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'Big shoes to fill, but I brought my own': PAP's Shawn Huang on taking over President Tharman's ward

Kindness is one thing he hopes Singaporeans can embrace and share about.

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May 11, 2025, 11:03 AM

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Taman Jurong, in the west of Singapore, has become almost synonymous with President Tharman Shanmugaratnam.

It is after all, where our current head of state was elected as a Member of Parliament (MP) in 2001 and which he anchored for 22 years, before stepping down to run in the 2023 presidential elections.

But for Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Finance and Education Shawn Huang, who's taken over leadership of the Taman Jurong ward from 2023, he's not worried about living up to the big man's legacy.

"I get the question a lot about big shoes [to fill]. My immediate response would be: I brought my own shoes," said Huang in an interview with Mothership on Apr. 30.

Image by Aiman Nadzri/Mothership

Huang is part of the People's Action Party (PAP) slate that has since been elected in the newly carved out West Coast-Jurong West GRC.

As for his role in Taman Jurong, Huang shared he is focused on building "on the good foundations" left by previous MP Ho Kah Leong and President Tharman, with the intent of creating a community that uplifts others.

"I mean, it's just like making footprints on the sand [when] walking on the beach. Big shoes to fill, most definitely, but you have to continue on your own way."

Huang's journey in Taman Jurong

Huang, after all, is no stranger to Taman Jurong.

It is where he started volunteering in 2010 when President Tharman was MP.

What started out as "mini programs" launched by the team to engage latchkey children — through tuition, a community library, music classes, dance classes and more — has laid the foundations for social service agency Tasek Academy, where Huang currently serves as an advisor.

Huang also got involved in befriending ex-inmates to provide them support in reintegrating into society, something he's done on a weekly basis for years.

Many are now married, have their own homes and careers, and have become his friends, something which heartens Huang.

It was the same desire to rally the community to do more for each other that motivated Huang to run for politics in 2020, as a new face in PAP's Jurong GRC team.

"After so many years of in being part of the community, it is something that I wanted to do, and dedicate my life to, because I can see it's something that would help uplift others," said Huang.

A movement of 'kindness'

One of the challenges Huang faced early on as an MP was how to help vulnerable seniors during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Huang's team looked for opportunities to create impact. They encouraged the more well-to-do community in the nearby Bukit Timah Hill district to donate medical supplies and food, which volunteers redistributed to lower-income families in Jurong.

Community leaders also brought together befriender groups to do Zoom calls, given many seniors feared leaving their homes at the time.

Huang called this a movement of "kindness".

"I think there are a lot of stories that are left unsaid, a lot of kindness received, a lot of kindness given that is non-verbal. I thought that we should share a little more courageously, because there's already a lot of good [on] the ground," said Huang.

Huang taking a picture with a resident. Image from Shawn Huang's Facebook

But by Huang's admission, this isn't something easy for him. He considers himself a quieter person who prefers to get things done on the ground.

"Sometimes I look a bit serious and reserved, but inside, I'm quietly just really happy about how things have developed over the last five years," said Huang.

For the last two and a half years, Huang has been running the Taman Jurong and Jurong Spring wards and also the Bukit Timah Hill district.

Huang is also passionate about empowering youths in the community, some of whom have approached him at Meet-the-People sessions and school visits or contacted him over Instagram with their ideas.

Image from Shawn Huang's Facebook

Some of them have gone on, with his advice, to put together programs like workshops for seniors, reading programmes for kids, and mentoring for youths.

"This generation of youths is here; they are already at the frontier. And we want to empower them and give them the best tools, the best opportunities to then take us forward," he said.

Crying in parliament

I invited Huang to revisit a different topic — a viral incident where he teared up during a Committee of Supply (COS) debate speech in March 2022.

"I generally try to avoid that question," Huang admitted with a wry smile.

Huang, who had been speaking on the topic of strengthening Singapore’s science and technology capabilities at the time, thanked his team involved in a pilot programme which facilitated the hiring of neurodivergent cybersecurity analysts.

"Be bold in investing in our future. Be bold in investing in our people. There is a place for all of us," said Huang as he wiped tears from his eyes.

Image via Mediacorp.

During the interview, Huang explained that he was overcome by emotion at the breakthrough in advocating for people with special needs.

"I knew a family who had a child with special needs, and he's a young adult. You could sense the worry of the family, that 'When I am gone, will my child be confident, capable and independent to live a life on their own'?"

For two years, Huang's team had worked with stakeholders in the cybersecurity industry to create a conducive job environment for neurodivergent hires.

And the feedback on the pilot was fantastic, said Huang, with the four new hires increasing productivity and energising the team. A pledge was then made to increase hiring of neurodivergent hires by 400 per cent.

"In my speech, I was emotional because I felt the burden of the parent lifted off [my] shoulders. And I feel very deeply for all the parents out there who have an adult or family member with special needs, because they face immense challenge[s], and I think we need to do a lot more [on] that front," said Huang.

You can watch the speech for yourself here (relevant part from 18:01 onwards).

No longer a newbie in GE2025

Huang came into GE2025 as a more senior member in the West Coast-Jurong West slate alongside new faces Hamid Razak and Cassandra Lee.

Huang and the West Coast-Jurong West GRC PAP slate interacting with residents. Image from Shawn Huang's Facebook.

Coincidentally, Hamid is a friend of 10 years as they have volunteered in Taman Jurong together.

On this new role in the team, Huang said he sees himself as somewhat of a mentor to Hamid and Lee, adding that he hopes they will surpass him as they have a lot of potential.

The West Coast-Jurong West campaign, spearheaded by Minister for National Development Desmond Lee, focused on how the team can help Singaporean residents better.

In his rally speech on Apr. 27, Lee reiterated the nine key areas that he and his West Coast-Jurong West GRC team will focus on for the next five years if elected, which were included in the team manifesto.

This includes helping households cope with the cost of living by rolling out and scaling local programmes to supplement measures by the Government, ensuring good employment for job seekers by organising more career and skills fairs, and revitalising the neighbourhood with new sports and fitness facilities, among other things.

It also includes extending support to help seniors, empowering people with disabilities and mental health challenges, as well as their caregivers.

During the campaign, PSP's Hazel Poa spoke in the rally, and surfaced an online rumour about Taman Jurong volunteers discussing possible plans to disrupt a PSP walkabout.

On the alleged PAP grassroots volunteers’ plan to interrupt a PSP walkabout during the GE2025 campaign, Huang declined comment. Mothership also understands that the incident itself did not occur.

On GE2025 results

On Polling Day, the PAP team, led by Minister Desmond Lee, beat a Progress Singapore Party (PSP) team which included former MP Tan Cheng Bock, NCMPs Leong Mun Wai and Hazel Poa, with 60.01 per cent of the votes.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DJMylPCyrPF/

During the 2020 General Election, the PAP secured 51.68 per cent of the votes in a tight race with the PSP in the former West Coast GRC.

In the latest rematch in the five-man GRC, the PAP improved its vote share by more than 8 per cent.

Regarding the electoral result, Huang told Mothership it is "very encouraging and deeply humbling".

To Huang, the vote share is not just a number, but reflects the trust and hopes residents have placed in the team. And more importantly, a call to keep working hard for them.

Moving forward, Huang said his focus will include strengthening support for families and seniors in areas of healthcare access, caregiving, and affordability, creating more opportunities for youths through education and mentorship, and ensuring residents are not left behind in a more uncertain global climate.

"I’ve always believed that leadership is not just about big speeches, but small consistent acts. So my work will continue on the ground, with residents, every week," said Huang.

Top image via Aiman Nadzri/Mothership & Shawn Huang's Facebook

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