The Nee Soon announcements come amid a series of potential candidate introductions in the past few weeks from both the PAP and opposition parties, with Red Dot United having declared its intention to run in Nee Soon GRC.
Nee Soon GRC is now helmed by Mr K Shanmugam (Chong Pang branch), Assoc Prof Faishal (Nee Soon Central), Mr Louis Ng (Nee Soon East), Ms Carrie Tan (Nee Soon South) and Mr Derrick Goh (Nee Soon Link).
Dr Syed Harun, 39, a consultant psychiatrist at the Starfish Clinic of Psychiatry & Mental Wellness, quit his NMP post on Feb 14 amid speculation that he will be contesting the general election.
His resignation, along with that of fellow NMP Raj Joshua Thomas, raised concerns among some former NMPs that them entering politics under the banner of political parties could tarnish the premise of non-partisanship during their time in the House.
In response to such concerns, Mr Shanmugam said the Constitution “expressly provides” for a NMP to join a political party after resigning from the position.
Dr Syed Harun started appearing alongside Mr Shanmugam, who is also Home Affairs and Law Minister, at Nee Soon GRC community events from end-March.
Former senior civil servant Goh Hanyan, 39, was previously spotted on Apr 7 at a Meet-the-People Session at the PAP’s Nee Soon Central branch.
Ms Goh’s last post was a director in the Smart Nation Strategy Office in the Ministry of Digital Development and Information, from December 2023 until she left the service reportedly on Apr 3.
She was also director for policy and strategy in the ministry’s National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Group.
Before that, she had been in the Strategy Group of the Prime Minister’s Office, and she spent about a decade in the Economic Development Board (EDB) before that.
