Chinese evening newspaper Shin Min Daily News speculated that first-time PAP candidate, Cheryl Chan, may be contesting in the single-seat of Fengshan. The seat, which will become an SMC in the next GE, is currently held by former Transport Minister Raymond Lim.

According to an earlier Straits Times report (June 6), Chan, 39, is the head of electronic materials at gas and engineering firm Linde Gas.

Who is Cheryl Chan?

Chan, who has been volunteering with the grassroots for a decade, can be seen shadowing Lim in his constituency events.

At the PAP60 Party Rally last December, Chan spoke on behalf of the PAP Women's Wing on the importance of values and active volunteerism so that Singapore can achieve its collective goal of a gracious and inclusive society.

She added that she "came from humble beginnings" and helped her grandparents in a hawker stall at Chinatown when she was young.

PAP electoral strategy: Grassroots strategy or suicide squad strategy?

In 2014, Chan told PAP magazine Petir about her grassroots experiences:

A lot of my friends do missionary work for their churches. I’m not part of a church, so I simply wrote in to the PAP HQ in 2005 to ask how I could help. They directed me to Fengshan to help out at MPS, I live at nearby Tanah Merah. I have since made a lot of friends here and we are very close.

In other words, Chan could be a familiar face in Fengshan and may have built a rapport with the residents and the community over the last decade.

This is unlike some candidates who are perceived by residents as being "parachuted" into a safe seat in a GRC.

Or is PAP already giving up on Fengshan?

In the last two GEs, East Coast was the GRC with the slimmest victory margin after Aljunied.

In 2011, the PAP garnered 55 per cent of the votes against the Workers' Party's 45 per cent. In 2006, the PAP scored 64 per cent to WP's 36 per cent.

Moreover, Fengshan is located in the west of East Coast GRC and borders WP-held Aljunied GRC.

WP has indicated in their walkabout last Sunday that they planned to contest in Fengshan SMC.

Bar the Punggol-East by-election, PAP under Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's leadership has never fielded a first-time candidate in an SMC contest, especially when the seat was held by the PAP.

The only first-time SMC candidate fielded by the PAP in GE 2011 was Desmond Choo. But that was in the opposition ward of Hougang.

Guess there is always a first in everything.

If you like what you read, follow us on Facebook and Twitter to get the latest updates.