PAP co-opts four more members into top decision-making body, unveils office holders - CNA

The four co-opted members are Jeffrey Siow, Ng Chee Meng, Sim Ann and Chan Hui Yuh.

Jeffrey Siow (top left), Ng Chee Meng (top right), Sim Ann (bottom left) and Chan Hui Yuh (bottom right) were co-opted into The People's Action Party's Central Executive Committee. (Photos: The People's Action Party)

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SINGAPORE: The People's Action Party (PAP) on Thursday (Nov 5) co-opted four more members into its top decision-making body, bringing the number of co-opted members to six following its internal party election in October. 

The four are Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow, labour chief Ng Chee Meng, Second Minister for Foreign Affairs and Home Affairs Sim Ann, as well as Ms Chan Hui Yuh, the party's adviser to Aljunied GRC Grassroots Organisation.

They join Dr Tan See Leng, Minister for Energy, Trade and Industry (Energy and Industry), and Mr Zaqy Mohamad, Acting Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs, who were co-opted to the 39th Central Executive Committee (CEC) on Oct 25.

At the PAP's biennial conference on Oct 25, more than 2,000 party cadres voted to elect 12 members from a slate of 19 candidates. 

CNA Games Guess Word Crack the word, one row at a time Buzzword Create words using the given letters Mini Sudoku Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser Mini Crossword Small grid, big challenge Word Search Spot as many words as you can Show More Show Less Mr Siow and Ms Sim were among those who did not secure a seat in the election, while Dr Tan and Mr Zaqy were subsequently co-opted as the 13th and 14th members after receiving the next highest number of votes.

The CEC also elected its office holders on Thursday, with Prime Minister Lawrence Wong as secretary-general, National Development Minister Desmond Lee as chairman and Mr Masagos Zulkifli as vice-chairman.

Defence Minister Chan Chun Sing is assistant secretary-general, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung treasurer and National Development Minister Chee Hong Tat assistant treasurer.

Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu and Minister for Law Edwin Tong were elected organising secretaries.

There were no changes to the key positions in the committee.

The CEC also made several other appointments on Thursday.

Mr Chan Chun Sing was appointed chairman of the PAP headquarters executive committee, while Ms Sim will chair the PAP Women's Wing.

Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and National Development Alvin Tan will chair Young PAP, while Minister for Culture, Community and Youth David Neo will lead the PAP Seniors Group.

Mr Zaqy will chair the PAP Malay Affairs Bureau, while Mr Chee will lead the PAP Policy Forum.

Mr Goh Pei Ming was appointed chairman of the PAP Climate Action Group, while Senior Minister of State for Education and Sustainability and the Environment Janil Puthucheary will chair the PAP Mental Health Group.

Mr Alex Yam, Mr Desmond Tan and Mr Dinesh Vasu Dash were appointed assistant organising secretaries.

Observers previously told CNA that the four members to be co-opted need not have been from the original 19-name shortlist at the Oct 25 election.

Labour chief Ng was seen as a shoo-in for a spot on the PAP’s top decision-making body, by virtue of being secretary-general of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC). His presence in the CEC shows the symbiotic relationship between the ruling party and the NTUC.

The presence of Ms Chan, a non-MP who is a member of the PAP’s Aljunied GRC team, was also not a surprise.

Observers had noted that non-MPs have sat on the party’s CEC in every term since 2020, and that such a trend was expected to continue. 

Retaining such figures would signal their longer-term role in the party, such as being potential candidates for future elections or helping to identify, mentor and attract new candidates.

Transport Minister Siow and Acting Manpower Minister Jasmin Lau were both on the Oct 25 nomination list. Of the duo, Mr Siow has been co-opted into the CEC.

While neither of them were voted in at the election, observers had expected at least one of them to be brought in as part of the party’s longer-term renewal.

Of the co-opted quartet, Mr Siow and Ms Sim were part of the 19 nominees from Oct 25. The duo were promoted to full ministers at Mr Wong's latest Cabinet reshuffle in July.

This is in line with what observers had earlier forecast, that Mr Wong would put his stamp on this new committee as he did with his Cabinet after the General Election, albeit without radical change.