PAP ready to name its candidate today
Photo: The Straits Times
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Monday, Mar 21, 2016
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This article was updated at 11.30am on March 21 by AsiaOne.
THE People's Action Party (PAP) is set to announce its candidate for the Bukit Batok by-election today, The Straits Times understands.
Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam told reporters yesterday: "We will be announcing our candidate very soon, and we are confident we have someone who is known to residents, who works very hard, and is sincere at heart."
According to Chinese daily Lianhe Zaobao, lawyer K. Muralidharan Pillai, 47, could be a likely candidate.
The paper reported that Mr Murali met with former PAP chairman Lim Boon Heng on Sunday (March 20) night, but did not reveal the details of the meeting.
The head of Rajah & Tann's commercial litigation department was part of the PAP's five-member Aljunied GRC team in the 2015 General Election. His team lost to the Workers' Party.
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Murali Pillai named PAP candidate for Bukit Batok by-election
The candidate will go up against the Singapore Democratic Party's Chee Soon Juan for the single-member constituency seat.
By Linette Lim
Posted 21 Mar 2016 17:15
PHOTOS
PAP's Murali Pillai. (Photo: Pichayada Promchertchoo)
ENLARGECAPTION
SINGAPORE: The People’s Action Party (PAP) has named lawyer K Muralidharan Pillai as its candidate for the Bukit Batok by-election.
This was announced at a press conference held at the PAP Bukit Batok branch on Monday (Mar 21).
Mr Murali, 48, contested the General Election in 2015, as part of the PAP team challenging the incumbent Worker’s Party team (WP) in Aljunied GRC. PAP garnered 49.05 per cent of the vote, losing narrowly to WP's 50.95 per cent.
Mr Murali is the head of commercial litigation at Rajah and Tann. Before embarking on a legal career, he was Assistant Superintendent in the Singapore Police Force.
A long-time PAP activist, he is married with four children. He is also the son of PK Pillai, a unionist detained under Operation Coldstore in 1963.
Currently the chairman of PAP's Paya Lebar branch, Mr Murali was formerly the Branch Secretary of PAP Bukit Batok under the late Dr Ong Chit Chung. Dr Ong was MP for the Bukit Batok ward under Jurong Group Representation Constituency (GRC) from 2001 until his death in 2008.
A STRAIGHT FIGHT BETWEEN THE PAP AND SDP?
So far, the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) is the only opposition party that has confirmed it will contest the Bukit Batok by-election. SDP chief Chee Soon Juan will be the party’s candidate.
At a walkabout with party members on Sunday (Mar 20), Dr Chee told the media that if elected, he will put in place local elections for town council leaders, as well as hold quarterly townhall meetings.
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