SINGAPORE: Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam said on Tuesday (Apr 22) he and Prime Minister Lawrence Wong tried but failed to persuade former Nee Soon GRC MP Louis Ng from stepping down.
"He (Mr Ng) spoke with me last year about wanting to step away. And I said: 'He is still very young, he should continue.' And the reasons were intensely personal," said Mr Shanmugam, who again will anchor the People's Action Party (PAP) team contesting Nee Soon this year.
"I can tell you that I spent many hours trying to persuade him to stay. And not just me, the prime minister himself - the current secretary-general - spoke with him many times.
"He thought about it a lot. He took what we said very seriously. You know, he had a lot of value, both to Yishun and parliament, but his decision was based on very personal reasons. And we decided to, I mean, we had to agree."
Mr Shanmugam had announced on Monday that the PAP will field four new faces in Nee Soon GRC this year.
The first-timers are former Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI) director Goh Hanyan, ex-Nominated Member of Parliament Syed Harun Alhabsyi, director of a cleaning service and pest control company Jackson Lam, and longtime Nee Soon volunteer Lee Hui Ying.
The changes mean that Mr Ng, Ms Carrie Tan and Mr Derrick Goh will not be in the Nee Soon GRC team. Mr Ng is a two-term MP, while Ms Tan and Mr Goh have served in a single term of parliament.
Mr Shanmugam did not say on Monday whether they will be redeployed elsewhere or are quitting politics.
On Tuesday, Mr Shanmugam clarified that Mr Ng, Ms Tan and Mr Goh will be stepping away from Nee Soon GRC due to a mixture of personal and career reasons.
But he stopped short of confirming they would be retiring from politics, adding that everything will become clear on Wednesday, which is Nomination Day.
"But as I told him (Mr Ng), nothing is confirmed until it's confirmed - that is tomorrow. But until then, we talk about him stepping away," Mr Shanmugam added.
When pressed further whether the three will be retiring from politics, Mr Shanmugam said: "You will have the answer tomorrow."
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"He (Mr Ng) spoke with me last year about wanting to step away. And I said: 'He is still very young, he should continue.' And the reasons were intensely personal," said Mr Shanmugam, who again will anchor the People's Action Party (PAP) team contesting Nee Soon this year.
"I can tell you that I spent many hours trying to persuade him to stay. And not just me, the prime minister himself - the current secretary-general - spoke with him many times.
"He thought about it a lot. He took what we said very seriously. You know, he had a lot of value, both to Yishun and parliament, but his decision was based on very personal reasons. And we decided to, I mean, we had to agree."
Mr Shanmugam had announced on Monday that the PAP will field four new faces in Nee Soon GRC this year.
The first-timers are former Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI) director Goh Hanyan, ex-Nominated Member of Parliament Syed Harun Alhabsyi, director of a cleaning service and pest control company Jackson Lam, and longtime Nee Soon volunteer Lee Hui Ying.
The changes mean that Mr Ng, Ms Carrie Tan and Mr Derrick Goh will not be in the Nee Soon GRC team. Mr Ng is a two-term MP, while Ms Tan and Mr Goh have served in a single term of parliament.
Mr Shanmugam did not say on Monday whether they will be redeployed elsewhere or are quitting politics.
On Tuesday, Mr Shanmugam clarified that Mr Ng, Ms Tan and Mr Goh will be stepping away from Nee Soon GRC due to a mixture of personal and career reasons.
But he stopped short of confirming they would be retiring from politics, adding that everything will become clear on Wednesday, which is Nomination Day.
"But as I told him (Mr Ng), nothing is confirmed until it's confirmed - that is tomorrow. But until then, we talk about him stepping away," Mr Shanmugam added.
When pressed further whether the three will be retiring from politics, Mr Shanmugam said: "You will have the answer tomorrow."
Continue reading...