Gan Siow Huang made history in July 2015, when she was appointed as Singapore’s first-ever female general.
By becoming the first female Brigadier-General at only 40 years old, she basically broke all gender stereotypes and became the highest-ranking female officer that the Singapore Armed Forces ever had.
Well, that title is now up for grabs again, as Ms Gan reportedly resigned from her position in the SAF last week.
Resigned From SAF, Now A Potential PAP Candidate
Although she only resigned a week ago, it seems like she has been keeping herself rather busy.
Last Sunday, she was spotted alongside Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen at a Bishan-Toa Payoh group representation constituency (GRC) walkabout.
This led to some speculation that she could potentially be a new face contesting in the upcoming general election.
Mr Ng posted about the group’s outing to Bishan North shopping mall on Sunday morning on Facebook where he said that he spotted residents of all ages in the area.
He also touched on the Covid-19 situation and wrote:
“Despite the COVID-19 outbreak, Singaporeans are confident to come out because they trust the Government and each other. This is good but each of us must be responsible and take the necessary precautions if this confidence is to be maintained.”
Volunteering For A Few Months
All this speculation about Ms Gan being a potential candidate did not come about just because she was seen there on Sunday.
In fact, Ms Gan has actually been volunteering at Bishan North ward for “a few months”, according to The Straits Times.
Ms Gan was also seen at a dinner organised by Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC in February, where she and Member of Parliament Chee Hong Tat were seen greeting the residents at each table, according to Lianhe Zaobao.
She was allegedly asked at the dinner if she was going to be running in the upcoming election.
However, she did not directly respond to the question and instead, said that she was currently serving the members of the public in her capacity as a volunteer.
The speculation of her being one of the candidates came after reports that Manpower Minister Josephine Teo, current chairperson of the Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, could be standing for election in Jalan Besar GRC instead.
Although the GRC currently consists of five seats, it will be downsizing to four as Marymount will be carved out from Bishan North to form its own single-member constituency.
However, Ms Gan being a potential PAP candidate is still a speculation, as she has not confirmed nor denied these rumours.
Only time will tell us if it’s true or not.
Unclear When General Election Will Be Held
The ongoing Covid-19 situation has deferred the general election, and many opposition parties have called for the Government to delay the election until the coronavirus outbreak is over.
Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat has said that they are currently assessing the situation.
“If you have big challenges ahead, then surely you want to be able to spend time on these challenges. Therefore the key question is, will the challenges be greater now or will the challenges be greater a year from now?” he said regarding the virus outbreak and the election.
“We need to be prepared for the worst, and I hope we will have the conditions to allow us to do that. And that will be a very major factor in deciding when we call the election.”