SINGAPORE : The People's Action Party has introduced its first batch of new candidates for the upcoming General Election.
First to be introduced on Thursday morning was female candidate 46-year-old Denise Phua Lay Peng.
A full-time volunteer, she is President of the Autism Resource Centre and acting principal of Pathlight School.
Married with 2 children, her 10-year-old son was diagnosed with autism.
In January 2005, she gave up her corporate job as regional managing director and consultant of a company to serve full-time in the special needs sector.
She also founded the Worldwide Collaborations on Autism Needs.
Ms Phua was educated at the National University of Singapore and holds a Masters in Business Administration from Golden Gate University in the US.
The youngest of the three new candidates was 31-year-old regional director Zaqy Mohamad.
Married with two children, he has 10 years of community service.
He currently serves on the Citizens' Consultative Committee at Kampong Ubi and is also in the Feedback Unit's Social Development Feedback group.
Mr Zaqy, who graduated from the Nanyang Technological University in 1999 with an Engineering degree, also holds a Masters in Financial Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University.
Another candidate introduced was consultant eye surgeon Dr Lim Wee Kiak, who's 37.
He works at the National Eye Centre, is married with 3 children and has served for 8 years at the grassroots level in Fuchun and Marsiling.
Dr Lim graduated from the National University of Singapore in 1992 and received his Masters degree in 1998.
During the introductory session at the People's Action Party's headquarters, party chairman Lim Boon Heng said the PAP leadership met some 270 people over the past few years in their search for potential candidates before the list was narrowed down to more than 20.
The candidates are expected to be introduced over the coming weeks.
He said the party had looked out for qualities like capability, commitment, compassion and character - but not conformity. Mr Lim said: "We look for people with strong views on issues - who have strong convictions on such issues as such people make for robust debate within the PAP on national issues and help us to make sound policies for the PAP. At every election, we seek to reinvigorate the PAP and keep the PAP fresh and vibrant to the people. The PAP has made this a key issue in each election - the quality of its team, the choice of leaders to bring Singapore forward for the next decade and beyond."
"We are making this an issue again in this election - who would Singaporeans want to lead Singapore into a period of greater opportunities and more challenges? How to get leaders who are worthy and devoted to serving the people and who will win the support, confidence of people to deliver security prosperity progress for all of us? I think every voter looks forward to an able team that is committed to Singapore - a team that will have fresh ideas to meet the ever-changing challenges the country faces." - CNA/ch
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