GE2025: SM Teo Chee Hean will not stand in Pasir Ris-Changi GRC, remains ‘available to contribute’ (2025)

SINGAPORE – Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean will not be standing for re-election in Pasir Ris-Changi GRC, a development that opens up the possibility of him being deployed to other constituencies.

Announcing this on April 21 at a press conference, he said: “I will continue to support PM Lawrence Wong and his 4G team, and remain available to contribute to the team wherever and in whatever way PM Lawrence Wong feels I can best serve.”

The PAP team in Pasir Ris-Changi will be led by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Indranee Rajah, who will move out of Tanjong Pagar GRC. Joining her are Senior Minister of State Desmond Tan, Mr Sharael Taha and newcomer Valerie Lee.

With Nomination Day round the corner, the PAP has announced its slates for 26 of the 33 constituencies islandwide. The exceptions include East Coast GRC, Punggol GRC and Tanjong Pagar GRC.

The PAP line-up for Sembawang GRC has not been officially announced, but Health Minister Ong Ye Kung on April 21 uploaded a video to his Facebook page of his team, comprising himself, incumbent MPs Vikram Nair and Mariam Jaafar, as well as new faces Gabriel Lam and Ng Shi Xuan.

Five out of seven political analysts The Straits Times spoke to believe SM Teo could be fielded in another constituency, especially Punggol.

The new four-member GRC was carved out of Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC, which SM Teo has anchored since 2001. The WP has been walking the ground in Punggol over the past year and is likely to field a team there to challenge the PAP.

Asked if he would be moving to Punggol GRC, SM Teo replied: “I ask you for a little bit of patience, wait two days and everything will be clear.”

A former navy chief holding the rank of rear-admiral, SM Teo made his political debut in December 1992, when he was part of a team that contested and won a by-election in Marine Parade GRC.

He quickly established himself as a PAP stalwart, earning re-election six times as an MP for Pasir Ris GRC and subsequently Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC.

Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) senior research fellow Gillian Koh said the PAP may want to field a full minister and seasoned political hand in the constituency.

“Punggol GRC, which is said to be of interest to the WP, does not have an anchor minister who is an incumbent there for the PAP,” she noted.

The incumbent MPs in Punggol are Senior Minister of State Janil Puthucheary, Minister of State Sun Xueling and Ms Yeo Wan Ling.

SM Teo’s reluctance to say more at this point keeps the door open for him to be moved to Punggol GRC, which is drawn from Punggol West SMC and Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC – an area he has helmed for many years, Dr Koh added.

Former PAP MP Inderjit Singh agreed, saying the PAP will not take the new GRC for granted.

“So they will want to send a heavyweight minister to win the GRC. Also, WP is likely to contest Punggol, so perhaps SM Teo could move there,” he added.

SM Teo has helmed various ministries throughout his career, including Home Affairs, Defence and Education.

He served as deputy prime minister from 2009 to 2019, and has been Coordinating Minister for National Security since 2011.He was appointed senior minister in 2019.

IPS Social Lab research fellow Teo Kay Keynoted that SM Teo did not state that he would retire, unlike others who have done so, such as Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen and Senior Minister of State Amy Khor.

“It is likely that his next move may not be confirmed yet, which is why he asked the media to wait until Nomination Day to find out,” Dr Teo said. “Given the proximity, there is more chance that he would be in Punggol GRC, unless the PAP decides to forgo geographical proximity and place him somewhere else.”

Dr Mustafa Izzuddin, a senior international affairs analyst at Solaris Strategies Singapore, said Ms Indranee replacing SM Teo in Pasir Ris-Changi GRC can be viewed as part of the ruling party’s continued rejuvenation efforts to strengthen its internal core for long-term viability.

SMU law don Eugene Tan said Ms Indranee’s move will see her become an anchor minister in a GRC. If she is elected, she may also helm her first ministry, he added.

Two analysts reckon that SM Teo will not be contesting the 2025 General Election.

Associate Professor Bilveer Singh from NUS’ department of political science said the Senior Minister is likely to stay as a mentor instead. He noted that SM Teo, 70, is one of the few third-generation (3G) leaders who are still around, and has a wide age gap with Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, 52.

IPS Social Lab adjunct principal research fellow and academic adviser Tan Ern Ser said that if the election is about renewal, there is no reason for the 3G leaders to still be around, other than Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong playing a mentoring role.

Asked by a reporter about the PAP’s approach to announcing new faces and slates for this election, Ms Indranee said the party felt that it would be better to announce the slates “constituency by constituency”, to help people get to know the new candidates and teams for the group representation constituencies and single-member constituencies.

“During 2020, we announced all new candidates at the same time, and when we announced too many at the same time, it was difficult for people to absorb all the new faces,” she said.

On why the PAP has yet to unveil its line-up in some constituencies, Ms Indranee replied that some constituencies will have to go first, while others have to be announced towards the end.

“So whatever it is, all voters will know by Nomination Day, and all voters will have the opportunity during the nine days (of campaigning) to assess the candidates and to see who they think would be best to represent them and their constituencies,” she said.

SM Teo said that as he steps down as an MP in Pasir Ris-Punggol, “I do so with full confidence that we have a strong team here to continue to serve you for many years”.

Thanking residents and volunteers, he said: “It has been my privilege and an honour to have served the residents of Pasir Ris and to have gotten to know so many of you, your children and also your grandchildren.”

• Chin Soo Fang is senior correspondent at The Straits Times covering topics such as community, politics, social issues, consumer, culture and heritage.

JoinST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.