GE2025: Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC will be a walkover after WP no-show
In a notable development for Singapore’s General Election 2025 (GE2025), the newly formed Marine Parade–Braddell Heights Group Representation Constituency (GRC) will be a walkover, with the People’s Action Party (PAP) securing the GRC unopposed.
This is the first walkover since 2011, when the PAP team led by then-minister mentor Lee Kuan Yew clinched Tanjong Pagar GRC.
This outcome follows the absence of opposition candidates, including those from the Workers’ Party (WP), who were previously speculated to contest in this GRC.
The WP has contested in Marine Parade since GE2015; however, it appears that the party has decided that its best chances for victory lie in fielding strong teams in Punggol GRC and Tampines GRC, instead of Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC.
PAP has also pulled another surprise move, with the replacement of Tan See Leng, who was originally slated to be part of the Marine Parade team, with new candidate Goh Pei Ming, a former chief of staff at the Singapore Armed Forces.
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: Here are all the key highlights on Nomination Day
Featured Image Credit: Goh Pei Ming/ PAP/ Diana Pang
GE2025: From candidate switches to even a walkover, here are the key surprises from Nomination Day
It’s Nomination Day today (April 23), and it has been filled with key changes and last-minute swaps.
Here’s a quick breakdown of all the key highlights:
1. Multi-cornered fights
Tampines GRC:
Radin Mas SMC:
Sembawang GRC
Ang Mo Kio GRC:
Potong Pasir SMC:
2. Shocking switches
Chua Chu Kang GRC
Punggol GRC
East Coast GRC
3. Walkover at Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC
GE2025 saw a walkover at the five-man Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC today, as no opposition party’s papers were put up for the constituency.
This marks the first walkover since 2011, when the PAP team, led by then-Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, clinched Tanjong Pagar GRC.
4. DPM Heng Swee Keat & Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean’s retirement from politics
Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced the retirement of two political veterans: Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat and Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean.
“Both could have continued, but they chose to step aside to make way for leadership renewal. I am deeply grateful to them, and I thank them for their many contributions,” wrote PM Wong.
DPM Heng Swee Keat, who has been in politics for 15 years, urged residents in East Coast GRC to provide their strong support.
The new East Coast team consists of Mr Edwin Tong, Singapore’s current Minister for Culture, Community and Youth; Mr Tan Kiat How, Ms Jessica Tan, Ms Hazlina Abdul Halim and Mr Dinesh Vasu Dash.
Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean, who has a 33-year tenure in parliament, had previously announced that he would not be running for the election under the Pasir Ris-Changi GRC, although he mentioned that he remains “available to contribute.”
Mr Teo has since passed the baton to Singapore’s Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Indranee Rajah, Mr Desmond Tan, Mr Sharael Taha and Ms Valerie Lee.
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.
Featured Image Credit: Lawrence Wong via Instagram, Workers’ Party via Instagram
Also Read: GE2025: Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC will be a walkover after WP no show
Coffee as a preworkout? Here’s why this M’sian holistic wellness centre recommends it.
[Written in partnership with RENN Asia Wellness, but the editorial team had full control over the content.]
Disclaimer: This article is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for medical advice.
If you can’t tell by my coffee reviews and coffee comparisons, I’m a huge coffee fan. I wouldn’t go so far as to say addict, but I’m certainly an… enthusiast.
That’s why I was particularly thrilled to hear that coffee is actually healthy.
Now, I’m not here to be some random stranger on the internet echoing unproven sentiments of how chugging coffee is good for your health. Because it’s not. Yes, like many things in life, coffee’s health benefits come with terms and conditions.
So, we got Jonathan Chew, the founder of RENN Asia Wellness, a holistic wellness centre in KL, to shed some light on the topic.
It’s nutritional and functional
As a Nutritional and Functional Medicine (NFM) practitioner, Jonathan advocates “Nutritional Functional Food.” As the term implies, these are foods that are nutritional and functional.
Specifically, to be classified as a Functional Food, an ingredient should:
- Provide a health benefit beyond basic nutrition
- Contain bioactive components with scientifically-backed effects
- Not harm the body when consumed in reasonable amounts
“In the eyes of NFM, foods are evaluated not just for calories or macros, but for bioactive compounds that influence health at the cellular level,” Jonathan elaborated.
