GE2025 checklist: Here’s what you will need to bring on Polling Day
Singaporeans will head to the polls on Saturday, May 3, for the country’s 14th General Election.
Whether you’re a first-time voter or not, it’s essential to be prepared. Here’s a straightforward guide to ensure you’re ready for Polling Day.
Pre-vote checklist:
First things first, before you head to the polls, make sure to:
- Verify Your Polling Station: Check your poll card for your assigned polling station. You can only vote at the station specified on your card.
- Plan Your Visit: Polling stations are open from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm. Do not be late, as voters who are late will not be allowed to vote, even if they are in the queue before the station closes.
What to bring
1. NRIC or other valid identification
The most important thing: your NRIC (original or digital). This is your primary form of identification and is required for verification purposes at the polling station.
Alternatively, you may present other acceptable documents of identity, including:
- Your passport, or
- Identity cards issued by the Ministry of Defence, Singapore Police Force, or Singapore Civil Defence Force for uniformed personnel.
Do note that photocopies are not accepted.
2. Poll card
You can either bring along your physical poll card (which should be mailed to your residential address about two to three days after Nomination Day on April 23) or your ePoll card, which is available on the Singpass mobile app.
You can also log on to the Voter Services portal on the ELD website to retrieve your ePoll card.
3. A pen (optional)
Voters will be provided with self-inking X-stamps to mark their choice at the polling booths. However, if you prefer, you’re allowed to bring your own pen to mark your vote. Just ensure that your markings are clear to avoid spoiling your vote.
What not to bring
Things not to bring into the polling station include cameras, video cameras, alcohol, sharp objects, large bags and animals/pets (except guide dogs).
You also should not bring any document or material which shows a political party’s or candidate’s symbol. The law prohibits canvassing and all forms of election activity on Polling Day, except voting.
Check out our GE2025 microsite for the latest election-related news, find out which constituency you belong to, and more here.
Also Read: GE2025: What happens if you don’t vote on Polling Day in Singapore?
Featured Image Credit: Reuters file/ Designed by Vulcan Post
Backed by Mandai, this Singaporean startup offers custom nutrition & training plans for dogs
If you’re a proud (and slightly obsessive) pet owner like me, you’d know that our furry companions are more than just animals—they’re family. And when it comes to family, we want only the best.
A one-size-fits-all solution just doesn’t cut it when it comes to our pets’ care. That’s why homegrown dog care platform Pawpaw360 is taking a personalised approach, offering tailored nutrition and training plans that evolve with your dog’s unique needs, no matter their breed, size, or age.
Note: Unfortunately, PawPaw360 currently does not provide recommendations for dogs with serious health issues like kidney disease.
The company is backed by Mandai X, the growth acceleration and venture-building arm of Singapore’s Mandai Wildlife Group.
So, how does it work?
To get started, you’ll need to choose a plan for your pet. Pawpaw360 currently offers three options, as outlined on its website.
You can opt for the nutrition plan at S$38, the training plan at S$18, or take both for a comprehensive package at S$48. These are all one-time fees.
From there, you’ll then have to create a pet profile by entering key details about your dog—and that’s about it. Based on the information you’ve provided, the platform will generate tailored recommendations aligned with your chosen plan.
With Pawpaw360’s nutrition plan, pet owners will receive a nutrition assessment report, complete with a feeding guide based on specific goals—whether it’s maintaining your dog’s health or helping them lose weight.
The platform offers a variety of products, including base food, toppers, hydrators, treats, and supplements. It also calculates the exact portion sizes your dog should be eating based on their nutritional needs.
In addition, each plan comes with a complimentary custom taste test kit, so you can find out which foods your dog prefers before committing to full portions.
After receiving your pets’ personalised recommendations, you can conveniently place food orders via the platform, swapping them out for alternatives if needed based on your pets’ preferences. Each order will be delivered within two to three working days, with free delivery for orders above S$60.
You can also opt to receive reminders when you’re about to run out.
Meanwhile, Pawpaw360’s training plan offers a series of guided, levelled exercises that are tailored to match your dog’s learning pace and behavioural goals.
Recommendations are adapted over time based on your dog’s progress, needs, and preferences.
