PAP new face Gho Sze Kee to run in Mountbatten SMC, 4-term MP Lim Biow Chuan to step down – Mothership.SG
Lawyer Gho Sze Kee will stand as the People’s Action Party’s candidate in Mountbatten SMC.
Meanwhile, former MP Lim Biow Chuan will step down.
At a candidate introduction session on Apr. 20, Marine Parade anchor minister Tan See Leng said that Lim will retire from Mountbatten SMC after “serving tirelessly for many terms”.
Lim Biow Chuan steps down after 19 years as MP
The 61-year-old started serving as a MP as part of the Marine Parade team in 2006. Lim has been the MP for Mountbatten SMC since 2011.
Tan thanked Lim for his contributions as the town council chairman for 15 years, deputy Speaker of Parliament from 2015 to 2020, and the President of the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE). Lim was also part of a few Government Parliamentary Committees over the past few years.
“This term for him, [that] just ended, was his fourth team. He’s been serving Mountbatten for almost 20 years,” Tan said.
“So we want to acknowledge and thank him for his contributions.”
Calling Lim her “mentor” who she has studied under for the past 10 months, Gho said that he “has left very big shoes for me, that’s without a doubt.”
She added that the residents will see her on the ground, and she will build on the strong foundation that Lim has laid.
Gho Sze Kee wants to be a “bridge builder” to bring people together
Gho, 46, has been a community leader and a PAP branch activist for 13 years.
Speaking about her motivations to run for GE2025, Gho said that she has a “personal conviction” to give back to Singapore.
As a mother, she also feels a “sense of mission to safeguard the future for the next generation”.
“I’m a mother of two teenagers, and I like to bring my personal touch, [a] motherly touch,” she said.
“What I hope to achieve is that when residents find themselves in a stressful situation — if the first person they think of is me — I would be very, very happy, and I’d be most happy for that chance.”
But Gho said she believes that to make a bigger difference, she needs to join politics.
“It’s not just about flagging issues upwards, but bridging the gap between policy and the people. And also, it’s not just about the grand gestures. Sometimes it’s about helping elderly residents apply for amenity fund or connecting someone to respite services.
And this is something that is very, very close to my heart, because at the end of the day, policies are national, but trust, compassion, kindness are personal.
And that’s where I truly hope that I will be given a chance to make a difference if elected as your MP.”
The lawyer added that she wants to be a “bridge builder” to bring residents together and to “revive the kampong spirit in Mountbatten”.
Gho may face a multi-cornered fight in the SMC, with the People’s Alliance for Reform (PAR) and “bitcoin candidate” Jeremy Tan both having declared their intent to run there.
Background info
A longtime PAP volunteer, Gho has been accompanying Lim on walkabouts for some time.
This sparked early speculation that she would succeed him in his role.
She was later spotted at events with the rest of the Marine Parade team.
At the launch of the PAP manifesto on Apr. 17, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong called her a “dedicated party activist of 13 years”.
He noted that she spoke at the PAP Convention in 2021, and impressed many with her “fighting spirit”.
“I have no doubt that she will make a good MP,” he added.
Top image from Lim Biow Chuan’s Facebook
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