Red Dot United (RDU) on 16 Apr 2025 unveiled its slate of candidates for the newly formed Jurong East-Bukit Batok Group Representation Constituency (GRC) as well as Jurong Central Single Member Constituency (SMC).
The party held a press conference at 255 Jurong East Street 24, near Jurong-Clementi Town Council, to introduce their candidates.
RDU fields experienced political candidates for Jurong East-Bukit Batok GRC
The five-member team for Jurong East-Bukit Batok GRC includes two candidates with previous political experience.
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Ms Liyana Dhamirah, 38, who previously contested under RDU in Jurong GRC during the 2020 General Election, is the manager of a non-profit organisation focused on gender equality and also runs a virtual services business.
In 2020, she was named one of the SG100 Women in Tech for her contributions to the tech and entrepreneurial space. Her book Homeless: The Untold Story of a Mother’s Struggle in Crazy Rich Singapore won the best non-fiction title at the Singapore Book Awards.
Mr Osman Sulaiman, 50, is a director of a waste management company in Cebu, Philippines, and has contested in the last three General Elections.
His latest outing was under the Singapore People’s Party (SPP) banner in 2020 for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, where his team received 32.77 per cent of the vote.
He previously ran on the Reform Party’s ticket in 2011 and 2015. Mr Osman became an RDU member in September 2024 and will relocate back to Singapore if elected.
RDU secretary-general Ravi Philemon introduced both Ms Liyana and Mr Osman as the “anchor candidates” for the team, noting that the constituency has a fairly large number of Malay/Muslim voters.
According to a Straits Times analysis of demographic data, 15.3 per cent of the resident population there are Malays, higher than the national average of 13.5 per cent.
“We acknowledge the Government has done a lot for the Malay/Muslim community, but in some areas… we can do more,” Mr Philemon said.
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The team is rounded out by three other candidates:
Mr Ben Puah, 48, is a contemporary artist and community art organiser who graduated with a Bachelor of Arts with Distinction from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology.
His works are part of major public and private collections, including those of the Singapore Art Museum and the National Institute of Education. In 2005, Mr Puah founded Colours of Life, a community arts initiative that was officially opened by the late President S R Nathan and his wife.
Mr Marcus Neo, 33, is the director of a boutique marketing agency serving law firms in Singapore. According to RDU, Mr Neo experienced financial hardship growing up that “shaped his understanding of inequality.”
Mr Harish Mohanadas, 39, is a principal software engineer who develops digital solutions for government and industry clients.
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He is also a central executive council member of RDU and a former civil engineer with over a decade of experience in Singapore’s built environment sector, having contributed to projects including Phase 2 of Singapore’s Deep Tunnel Sewerage System.
Mr Harish focused on cost of living issues during his speech, saying: “The rising cost of living makes it very, very difficult for our seniors to live dignified lives, especially if they cannot find gainful employment. How do we make sure that Singapore’s success gets shared by all Singaporeans?”
Piano teacher to contest Jurong Central SMC for RDU
RDU will also contest the Jurong Central SMC, fielding piano teacher Emily Woo, 59, for the single seat. Mdm Woo, who joined the party in 2020, was a teacher with the Ministry of Education and has been teaching piano since 2000.
As a Jurong resident for over 20 years, she said she has noticed municipal issues in the area such as abandoned shopping carts, shaky lamp posts, peeling paint and littering.
“Under RDU, if we are elected, we will do our best to make sure the littering problem is eradicated, and we will do our best to win the trust and confidence of the local constituents,” she said.
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Mr Philemon said the candidates for both constituencies are the party’s “first-choice candidates” and were selected by the election committee after studying the demographics of the area, not through “tikam tikam” – “randomly picked” in Malay – or frivolous thinking.
“When you’ve walked the ground the past five years, you know the demographics of the people who live in this constituency. And so we can make a good decision when it comes to fielding candidates,” he said. “We have done our work, we think we have a good chance. We think these constituencies are winnable.”
The RDU team for Jurong East-Bukit Batok GRC will face a People’s Action Party (PAP) team led by Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu, 61, the incumbent MP for Yuhua.
Her team includes Minister of State for Law and Transport Murali Pillai, 57, Minister of State for Health and Digital Development and Information Rahayu Mahzam, 44, political newcomer David Hoe, 37, and Mr Lee Hong Chuang, 54, who previously contested Hougang SMC in the 2015 and 2020 elections.
When asked about the PAP candidates, Mr Philemon said the new faces have “yet to prove themselves” and took aim at Mr Lee, who lost the previous election at Hougang SMC to Workers’ Party candidate Dennis Tan with 38.79 per cent of the vote.
“Here you have a candidate who didn’t do so well in one constituency, and the incumbents are thinking that probably this is a constituency where he will be well accepted,” he said. “I think the voters here are very mature, and that’s the decision that they will have to make.”
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At Jurong Central SMC, which was carved out as a single seat from Jurong GRC with changes to the electoral boundaries, RDU’s Mdm Woo will face incumbent and first-term MP Xie Yao Quan, 40.
Jurong East-Bukit Batok GRC was formed from a merger of Bukit Batok SMC and parts of Jurong GRC, Yuhua SMC and Hong Kah North SMC following the latest electoral boundaries review. The GRC has 142,510 voters.
Jurong GRC was PAP’s best-performing GRC in the last two elections, securing 79.29 per cent of votes in 2015 and 74.61 per cent in 2020.
It was previously anchored by former Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, who left politics to contest the presidency in 2023.
For the 2025 General Election, RDU has also introduced potential candidates for Nee Soon GRC and Holland-Bukit Timah GRC, and previously indicated interest in contesting Jalan Kayu SMC, Tanjong Pagar GRC and Radin Mas SMC.
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Singapore will head to the polls on 3 May 2025.
These five GRCs could see the tightest battle in GE2025; here’s why:
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