For both the nutrition and training plans, users can also book video consultations through the platform with Pawpaw360’s certified nutritionists and behaviourists. However, do note that additional fees apply for these consultations.
Pawpaw360 encourages users to regularly update their pet’s profile with the latest information to ensure recommendations remain accurate and relevant.
The platform recommends daily check-ins, which will allow it to monitor your dog’s wellbeing, such as changes in appetite, energy levels, and digestion.
This data allows Pawpaw360 to provide timely insights into how your dog is responding to their care plan.
Based on these trends, the platform can fine-tune its recommendations to ensure your pet continues receiving the most appropriate nutrition and training support.
An “all-in-one” platform
Currently, PawPaw360 is still in its beta testing phase, and is available as a Progressive Web App, which can be added directly to your phone’s homescreen. Users will receive step-by-step instructions on how to install the app during the onboarding process.
While the platform only offers nutrition and behavioural plans at present, they plan to expand their services to cover all five domains of animal welfare—Nutrition, Behaviour, Physical Health, Environment, and Mental Wellbeing—to support a more holistic approach to pet care.
These same domains are used by Mandai Wildlife Group in caring for the rescue dogs and cats housed at Kids World in the Singapore Zoo.
Ultimately, PawPaw360 wants to position itself as an “all-in-one” dog care platform, helping pet owners better understand and care for their furry companions at every stage of life.
Also Read: How this S’porean grew his pet care retail biz to make 6-figure annual revenues in one year
Featured Image Credit: PawPaw360 via Instagram
GE2025: Is tough luck for Desmond Lee the opportunity PSP has been waiting for in the West?
Disclaimer: Unless otherwise stated any opinions expressed below belong solely to the author.
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.
Check out our GE2025 microsite for the latest election-related news, find out which constituency you belong to, and who’s running where on the election battleground here.
Also Read: GE2025: What happens if you don’t vote on Polling Day in Singapore?
Featured Image Credit: Petir.sg/ Designed by Vulcan Post
This M’sian serial chef-preneur’s latest F&B venture is a Bornean-inspired BBQ joint in PJ
Located in Ara Damansara, ASAP By LYE is a new spot for barbecue lovers.
Not your typical barbecue spot, though, ASAP is all about focusing on Bornean flavours.
Behind the business is Kenny Lye, founder and restaurateur. Interestingly, Kenny himself doesn’t hail from Borneo. In fact, he grew up in PJ, where he was able to try a variety of good food and cuisine.
“I loved the experience of trying something new when it came to food,” he reminisced. “It was what drove me toward taking up culinary arts in college and has shaped me to what I am today, a restaurateur.”
Choosing F&B as his path in life, Kenny started his career in a central kitchen of a franchised company after graduation.
Here, he learnt how a well-oiled kitchen works. “I didn’t just learn about the food, but also the processes involved in keeping the central kitchen efficient,” he explained.
After four years in the central kitchen, he moved up to operations, spending the next eight years in the night entertainment industry.
Kenny worked hard, gathering knowledge and skills about the industry before finally deciding to start his own business.
A serial restaurateur
Before ASAP though, Kenny’s first business had been LYE.
“LYE started because I’ve always wanted a family brand with a neighbourly feel to it,” Kenny explained. “LYE became just that when we began operating.”
It was a place that was different from others most people were accustomed to, Kenny said. It had great ambience, was cosy, relaxed, with great food and beverages, but most importantly, it was affordable.
He then went on to start two other joints—RYU TTDI, and DARK TTDI. Each boasts a slightly different vibe.
“I wanted to push myself to create something different,” Kenny said.
Drawing inspiration from the Japanese yakitori cuisine, Kenny opted for a Japanese feel, complete with an accessible and neighbourly ambience.
“RYU was also a personal ambition of mine,” the restaurateur expressed. “I had set a goal for myself to design a neighbourhood restaurant with a different theme and ambience, every year.”
Meanwhile, DARK is a fine dining spot—yet again a totally different concept. With a focus on exclusivity, it caters to a more high-end clientele.
“Coming up with the concept for DARK and the execution of it was very challenging,” Kenny said. “It pushed me to rethink the way I did as with LYE or RYU.”
Bornean culture, but in PJ
As for ASAP, Kenny expressed that BBQ and smoked cuisine was always in the pipeline.
