Lee and Mr Ang have been retained from the party’s previous West Coast GRC slate in 2020.

Also speaking at the event were Mr Patrick Tay, who is contesting Pioneer SMC, and Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean.

In the redrawn West Coast-Jurong West GRC, Mr Lee’s team will be facing off with PSP leadership who contested West Coast GRC in the last election: Chairman Tan Cheng Bock, secretary-general Leong Mun Wai and first vice-chairperson Hazel Poa. Joining the PSP team are newcomers Sani Ismail and Sumarleki Amjah.

In the 2020 General Election, the PAP retained West Coast GRC with 51.68 per cent of the vote, while PSP secured two Non-Constituency MP (NCMP) seats as the best-performing losing team.

Following a redrawing of electoral boundaries, parts of Jurong West and Taman Jurong from traditional PAP stronghold Jurong GRC merged with West Coast to form the current West Coast-Jurong West GRC, with an expanded electorate of 158,581 voters.

Over at Pioneer SMC, Mr Tay, who is also assistant secretary-general of the National Trades Union Congress, will be defending his seat against PSP’s new face Stephanie Tan.

Pioneer SMC is one of nine constituencies that remained unchanged in the latest review of Singapore's electoral map. As of 2025, the ward has 25,166 registered voters.

CARE IS IN "REAL ACTION", NOT SLOGANS OR POSTERS

This is in line with the three “solemn responsibilities” that he said guide his work as a Member of Parliament.

He listed out how residents’ feedback is constantly on his mind and how he has listened to them, from expanding Orange CHAS subsidies to cover private dental clinics, to pushing for safer cycling paths in West Coast and Jurong West, to securing an increase in the Lift Access Housing Grant to help more families move into accessible homes.

“A great estate is not built in parliament, it is built on the ground, with you,” said Mr Ang.

He named several programmes over the years, such as Nanyang Project Purple Heart, which highlights the efforts of caregivers for people with disabilities, and Nanyang Sayang, which offers free tuition and mentorship to students from low-income families.

“This is what care looks like in action, not slogans, not posters. Real action, real heart, real people,” said Mr Ang.

“But the journey has not ended. There is still more to do. More families to lift up. More lives to touch. So tonight, I ask you to give us the mandate to serve you another five years.”

New face Dr Hamid said even though there is a “need for good policy”, the issues residents face are often multifaceted and cannot be resolved by policy alone.

He said: “While some may clamour for grand new policies every day, let us ask ourselves honestly: Can every single problem be solved by policy alone?”

“I believe no.”

As an orthopaedic surgeon, he said how he saw firsthand how health problems and social issues are often “intertwined”, where patients with physical ailments frequently face other issues such as loneliness, financial worries and family breakdown.

National-level programmes were not from policy papers but “born from local ideas, from young people, from ground work, from listening to people first”, he added.

“There is also a need for local programmes and ground-up initiatives to complement this community,” said Dr Hamid.

“Our community cannot rely on policies or programmes alone. It is made alive by us, the people.”

Fellow PAP new face Ms Lee said residents can look forward to “meaningful change” from her if elected.

This would come in the form of tangible improvements from infrastructure to policies to help different segments.

For her ward of Ayer Rajah, if elected, it would be more “vibrant, forward-looking, and connected” with neighbourhood renewal, Silver Zones for safer streets, cycling paths, and better transport links.

“These are not distant plans, but developments I will work to deliver — improving life for everyone,” said Ms Lee.

She also pledged to create more opportunities for youths to thrive in a fast-changing world, ease the pressures faced by young families and ensure that seniors can live with dignity and respect.

PIONEER SMC

Like his counterparts at West Coast-Jurong West GRC, Mr Tay also outlined some of the successful programmes rolled out in his constituency since he was elected there in 2020.

At the ward level, he noted that residents benefited from the monthly legal clinics organised there, while 10,000 households in Pioneer were provided relief through direct assistance and local packages over and above national schemes.

There were also rejuvenation and greening efforts such as the building of sheltered linkways and the planting of trees.

In parliament, Mr Tay, who is also a labour MP, said that he has advocated residents concerns "with meaningful results" when it comes to employment and career advancement, citing the recent Workplace Fairness Act as one example.

Moving forward, Mr Tay said residents can look forward to even more infrastructure upgrading, a rejuvenated community centre and more support programmes for Pioneer residents.

"As a father of three teenagers, I want to do my part to create a fairer, more inclusive, more hopeful community for them and to help them inherit a nation with stronger foundation," said Mr Tay.