GE2025: Red Dot United sec-gen Ravi Philemon to lead opposition team in Nee Soon GRC (2025)

SINGAPORE – Red Dot United (RDU) secretary-general Ravi Philemon will lead his party’s slate to contest Nee Soon GRC, alongside party chairman David Foo.

The party’s announcement on April 20 completes its line-up for Nee Soon GRC, as it had earlier introduced three new faces that will compete in the five-member constituency at the coming general election.

Mr Philemon, 56, and Dr Foo, 60, will head an RDU team comprising Dr Syed Alwi Ahmad, a 57-year-old private school teacher who is RDU’s head of policy and its Malay bureau; Mr Pang Heng Chuan, 56, a tech start-up business director; and Ms Sharon Lin, 40, a senior consultant in the IT sector.

At a media briefing at Block 701C Yishun Avenue 5, Mr Philemon said the opposition party had decided to contest in Nee Soon because it is anchored by Minister for Law and Home Affairs K. Shanmugam.

“It is helmed by a minister who initiates laws (and) who makes sure that these laws are implemented,” he said.

“And, in a sense, it is an important battle to bring to this constituency, (as it) defines and determines the kind of contest that we will have in the other constituencies that we are going to.”

Mr Philemon, the managing partner of a media business, had earlier declared Nee Soon GRC the “heart” of RDU’s campaign for GE2025.

At the last general election in 2020, the RDU chief led a team that lost to the PAP in Jurong GRC.

Dr Foo, a chemist, had also previously contested in Jurong GRC, in GE2015 under the Singaporeans First (SingFirst) banner. The SingFirst party was dissolved in 2020.

When it released its manifesto on April 19, RDU had said Nee Soon GRC would be one of five constituencies it will contest at the general election. The others are Holland-Bukit Timah GRC, Jurong East-Bukit Batok GRC, Jurong Central SMC and Jalan Kayu SMC.

Key proposals from its 24-page manifesto include an unconditional cash transfer to all Singaporeans; that all Housing Board flats be eligible for redevelopment under the Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme; and for MediFund to serve as the primary healthcare safety net for all Singaporeans.

Dr Foo on April 20 said RDU’s manifesto is not just policies, but a promise to build a Singapore that not only runs efficiently, but also “lives humanly”.

“It is a serious proposal to rebuild our social contract, to restore dignity to our seniors, protection for our workers and fairness for every Singaporean,” he said.

At the 2020 election, the ruling party retained Nee Soon GRC with 61.9 per cent of the vote, against a team from the PSP.

The PAP team then consisted of Mr Shanmugam, Minister of State for Home Affairs and National Development Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim, Mr Louis Ng, Mr Derrick Goh and Ms Carrie Tan.

Its line-up will be changed significantly for the upcoming contest – Mr Shanmugam told reporters on April 19 that the PAP team is likely to include four new faces, with the slate to be introduced at a press conference on April 21.

The four are expected to be former Nominated MP Syed Harun Alhabsyi, 40; Ms Goh Hanyan, 39, a former director at the Ministry of Digital Development and Information; Mr Jackson Lam, 40, head of a pest control and cleaning company; and Ms Lee Hui Ying, 36, who works for Temasek Foundation.

At the media briefing on April 20, Mr Philemon was also asked whether RDU still intended to field party member Kala Manickam in Jalan Kayu SMC, and if not, why she was not contesting in Nee Soon, given that she had fought there on the PSP’s ticket in GE2020.

RDU had previously announced that Madam Kala, an educator and former Singapore Armed Forces officer, would be the party’s “groundwork leader” in Jalan Kayu.

Jalan Kayu is a new single seat carved out of Ang Mo Kio GRC. On April 19, labour chief Ng Chee Meng said he will represent PAP in the SMC at GE2025.

Mr Philemon said RDU would make an announcement on Jalan Kayu “at some point in time”.

“We have options to send someone there besides Madam Kala, and we will make the right decision at the right time,” he added.

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