He expressed, “There’s something about the authenticity of cooking using wood fire to smoke or grill. It’s the low and slow cooking technique that creates rich, yet true flavours, with the juiciest outcomes.”
It was something he had been wanting to do for a long time, and it finally culminated in ASAP By LYE.
Compared to other barbecue spots, ASAP stands out by using flavours originating from Sarawak, leveraging traditional Sarawakian cooking methods and flavours to bring to life the dishes served.
“It is a different culinary experience on its own,” Kenny said. “The traditional Sarawakian theme flows through the restaurant as well, setting the ambience and ‘feel’ of the dining experience.”
Those seeking something different compared to the usual “Western style” BBQ and smoked cuisine might just find what they want here.
Kenny’s personal favourite dish is the Smoked Saba Mackerel, which features an intense smokey flavour paired with the natural fats within the fish. “Pairing it with our homemade sauces just elevates the flavours to a whole other level,” he added.
Beyond the food, Kenny also hopes to bring the energy of Borneo’s famed Rainforest Festival, bringing over the music and culture to ASAP.
Looking at the bigger picture, he hopes to get the desirable MICHELIN Bib Gourmand that recognises establishments that serve good food at moderate prices.
Leveraging years of experience
Over the years, Kenny has amassed tonnes of experience as well as struggles.
He looks back at the MCO period as the most challenging time of his career. At the time, no business could operate for dine-in customers.
“That to a F&B outlet was a death sentence,” he said. “We needed to adapt our strategies so we could stay afloat and ride through the storm.”
But that journey and perseverance has brought Kenny where he is today. Of course, it wasn’t just sheer grit that he has to thank, but rather lots of planning.
“If you have the passion, don’t just dive right into the business,” he advised. “It takes a lot of planning and getting the direction you want to go, right. Things don’t always work out, and you can expect challenges along the way. But that doesn’t mean you should give up right away. Start by having a plan with a long-term goal.”
He added, “Pre-plan five years ahead so you can reach your desired goal.”
While having ambitions is good, he also believes that budding entrepreneurs shouldn’t set expectations too high. Rather, they should be kept reasonable and within reach.
“If you’re very confident with the concept, and have the plans and strategies in detail, go for it,” he said. “Don’t wait! If you wait, someone else might beat you to it, and you would be full of regret.”
Four brands in, this mindset seems to have worked out for Kenny.
Also Read: Why Brisbane & Gold Coast should be M’sian travellers’ top Aussie destinations in 2025
Featured Image Credit: ASAP By LYE
Not your usual boardgame cafe, this TTDI space specialises in tabletop RPGs like D&D
Chances are, you’ve played board games before, be it Monopoly or good old Snakes and Ladders.
The world of tabletop roleplay games (TTRPGs), though, is perhaps more rich and diverse than you might think.
Here Be Dragons, a self-described one-stop-game-shop for all things tabletop in TTDI, sheds light on that.
Behind the business is founder Sharifah Hanna, who finished her Media Production studies in New York.
Growing up, she had heard of Dungeons and Dragons (D&D), a popular TTRPG, but it wasn’t until she studied overseas that she learnt more about it.
Ironically, though, it was when she got back to Malaysia during the peak of the COVID pandemic era that she was able to play it herself.
During this time, Sharifah was unemployed, and she thought to herself, “There’s no way some nerds didn’t figure out how to play this online while social distancing.”
She was right, and quickly found a Discord server that held games online. “I fell head first into it, and I realised how much I wish I’d discovered it as a child, especially as a neurodivergent child with ADHD and autism that wouldn’t be diagnosed until much later in my life.”
Here be a start
But after getting a new job, Sharifah stepped away from playing D&D online for many months. When a coworker had caught the virus, though, they took on a work-from-home model, giving Sharifah the time to jump into a game again.
“The welcome I got from people who didn’t even know my real name, who just welcomed me because they enjoyed playing this collaborative game of storytelling with me, made me realise how much the sense of community these hobbies could build meant to me,” she expressed.
Sharifah began thinking how wonderful it would be if a place like Here Be Dragons existed. But at that time, she didn’t think of it as a business she could start—just one that would be cool if someone else did.
But then, she started to think, “Maybe if my career didn’t work out in a year… I’d consider it as a real option.”
