GE2025: DPM Gan says he will be ‘task force man’ for hotly contested Punggol GRC

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SINGAPORE - On the final day of campaigning for the general election, Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong asked voters to cast aside any doubts about whether his age and portfolio of roles would affect his ability to serve them, and said looking after Punggol GRC would be his most important task.

“Let me say this, I’ve been in politics for almost 25 years now. Since I started in 2001, my first priority has always been my residents. I can only be a minister if I’m an MP, so being your MP is my first priority,” said DPM Gan.

He noted that some people have been “whispering on the ground”, pointing out that he was 66 years old, a deputy prime minister, and the “task force man” looking after economy and trade.

DPM Gan – who is also the Minister for Trade and Industry, and leading the Singapore Economic Resilience Taskforce, along with having co-chaired the multi-ministry task force during Covid-19 pandemic – was dubbed “task force man” by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong at PAP’s lunchtime Fullerton rally on April 28.

“Yes, I’m task force man, I have many tasks. But none more important than the task of looking after you. I am task force man for Punggol! I hope you will give me and my team an opportunity to serve you for another five years,” he said to the crowd at the PAP’s Punggol rally at Yusof Ishak Secondary School on May 1.

DPM Gan is

leading the four-member PAP team in the newly formed Punggol GRC,

which includes incumbent Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC MPs Yeo Wan Ling and Janil Puthucheary and incumbent Punggol West SMC MP Sun Xueling.

He had made a surprise move to the GRC on Nomination Day on April 23, after widely being expected to lead the party’s Chua Chu Kang GRC team, which he has helmed since 2011.

The PAP team is up against a Workers’ Party slate helmed by four political newcomers: Senior Counsel Harpreet Singh; senior director of publisher business development at an advertising tech firm Alexis Dang; senior manager of corporate affairs and marketing with the London Stock Exchange Group Jackson Au; and legal counsel Alia Mattar.

DPM Gan, who has spent the last nine days campaigning in Punggol, called the GRC “one of the most sought-after residential areas” with its network of green spaces and Coney Island, and the waterfront views from Punggol Waterway Park.

He also noted that the Punggol Digital District – a business park earmarked to spur innovation, and slated for completion in 2026 – has created over 28,000 jobs. PM Wong has previously referred to it as the nation’s first smart district, where companies, research institutes and government agencies spearhead technological innovation.

“All this didn’t happen by accident, it was the product of 15 to 20 years of hard work by the PAP Government,” said DPM Gan, adding that this was the vision of two prime ministers and many ministers for national development.

DPM Gan used his final rally speech before Cooling-off Day to list the future plans he had for Punggol GRC, including building more covered linkways and providing more food and beverage options for residents through the opening of the upcoming Punggol Coast Hawker Centre.

In earlier speeches, Dr Janil, who is Senior Minister of State for Digital Development and Information, said that the team had “real plans for Punggol, for the future, for five years and beyond”.

Projects lined up for the area include the new Punggol Coast bus interchange opening in June and a new sports stadium slated for completion in early 2026.

Ms Yeo shared various new career-related programmes, including a partnership with NTUC’s Employment and Employability Institute to launch a series of workshops focused on in-demand skills and emerging career areas, such as artificial intelligence and the digital economy, to “help residents gain confidence to navigate industry shifts with clarity”.

Meanwhile, Ms Sun, who is Minister of State for Social and Family Development and Home Affairs, announced plans to add about 370 infant-care places, and more than 2,100 childcare places in Punggol in the next five years.

DPM Gan also listed several initiatives from his experience in Chua Chu Kang GRC that he is hoping to replicate in Punggol if elected. These include vending machines across HDB blocks that sell $3 pre-packed meals, and a fund – similar to the South West Caregiver Support Fund – to help with caregiving expenses.

“These may take some time to replicate here, but if elected, I promise to further explore how we can give seniors and caregivers stronger support and better peace of mind,” he said.

Many prominent PAP figures appeared at the rally to show support for DPM Gan, including PM Wong; Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean, the anchor minister for the previous Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC; Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Indranee Rajah; Senior Minister of State for Defence and Manpower Zaqy Mohamad, and former manpower minister Lim Swee Say.

They spoke of how DPM Gan has proven to be a steady hand “that gets things done”.

DPM Gan reminded voters that this is a high stakes election.

He said: “The stakes are high because this GE is about you – your welfare, your job, your family, your future.”

He called on voters to decide who can best take Singapore forward and steer the Republic through “uncharted waters”, as well as who can best represent Singapore on the international stage.

“I may be new to this town, but I am no stranger to crisis, no stranger to service, and no longer a stranger to you.”