New ministers Jeffrey Siow, Jasmin Lau on list of candidates for PAP top leadership in party vote

SINGAPORE – First-term ministers Jeffrey Siow and Jasmin Lau have made it onto the list of recommended candidates for the PAP’s top leadership body at the party election on Oct 25.

The pair, who are also first-term MPs elected at the 2025 general election, were two of three new to a list of 19 candidates recommended for the central executive committee (CEC), The Straits Times has learnt.

The other is Acting minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Zaqy Mohamad. Siow is Transport Minister and Lau is Acting Manpower Minister.

Siow and Lau were promoted at a Cabinet reshuffle in July, and Zaqy was appointed acting minister days before that.

Zaqy was co-opted into the CEC then, but was not on the list of candidates for the previous vote in 2024.

The list of 19 also includes a core group of seven that cadres are encouraged to vote for: Lawrence Wong, Lee Hsien Loong, Desmond Lee, Chan Chun Sing, Masagos Zulkifli, K. Shanmugam and Grace Fu.

The rest of the list comprises Alex Yam, Chee Hong Tat, Edwin Tong, Indranee Rajah, Josephine Teo, Ong Ye Kung, Sim Ann, Tan See Leng and Vivian Balakrishnan.

More than 2,000 cadres, who form the party’s inner circle, cast their votes at the party’s biennial conference held at the Singapore Expo on Oct 25.

After the vote, the top 12 vote-getters will form the party’s top leadership body for the next two years.

The new CEC also by custom co-opts the next two highest vote-getters.

It will also parcel out the different roles such as chairman and treasurer between its members, and usually co-opts another four members to reach its maximum size of 18.

This follows a statement from Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Oct 24 where he said the PAP conference is an important occasion for party leadership renewal.

In a video message posted to social media, PM Wong, who is also the party’s secretary-general, said: “I look forward to working with a team that brings experience as well as fresh perspectives as we prepare the party for our work ahead.”