To him, coffee certainly fits this bill because it contains:
- Chlorogenic acids, which are anti-inflammatory and insulin-sensitising
- Polyphenols, which support gut microbiota and reduce oxidative stress
- Trigonelline and niacin (B3), which boast neuroprotective benefits
Coffee isn’t the one special ingredient that has nutritional properties, though. Other NFM ingredients include turmeric, mushrooms, fermented foods, seaweeds, matcha, and many more.
“These are common functional foods we advocate for every client at RENN Asia Wellness,” Jonathan said.
From work to workouts
Beyond just being a good stimulant to add energy (and that bit of happiness to our lives) though, Jonathan touts coffee to be a great pre-workout alternative.
But really? Why coffee instead of the many pre-workout options in the market that are literally designed to be consumed… pre-workout?
“Coffee, especially when consumed black, is a whole-food extract, not a cocktail of synthetic stimulants and artificial sweeteners,” Jonathan argued.
“Most commercial pre-workouts are highly processed and often come with excessive stimulants, artificial sweeteners or colours, and hidden proprietary blends that mask exact dosages.”
On a financial level, coffee is also just a more sustainable option.
But mind you, it’s the caffeine doing the heavy lifting, so drinking anything decaf is kind of moot.
“However, decaf still contains antioxidants and may support general well-being—but not in a pre-workout context,” Jonathan added.
To that end, though, you might be wondering whether other high-caffeine drinks such as matcha work the same.
“Yes… and no,” Jonathan said. Let him explain.
Matcha, like coffee, has caffeine, but also something called L-theanine, which promotes calm focus. It also has more EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate) which is an anti-inflammatory, thermogenic chemical. It’s also gentler on the gut with a longer energy curve.
“So while matcha can be a great alternative pre-workout, especially for those sensitive to coffee, its mechanism is subtly different. It boosts endurance and focus without the adrenal spike,” he explained.
In other words, it works—just not in the same way.
But let’s not get it twisted
Of course, coffee isn’t just some magical miracle substance (cue Demi Moore).
Like Jonathan says, “It’s important not to romanticise coffee as universally beneficial.”
Risks include overstimulation, which will lead to insomnia, anxiety, and palpitations—a nightmare concoction especially prior to a workout.
Too much caffeine can also cause adrenal fatigue in those already stressed or depleted and increase stomach acidity, leading to reflux and gut lining irritation.
Plus, there’s the issue of dependence and tolerance, which means you may eventually require more for the same effect.
And it’s not just a matter of needing more coffee. According to Jonathan, it’ll desensitise adenosine receptors (resulting in less restful sleep), lead to habitual use masking deeper fatigue, and cause withdrawal symptoms (meaning more fatigue and irritability).
“Continuously upping your dose is not sustainable,” he said. “It’s like yelling louder to wake up a tired body when what it truly needs… is rest and nourishment.”
The best way to drink your coffee
And of course, not all coffee is made the same. I’m not talking about the type of origin, roast, or extraction method (though that matters greatly when it comes to flavour profile). I mean, you can’t just drink a vanilla bean latte and think it’s perfectly healthy.
It’s best to go black with your coffee, meaning no milk or sugar to avoid insulin spikes and preserve fat-burning. So no, no kopitiam kopi for you before a workout.
But if that gets boring, you could opt for plant-based milk (dairy can blunt the antioxidant absorption of coffee), or even add a bit of coconut oil or ghee, which Jonathan says can provide sustained energy without disrupting function.
Jonathan also shared that 30 minutes before a workout is ideal. In terms of volume, he suggests 100 to 200mg of caffeine (one to two espresso shots).
Another cool tip is to take occasional caffeine breaks to reset tolerance. Oh, and avoid drinking coffee on an empty stomach if it causes distress.
So, if you want to leverage the healthy properties of coffee, be sure to take it in moderation, and take it with the above knowledge in mind.
- Learn more about RENN Asia Wellness here.
- Read other articles we’ve written about RENN Asia Wellness here.
Also Read: Why Brisbane & Gold Coast should be M’sian travellers’ top Aussie destinations in 2025
Featured Image Credit: Vulcan Post
The Samsung Galaxy Ring is a cool concept, I just wish it could do more
The future is now, with health tracking literally at your fingertips (well, almost).
I’m talking about the hot new wearable in town—the Samsung Galaxy Ring.
I was excited. Finally, something new to review that wasn’t another phone or watch or earbuds. I had expectations, but most of all, I had questions.
Would this ring have a place in my life?
