SINGAPORE: The People’s Action Party (PAP) on Monday (Jun 29) unveiled a new potential candidate for Jurong GRC.
This comes after the resignation of former election prospect Ivan Lim, following online criticism about his conduct during his time in National Service, among other accusations. Mr Lim had been tipped to run in Jurong GRC alongside Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam.
AdvertisementAdvertisementMr Xie Yao Quan, 35, was introduced by Mr Tharman at PAP’s Bukit Batok East Branch.
“It was a very easy decision to bring (Mr Xie) into Jurong, because Yao Quan has been here working very hard for the last five years,” said Mr Tharman.
He added: “I will say very frankly that Yao Quan is equal to our other candidates. It’s always a really tough decision as to who is in that first line-up ... We decide on it based on an overall configuration, and those who stay on the sidelines initially are no inferior.
“I’ve always been keen on Yao Quan because he was here, he was leading and he’s well-regarded.”
AdvertisementAdvertisementMr Xie is head of healthcare redesign at Alexandra Hospital, and has been leading the hospital’s COVID-19 operations in a major Community Care Facility, among other areas.
He has been a volunteer in Jurong GRC since 2015, leading several initiatives to support lower-income families. He is also a board member of SG Enable and co-leads a task force to promote products made or designed by persons with disabilities.
He was previously with the Singapore Armed Forces in regular service and also used to work for an investment company.
Mr Xie’s focus areas include keeping healthcare affordable and of good quality, and improving coordination between healthcare and social support. He also plans to advocate for lower-income families.
“The reason why I’m stepping forward today is because I believe in the role of a Member of Parliament in the local community - bringing people together and just making extraordinary things happen for the benefit of residents and creating a better home for everyone,” said Mr Xie.
When asked if Mr Xie would be Mr Lim’s replacement, Mr Tharman said that he respected Mr Lim’s decision to resign.
“We really want to focus on the issues in this election, which is why Ivan decided to withdraw ... We are moving on. We have a strong team. To be frank, I am very comfortable with the team we have,” he said.
Mr Tharman added that the party will come back to Mr Lim's case after the election, as they did not want to leave the accusations unresolved.
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