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The People’s Action Party (PAP) has unveiled its candidate team for the newly redrawn West Coast-Jurong West GRC, with National Development Minister Desmond Lee leading the team.
Joining him are two incumbents: Senior Parliamentary Secretary Shawn Huang, formerly of Jurong GRC’s Taman Jurong, and West Coast GRC MP Ang Wei Neng. They are accompanied by two new faces: 39-year-old orthopaedic surgeon Hamid Razak, and 33-year-old lawyer Cassandra Lee.
As is often the case with GRCs, attention is firmly fixed on the anchor minister—and this time, the spotlight on Desmond Lee is both a blessing and a burden.
Though Lee has held Cabinet positions for the past eight years and was once floated as a potential successor to PM Lee Hsien Loong, he now faces the daunting task of leading a team in a constituency once closely fought—and tainted by scandal.
The West Coast GRC was the PAP’s narrowest win in 2020, with the Progress Singapore Party (PSP) capturing 48.32% of the vote. That was under the watch of former Minister S Iswaran, who has since been convicted for accepting undeclared gifts from billionaire Ong Beng Seng while in office.
Lee, who had no involvement in the scandal, now finds himself defending not just the GRC, but the reputation of a party still reeling from one of its most high-profile falls from grace.
Is this the moment?
For the PSP, this could be the golden opportunity. If not now, then when?
The fall of a PAP stalwart, the redrawn boundaries, and Desmond Lee’s tough inheritance may finally tip the scales in their favour. A win here would cement PSP’s place as Singapore’s third elected party in Parliament.
But the opposition party has faced its own setbacks.
Tan Cheng Bock and Leong Mun Wai recently accused the government of fearmongering over Trump’s tariffs, only to backpedal after a global market plunge sparked real economic concern. The misstep may have damaged their credibility just as the election season heats up.
Meanwhile, Leong—now re-elected as PSP secretary-general—continues to draw controversy. His resignation last year followed a POFMA order over false claims about a couple allegedly denied government aid.
Even Tan himself has made serious misjudgments as well. His public endorsement of Tan Kin Lian during the 2023 Presidential Election was widely criticised, and even the party distanced itself from him.
Will the damage from the Iswaran scandal outweigh the baggage of PSP’s recent stumbles?
Or will voters reward the PAP for acting swiftly—after all, the Minister was investigated, tried and sentenced swiftly, and is currently behind bars.
Crises happen in every system. What matters is how they’re handled.
With all these moving parts, West Coast-Jurong West—even with its new borders—could again be the nation’s most hotly contested battleground.
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