Secretary-General of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) Ng Chee Meng has been making house visits in the Fernvale area to connect with residents, sparking speculation that he will be contesting in the newly created Jalan Kayu SMC in the upcoming General Election.
According to a Fernvale resident, residents in the area recently received PAP door hangers printed in four languages, featuring Ng’s name and social media details. The text on the hanger was written in the first person, saying that Ng had visited during his “regular house visits” and hoped to meet the residents again next time, reported Lianhe Zaobao.
Earlier, it was reported that Ng was seen participating in community events around Fernvale. On 16 March, he attended an event with Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong and fellow Ang Mo Kio GRC MP Gan Thiam Poh, who is currently overseeing grassroots activities in Fernvale.
He was also seen at Gan Thiam Poh’s Meet-the-People session in Fernvale, which further fueled speculations about him contesting in Jalan Kayu SMC or even Ang Mo Kio GRC. But these recent house visits and door hangers seem to be the clearest hint that he’s gunning for Jalan Kayu SMC.
According to the latest Electoral Boundaries Review Committee (EBRC) report, Jalan Kayu has been carved out from Ang Mo Kio GRC as a Single Member Constituency (SMC). The area covers the private housing estate in Jalan Kayu, HDB blocks along Sengkang West Avenue and Fernvale Road, and the Seletar Aerospace Park.
Currently, Ang Mo Kio GRC MP Ng Ling Ling is responsible for the Jalan Kayu division. During a community event on Sunday (23rd), she shared that being an MP is very tough work, and she missed the days when she was serving in the National Council of Social Service (NCSS). This comment has led people to wonder if she might be retiring from politics in the next General Election.
Meanwhile, Ng has experience in two previous elections. If he does run in Jalan Kayu, this will be his first time contesting solo in an SMC.
The former Chief of Defence Force entered politics in 2015 and was elected as an MP for Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC. In 2020, he led the PAP team to contest in the newly-formed Sengkang GRC but lost to the Workers’ Party by around 4 percentage points.
Jalan Kayu SMC is currently one of the hottest battlegrounds with multiple opposition parties eyeing the area, and it might even see Singapore’s first-ever five-cornered fight since independence.
The Red Dot United party has already announced its intention to contest in Jalan Kayu. Last Friday (21st), they introduced their representative, 57-year-old Kala Manickam, an educator and a former Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) officer. Kala is not new to politics – she previously contested Nee Soon GRC under the Progress Singapore Party during the last General Election.
