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SINGAPORE - Former Chief of Army David Neo will contest Tampines GRC in the upcoming general election for the ruling PAP.
The 47-year-old will run alongside Dr Charlene Chen, 43, an assistant professor of marketing at the Nanyang Technological University, the constituency’s anchor minister Masagos Zulkifli said on April 16.
Mr Neo and Dr Chen will contest the five-member constituency alongside three incumbents: Mr Masagos, 62, who is Social and Family Development Minister; Dr Koh Poh Koon, 53, Senior Minister of State for Manpower and Sustainability and the Environment; and Mr Baey Yam Keng, 54, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Transport and Sustainability and the Environment.
Incumbent Desmond Choo, 47, will contest the newly carved out Tampines Changkat SMC. He oversaw the Tampines Changkat ward of Tampines GRC until Parliament was dissolved on April 15.
Mr Masagos confirmed the slate of PAP candidates who will contest in Tampines at a press conference on April 16 held at a multipurpose hall in the Tampines GreenVines estate.
On a potential multi-cornered fight in Tampines GRC, Mr Masagos said the team in Tampines GRC has expected a hotly contested election from five years ago.
The focus, he said, is on the residents and delivering on the promises made.
Mr Masagos had on April 12 formally introduced Mr Neo, who handed over the reins as army chief on March 21, as the newest member of the PAP’s Tampines GRC team. But he had then stopped short of confirming him as part of the team’s line-up for the election.
Mr Neo joined the Singapore Army in 1996 and was army chief from March 2022. He last held the rank of Major-General.
He was programme director of the Pioneer Generation Office and the founding group chief of the Silver Generation Office under the Agency for Integrated Care.
Mr Neo said on April 16 that his focuses include putting people first and building a relationship with them, and fostering a caring community in Tampines.
“I ask for your support, and I hope to have a chance to serve here.”
Meanwhile, Dr Chen was introduced to Tampines residents in June 2024, and is the second grassroots adviser in the Tampines East ward.
A former Buona Vista grassroots volunteer, Dr Chen had been helming Meet-the-People sessions for residents in Tampines East since late 2024.
Prof Chen, a social and consumer psychologist who holds a PhD in marketing from Columbia Business School in the US, thanked residents for welcoming ...
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