SINGAPORE - Nestled in the quiet estate of Joo Chiat is a kindergarten that has played its own small role in Singapore’s previous political transitions.

In 1992, then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong called a by-election in his Marine Parade constituency, keeping a promise made at the election the previous year to give veteran opposition politician J.B. Jeyaretnam a chance for a straight fight.

With his two deputies down with cancer, the by-election was also an opportunity for Mr Goh to bring in Commodore Teo Chee Hean, a former chief of navy, to bolster the leadership ranks. Mr Teo is now Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security.

During the hustings, the humble wooden hut in 15 Lorong K Telok Kurau that was the People’s Action Party’s (PAP) Joo Chiat branch served as an operations centre, rest stop and a place for its Marine Parade team to meet the media.

Mr Goh’s team ended up winning 72.9 per cent of valid votes, versus the 24.5 per cent secured by a Singapore Democratic Party slate led by then new face Chee Soon Juan in his first political outing. Mr Jeyaretnam did not end up contesting the by-election.

The building’s rich history is something that Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong said he quickly learnt of when he first visited the estate in 2015, he told The Straits Times on April 28, when he officially launched the rebuilt PAP Community Foundation (PCF) Sparkletots @ Joo Chiat.

The pre-school’s history stretches back to the 1970s, when it was known as Joo Chiat Kindergarten.

“At that time, it was old and run down, and the building premises did not best optimise the space that it stood on,” he said.

“Nonetheless, it was an effective base from which to organise the campaign for the 2015 General Election and to rally the team.”

After he became MP for Joo Chiat ward in Marine Parade in 2015, Mr Tong said one of his priorities was to redevelop the kindergarten.

The pre-school had over the years become outdated compared with brand-name pre-schools in the vicinity, and it faced declining enrolment, he said.

In 2018, he rallied sponsors and grassroots leaders and raised more than $2 million to rebuild the kindergarten.

The new campus, completed in 2020, sits on an enlarged 1,928 sq m plot. It is one of the few PCF Sparkletots centres that sit on Singapore Land Authority land, with others in Punggol, Radin Mas, and Marsiling.

As with many other PCF kindergartens around the island, it hosts Meet-the-People Sessions at night, where MPs and grassroots leaders help residents resolve their municipal and personal issues each week.

But the one in Joo Chiat was where key leaders such as Mr Goh and Mr Teo learnt the political ropes from their predecessors.

At the PAP’s 50th anniversary celebrations in April 2004, Mr Goh paid homage to party comrades at the old Joo Chiat branch, recounting how as a political newbie in 1976, he was sent there to understudy the area’s then MP Yeoh Ghim Seng.

Mr Goh is currently adviser emeritus to Marine Parade grassroots organisations. Before that, he had served as MP for Marine Parade from 1976, until he stepped down in 2020.

In his 2004 speech, Mr Goh noted that Dr Yeoh had depended on his branch secretary and right-hand man, retired school principal Chng Sey Teik, to take care of constituency matters.

He added: “I know the importance of the ordinary party members because I benefited from their hard work and support... I remember well the old comrades and the Meet-the-People Sessions in Lorong K Telok Kurau.”

A strong relationship between party leaders and the rank and file was important both because the PAP’s effectiveness in each constituency depended on them and community leaders on the ground, and also because the PAP was in the midst of a political transition, Mr Goh said then.

A month after the speech, the ruling party announced that its central executive committee had decided then Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong would be the next prime minister.

PM Lee was sworn into office on Aug 12, 2004.

Mr Tong said on April 28 that the refreshed PCF Joo Chiat and a new bursary for those from lower-income households will give more children in Marine Parade a strong pre-school foundation, while acknowledging that a new building “also benefits other aspects of the community”.

“The advantage of the refreshed PCF is in having more space for our volunteers during GE, and perhaps better facilities like good connectivity and resting spaces during the campaign,” he said.

He noted that 15 Lorong K Telok Kurau has long been the “heart” of Joo Chiat, as it is where both he and his predecessors have felt the pulse of the community by chatting with residents.

“We are blessed to have a spanking new space, with ample indoor and outdoor spaces that serve as a very nice place to meet residents,” he said.