Two weeks later, she quit her job and began figuring out where to start on the endeavour that is Here Be Dragons.
Here be the land of TTRPGs
For the uninitiated, TTRPGs stands for tabletop role playing games. They’re essentially collaborative, improvised storytelling games, where players sit around a table, each playing a role.
These games involve a set of rules and usually dice rolls to determine the outcome of actions.
There’s usually someone known as the Game Master who runs the game and acts as the overall background storyteller. The players are the main characters in the story.
The Game Master will introduce a basic starting point in the story, and the players will describe their reactions, and it’s a back-and-forth experience.
There’s no winning or losing in the traditional sense, since it’s more about telling a story and seeing how things end.
“It can get absolutely hilarious, with people laughing over ridiculous decisions and scenarios, or it can break your heart when something terrible happens to the characters,” Sharifah said about the campaigns.
In other words, TTRPGs are a form of storytelling, allowing players to explore nuances of real-life concepts and express themselves in a safe space. This is what Here Be Dragons seeks to offer.
Here Be Dragons offers both pre-written and pre-scheduled sessions with experienced professional Game Masters. The majority of their sessions are beginner-friendly, coming with resources such as pre-made character sheets and dice.
The team is also always more than willing to give a crash course of any rules to the games they run.
Giving people the opportunity to try new things, they also do their best to provide a variety of TTRPGs, not just popular ones such as Dungeons and Dragons.
The space serves light snacks and drinks, but otherwise has a limited F&B menu as it wasn’t something they prioritised, choosing to focus on designing products and services.
Prices for Here Be Dragons’ session range around RM25 per session. Bookings must be made in advance for specific campaigns on their website. Meanwhile, the private rooms cost RM140 for the first two hours which houses a maximum of eight people.
Here be a growing community
Here Be Dragons is only two years old now, but it has already seen the TTRPG scene grow. This is in part due to their presence, as well as other industry stalwarts such as Nightshade Tavern, KakiTabletop, Femme & Fate, and MYLARP.
More than helping people discover hobbies, the team prides itself on seeing people discover community.
“While I know it’s so easy to use words like community, safe spaces, and finding your people as buzzwords in branding nowadays, I don’t think it diminishes the importance of any of those things,” Sharifah said.
The founder believes that the more genuine community you have, the harder it is to feel isolated and become a target of exploitation. When you belong in communities, you see a world bigger than yourself, recognising other people who have lives aside from yours.
“Hobbies like this may start out as escapism, but I’ve also seen how they lead to real life changes through genuine human connection, because these are hobbies that generally require human interaction in a very specific way,” she added.
Here be profits?
Here Be Dragons offers multiple table rental packages, charging for time in their space, where you get access to the library of 150+ games, along with recommendations and game instructions from the staff.
Many customers also use the space to bring their own games, run TTRPGs, or even just get some work done. “As long as you’re respecting our customer code of conduct and paying the rental fees, we’re pretty flexible with how you use the space.”
They also have a private room with access to resources such as minis, terrain pieces, and a bluetooth speaker. For an additional fee, there’s also a screen built into the table itself that customers can use to display maps or atmospheric images.
Then there’s the dedicated craft workshop space, where Here Be Dragons hosts local artists leading workshops on everything from miniature painting to terrain building.
From here onwards
Two years in, Sharifah shared that the business isn’t as badly in the red as they were last year.
One big challenge they face is visibility. As Sharifah said, it doesn’t matter how good a service is if people didn’t know it exists.
“Of course, the added factor of being built on such a niche interest didn’t help,” the founder said. “But in a way, that’s also what makes it so precious to people.”
As they’re still getting their footing right now, Sharifah aims to steadily keep building up their space before working on grander plans such as…. Malaysia’s first official renaissance faire?
“I think the start of the business was itself enough of a huge jump into the dark (which so far, admittedly, had paid off),” Sharifah commented.
“But I don’t feel the need to bite off more than we can chew now that we exist and are on track to keep going. One step at a time, but we’re excited for the future.”
- Learn more about Here Be Dragons here.
- Read other articles we’ve written about Malaysian startups here.
Also Read: This global real estate firm is expanding to KL to help local agents achieve their ambitions
Featured Image Credit: Here Be Dragons
