The People’s Action Party (PAP) on Aug. 22 unveiled its slate of six candidates for the Pasir Ris-Punggol Group Representation Constituency (GRC) team that will contest in the upcoming General Election (GE):

1. Teo Chee Hean, 60, Deputy Prime Minister

2. Teo Ser Luck, 47, Minister of State for Trade and Industry

3. Zainal Sapari, 49, assistant secretary-general, National Trades Union Congress

4. Janil Puthucheary, 42, senior consultant, KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital

5. Ng Chee Meng, 47, former Chief of Defence Force

6. Sun Xueling, 36, investment director at Temasek Holdings

Two new faces have emerged: Ng Chee Meng, 47, the former Chief of Defence Force, and Sun Xueling, 36, an investment director with Temasek Holdings.

Exiting the Pasir Ris-Punggol team are: Current Member of Parliament (MP) Gan Thiam Poh, who has joined PAP’s Ang Mo Kio GRC team, while Penny Low will retire from politics.

Here are 5 things we unwittingly observed during the announcement of this new line-up at the PAP Punggol North Branch at Edgedale Plains on Saturday morning:

1. New candidate Sun Xueling's speaking demeanour

The first thing anyone will inevitably notice is new candidate Sun Xueling. The mother of a two-year-old is an investment director at Temasek Holdings, who has remained super low profile until now.

However, perhaps due to her earnestness, uber poise and having rehearsed her lines one time too many, her voice can make anyone feel sad.

Here she is kicking things off by addressing the media for the first time at the press conference:

Now check out what money can buy:

Having learnt their lesson well in the last election, the PAP is now producing super glossy introduction videos such as this that has been embedded in Sun's party page.

The acoustic background music and soft focus to play up her winsome smile and motherly tenderness also puts that voice of hers in context.

Wow. That voice makes sense now.

2. Manly man Ng Chee Meng is an Emo Nemo

Compared to Sun, the other new guy Ng Chee Meng is ball of emotions.

Touted as the three-star general who is the highest-ranking Singapore Armed Forces officer to join the PAP to date, Ng Chee Meng with his 29-year veteran military background, stout physique and overall manliness might just be the next prime minister, especially when he has a head full of strategic rationality and a heart full of calmness.

But check out how he was choking back tears when talking about Lee Kuan Yew in Mandarin:

8月22日 即将接任白沙-榜鹅集选区现任议员刘钅梦琳（Penny Low）的前武装部队三军总长黄志明表示，今年初当已故建国总理李光耀先生逝世时，看到国人团结一致，影响他从政的决定。#GE2015 #sgelectionshttp://ch8news.co/1WKukMl

Posted by 8频道新闻新加坡 Channel 8 news on Friday, August 21, 2015

3. No talk of ministerial calibre

Throughout the press conference, the reporters were waiting with bated breath for Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean to explicitly say the magic words "ministerial calibre", but sadly, those words never came.

There appears to be a concerted effort this time to avoid positioning any of the next generation leaders as next generation leaders, because perhaps, the PAP has learnt their lesson not to do this sort of things anymore.

Or at least not so openly.

4. Convenient narratives becoming a PAP hallmark

One thing to watch out for when PAP introduces the next batch of new candidates: One-liner narratives about why the new candidates joined the PAP and politics.

Ng Chee Meng's case: He wants to continue serving Singapore having served Singapore in the military.

For Sun Xueling, it was her Ah Ma who encouraged her to help others because she was a woman in need.

Great. It is that sweet spot between memorable and forgettable at the same time.

5. The small things that count

Pro-tip for aspiring politicians: If you're married, wear your wedding band in public. If you've got a religion, flaunt it.

Heuristics win the majority of the time.

Check out our 5 observations series here: 

5 things we consciously observed about the Tampines GRC team

5 observations on the PAP Holland-Bukit Timah team’s press conference

5 observations of Tin Pei Ling and MacPherson SMC, four years on

5 things about the newest GRC on the block: Marsiling-Yew Tee

5 observations we had while watching the Tharman show

5 observations we tried to make about PAP Tanjong Pagar candidates that show we have run out of narrative idea

5 reasons why this underrated PAP Jalan Besar GRC team may outperform the other PAP-WP contests

5 things we learnt from tailing the Workers’ Party in Nee Soon GRC

5 observations on why the PAP Ang Mo Kio GRC team is actually just PM Lee

5 observations from how the savvy Sembawang PAP team introduced their boyband

5 moments from the unveiling of Bishan-Toa Payoh PAP candidates that got us scratching our heads

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