PAP’s Sun Xueling wins Punggol West SMC with 60.97% votes
People’s Action Party candidate Sun Xueling has won in the newly-formed Punggol West single-member constituency (SMC) with 60.97 per cent of the vote.
Ms Sun beat Workers’ Party (WP) candidate Tan Chen Chen, who received 39.03 per cent. Ms Sun had 15,637 votes to Ms Tan’s 10,012.
Carved out of the Pasir Ris-Punggol group representation constituency (GRC) in the last electoral boundaries report, Punggol West SMC is home to 26,579 voters.
Over 60 per cent of residents in the constituency are younger than 60 and six in 10 of the Housing Board flats were built over the last five years.
Many of them are owned by young families.
On the campaign trail, both candidates addressed cost of living concerns and issues that young parents face.
Ms Sun, 41, acknowledged residents’ employment concerns in the post-coronavirus job market, and their interest in upcoming developments in Punggol town, such as the Punggol Town Hub and Punggol Digital District.
She also highlighted her efforts to push for affordable infant milk formula and more preschool options in the previous term.
The Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Home Affairs and National Development has helmed the ward since her political debut in the 2015 General Election.
This general election marks her first solo fight.
Residents told The Straits Times Ms Sun has conducted regular door-to-door visits and walkabouts to interact with residents over the last few years.
Ms Tan marks her political debut in this general election.
The 28-year-old contracts administrator, who has a three-month-old son, has volunteered with WP since 2015.
She was active in Aljunied GRC, under former party chief Low Thia Khiang’s Bedok Reservoir-Punggol division, and learnt about the party’s decision to field her as a candidate while she was pregnant.
Along with her own concerns about rising home prices, she said she had come across residents who shared their concerns about road safety, cleanliness and school registration, while on the campaign trail. — THE STRAITS TIMES
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