Potential PAP candidates for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC identified

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a community event on Sunday (20 Apr), MP of Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, Dr Ng Eng Hen, said that new faces have been introduced in his constituency.

 

Speculation is rife that some of the current Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC MPs like Wong Kan Seng will be stepping down by the next general election.

 

Dr Ng, who is also PAP’s organising secretary, has earlier indicated that potential candidates for the next General Election have been active on the ground in many GRCs.

 

He said many Singaporeans have indicated their preference for candidates who had spent some time on the ground ahead of the polls. Dr Ng agreed that it is useful for candidates to work the ground earlier to get to know residents’ needs better. The residents can also assess the candidates earlier.

He said, “So, for those who have been alert, you would have seen many new faces and, yes, we have new faces in Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, and if you look closely enough, they appear so regularly you know who they are. We are not ready to announce them as candidates.”

The local media has identified Mr Saktiandi Supaat, 41, currently head of foreign exchange research team at Maybank and a volunteer at Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC as a potential candidate.

He was with Dr Ng when the newly renovated Residents’ Committee Centre at Toa Payoh East was opened.

 

Mr Saktiandi said, “I’ve been helping out in Bishan-Toa Payoh for one year largely as a writer, to help out to meet the residents, help at the branch level. Over the past month or so, similarly at Toa Payoh East. Besides that I’m also at the Toa Payoh East CCC as a member.”

When asked if he will be running for the next general election, he said that it’s up to the party to decide.

 

According to the media, Mr Saktiandi was already a grassroots volunteer at the Kolam Ayer PAP branch in Moulmein-Kallang GRC in 2008. He was then under Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister for Communications and Information before moving to Bishan-Toa Payoh only in 2013 last year.

According to his LinkedIn information [Link], he was formerly a deputy director at MAS. He was with MAS for some 11 years before going to UOB. He stayed in UOB for a year before joining Maybank, his current company, in 2011:

His education includes:

• University of Cambridge, 2007 – 2008, MBA, MAS scholarship
• National University of Singapore, 2002 – 2003, Master of Social Science in Applied Economics
• University of Melbourne, 1999, Bachelor of Commerce (Hons)
• Catholic Junior College, 1990 – 1991
• Raffles Institution, 1986 – 1989

He described himself as:

• Experienced economist and FX strategist with central banking and global markets treasury exposure.
• Financial economist with analytical experience covering the G3 and Asian financial markets, foreign exchange, balance of payments and economic modelling portfolios.
• Previously worked in the Monetary Authority of Singapore (de-facto central bank) for 11 years covering financial surveillance, economic modelling, balance of payments and foreign exchange.
• Also had a short stint in a UK investment management firm with focus on global financials/banks.

His other roles include: