SINGAPORE: No by-election will be called in Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC despite the resignation of Associate Professor Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim, the People’s Action Party (PAP) chairman Desmond Lee said on Monday (Jul 20).Speaking to reporters in Kembangan, the ward that Assoc Prof Faishal used to oversee, Mr Lee said the party will make additional arrangements to strengthen the team there.“There will be no by-election called. We've seen that in the Jurong GRC situation and in Sengkang GRC. The key is whether the residents' needs are adequately provided for,” he told reporters.In 2023, Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam resigned as Member of Parliament (MP) for Jurong GRC to contest the presidential election, while Ms Raeesah Khan vacated her post in Sengkang GRC in 2021 after lying in parliament.
“In this case, the four other MPs for Marine Parade–Braddell Heights GRC will step up, step forward, put in extra effort to ensure that the residents of Kembangan are taken care of – of all communities and of all backgrounds,” said Mr Lee, who is also education minister.He had arrived at the party’s Kembangan branch with parliament speaker Seah Kian Peng, who is an MP for Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC, at around 5.30pm.The other MPs for the constituency, Mr Goh Pei Ming and Ms Diana Pang, arrived separately at around 5.50pm. Ms Tin Pei Ling was not present as she was overseas. Also present was PAP assistant organising secretary Alex Yam. Mr Lee said that Assoc Prof Faishal has made “significant contributions to Singapore over his two decades of public service”, both as acting minister-in-charge of Muslim affairs and as an MP.“Looking ahead, the party will make additional arrangements to strengthen the team here, so residents can be assured that addressing their concerns and continuing to serve them remains our top priority,” he said.When asked how the team will represent the needs of the Malay community with Assoc Prof Faishal out, Mr Lee emphasised that “all the MPs will serve all the communities, including our Malay-Muslim community”.He acknowledged that the Muslim community will be concerned after the multiple changes in ministers representing them in just over a year. Mr Zaqy Mohamad took over from Assoc Prof Faishal, who himself took over from Mr Masagos Zulkifli in May last year.“Certainly, the Malay-Muslim community will be concerned because the minister for Muslim affairs looks after their specific issues, concerns and aspirations,” said Mr Lee.“But the PAP government's commitment to the Malay-Muslim community, as well as to all communities in Singapore, remains firm and clear.”He added that the party will support Mr Zaqy as the new acting minister in representing the community’s concerns and aspirations, and addressing issues that matter to them.IMPACT ON 5G LEADERSHIPWhen asked if Assoc Prof Faishal’s departure has quickened the urgency for a Cabinet reshuffle as he was seen as part of the party’s fifth-generation leadership, Mr Lee said that Prime Minister Lawrence Wong has emphasised the urgency and immediacy of renewing the leadership team.Assoc Prof Faishal is the second political office holder to have resigned in as many months, following Dr Koh Poh Koon’s resignation on May 22 for family reasons. Dr Koh remains as an MP in Tampines GRC.“Indeed, I think he said recently that shortly after taking office, he recognised that he had to keep renewing the team,” he said.“I would say that regardless of whether this happened or not, PM is very focused on ensuring that there is a good pipeline of Singaporeans – not just of calibre but of integrity and a willingness of service – to step forward and serve Singapore.”In response to a question from CNA on whether the party would actually have allowed Assoc Prof Faishal to stay on as an MP if he did not offer to resign, Mr Lee said that “the standards that we hold all PAP MPs and office holders to have been clearly outlined”.The prime minister sends a code of conduct to all office holders and PAP MPs every year and “these expectations are very clear”, he said.“His action of offering to resign is the correct one. It is a painful decision for him, it is a difficult situation for us, but we think this is necessary in order to uphold these standards and maintain public trust in our politics,” said Mr Lee.