Looks matter…
When it comes to wearables. Sure, functionality is first and foremost for many of us, but surely few of us want to be caught wearing something ugly… Right?
On the topic of looks, I find the Galaxy Ring to be a bit too masculine for my tastes. The glossy gold variant we got made me feel like a taikor (I was just missing a chunky gold chain around my neck), so if you’re not going for that look, perhaps the matte Titanium Black or Titanium Silver would be more reserved.
One thing that does bother me a bit regarding the sleek titanium finish of the ring is how easily it seems to tarnish. Much like a shiny phone screen or back, fingerprints are unavoidable, and I’m not equipped with the right kind of tools to properly polish the surface.
My hands are on the drier side, and even I’m leaving marks on the ring, so to whoever typically has oiler or damper hands and is bothered by fingerprints—stay strong, soldier.
The ring comes in sizes 5 to 15, and can weigh up to 3.3 g depending on size. It’s decently comfortable, and you can ignore its presence for the most part, even when sleeping.
Where I ran into problems with the ring was when washing my face, showering, or doing the dishes. Its water resistance wasn’t the issue—it has an IP68 rating—but rather its chunkiness, which would dig into the skin of my face or body, and would clink a little too much against my dishes.
And if you’re not used to wearing rings like I am, just be careful if you wear glasses because I’ve bumped the ring into mine more than once, with at least one scratch on the lens courtesy of it.
Keeping a pulse on my health
Some parts of my health, at least. Namely, the Galaxy Ring tracks sleep, stress, heart rate, steps (and calories), and supposedly menstrual cycles too (by way of body temperature).
Some of these metrics combined then give you your daily energy score, which points out areas of improvement or what health things you did well in.
As someone who doesn’t wear wearables on the regular, I usually just rely on my phone to tell me my steps, but I do enjoy the occasional wearables review when I get more insights on my health through a smartwatch, or in this case, a ring.
I found the ring’s sleep tracking to be pretty accurate, with my own experiences of waking throughout the night reflected in my Wearables/Samsung Health app.
However, the stress tracker doesn’t quite tally with how I feel at times. There have been several times where I felt as though I was pretty stressed and manually started measuring my stress levels, only for the ring to tell me that I was in a relaxed or low stress state. Hmm.
I’m not a menstrual tracker by any means, preferring to live life on the edge, but I did it for once in my life thanks to the ring. Its prediction of my next cycle was off by a day, which was pretty good considering it only had data from last month to work with.
I would say that my cycles are quite consistent and predictable even without a tracker though, so I do wonder how well this would work for someone with irregular cycles.
Other than those features, the Galaxy Ring doesn’t do too much at this point in time. I suppose some people could benefit from the double-pinch gesture, which gives you remote camera control and turns off your alarm.
Since the S Pen no longer has Bluetooth support from the S25 series onwards, I could see the ring being useful for snapping pictures remotely. Unless you already have a Samsung Galaxy Watch that supports that functionality, of course.
Where the Galaxy Ring wins over the smartwatches though is in its battery life, which claims to last up to seven days on a single charge, and best of all, it supports fast charging.
This means that it only has to stay off your finger for just over an hour before you can take it on another one-week spin.
If you wear the ring in tandem with a Galaxy Watch, the battery lasts even longer as the watch can take over some of the ring’s sensor functions.
Verdict
The Galaxy Ring is truly an interesting piece of technology, but in its current form, I can’t see it being a necessary part of my lifestyle.
There’s just more that I would want from a wearable, not just in terms of health tracking but as an extension of my phone.
The ideal Galaxy Ring for me would be one that also allows me to turn off timers (useful for when my hands are busy cooking or cleaning) and to pick up and end calls, alongside more health-tracking features.
Even better if it could do all of that and be hosted in a daintier body.
If you’ve realised that smartwatches aren’t for you, though, perhaps the RM2,099 Galaxy Ring might be the more stylish, health-tracking wearable you’ve been looking for all along, albeit at a more premium price tag.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Core health-tracking features in a more compact body | A bit bulky for an everyday ring |
| Longer battery life than a Galaxy Watch | Pricier than a basic Galaxy Watch with more features |
| Pretty accurate sleep tracking | Limited gesture support for now |
VP Verdict is a series where we personally try and test out products, services, fads, and apps. Want to suggest something else for us to try? Leave a comment here or send the suggestion to our Facebook page.
Also Read: Why Brisbane & Gold Coast should be M’sian travellers’ top Aussie destinations in 2025
