GE2025: Red Dot United unveils Holland-Bukit Timah slate, including 25-year-old newcomer (2025)

SINGAPORE – Opposition party Red Dot United (RDU) has unveiled its full slate for Holland-Bukit Timah GRC, which includes one of the youngest candidates in the coming polls.

The four-man team comprises assistant engineer Sharad Kumar, 25, financial consultant Fazli Talip, 43, business owner Patrick Tan, 70, and operations manager Nizar Subair, 57.

Mr Sharad, Mr Nizar and Mr Tan are being fielded in an election for the first time, while Mr Fazli contested in East Coast GRC in the 2011 polls on the Workers’ Party ticket.

RDU secretary-general Ravi Philemon unveiled the candidates for Holland-Bukit Timah GRC on April 18 at a Housing Board estate near Ghim Moh Market and Food Centre.

Mr Sharad, Mr Tan and Mr Fazli were introduced to residents on April 10, when RDU first declared its interest in the group representation constituency.

Mr Philemon has said Holland-Bukit Timah GRC is an “important piece of the puzzle” that connects Jurong East-Bukit Batok GRC to Nee Soon GRC – two other constituencies the party plans to contest in – and it made “strategic sense” for them to contest there.

The RDU campaign is themed Fair Value For All, which a party spokesman described as a push for a “fairer system”, where “every Singaporean, not just the most privileged, can feel secure and valued”.

Holland-Bukit Timah GRC has 122,891 voters, many of whom live in landed homes and condominiums.

Mr Sharad, likely one of the youngest candidates in this election, said he was concerned about issues such as mental health and the climate crisis, and wants more accountability from firms and the Governmenton such matters.

He added that he is part of the “strawberry generation”, and would be voting for the first time. Young people whose feelings are easily hurt and who are pampered are often called “strawberries”.

Mr Sharad said his generation has benefited from Singapore’s progress “but we’ve also felt its pressures, the stress and inequality, the growing sense that many of us are working harder, but not necessarily getting ahead”.

Mr Nizar works in the marine services industry and is pushing for stronger employment safeguards to protect mid-career professionals. He aims to draw from his experience of losing his job during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Mr Fazli, the third candidate, said he wants to speak up for retirees living in private estates who have little or no income, whom he described as a “less-visible group”.

Rounding out the slate is Mr Tan, who owns a business selling convenience goods. He hopes to advocate stronger government support for local businesses.

Mr Philemon, who in the past has said RDU is unfamiliar with Holland-Bukit Timah GRC, said the team has been walking the ground in recent days.

He added that it was “impossible” to meet every resident before the May 3 polls, but said RDU will continue engaging residents in the GRC, regardless of the election results.

RDU is contesting in Holland-Bukit Timah GRC for the first time and will face the incumbent team of MPs: Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, 64, Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and National Development Sim Ann, 50, lawyer Christopher de Souza, 49, and businessman Edward Chia, 41.

The same PAP line-up contested the 2020 General Election, and won 66.36 per cent of the vote against the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP).

On April 15, during introductions for the PAP team that will contest in Holland-Bukit Timah GRC, Dr Balakrishnan was asked how he saw the contest shaping up against Mr Philemon.

Dr Balakrishnan replied that he knew Mr Philemon and felt he is a gentleman who is “frank enough to express his divergent views”.

On April 18, Mr Philemon said he appreciated being called a gentleman by Dr Balakrishnan but disagreed that his party’s views are divergent.

He said: “I think the views of Red Dot United are not divergent. It is not non-mainstream. The views of the ruling party, however, have made many people feeluncomfortable.”

SDP, which contested in Holland-Bukit Timah GRC in the past three elections, has signalled that it is uncertain about fielding candidates in the GRC.

When asked if RDU would make way if SDP eventually decides to contest in Holland-Bukit Timah GRC, Mr Philemon said his party would like to avoid a three-cornered fight.

“We will consider what’s best for the people... and I think because of familiarity, SDP will be best placed to be an option against the PAP for this constituency,” he added.

In neighbouring Bukit Panjang SMC, four-term MP Liang Eng Hwa, 61, is set for a rematch against SDP chairman Paul Tambyah, whom he faced in the 2020 election.

Bukit Panjang was one of the most hotly contested seats in that election, with the PAP narrowly retaining the seat with 53.73 per cent of the vote.

For the 2025 election, RDU has introduced potential candidates for Nee Soon GRC and the newly formed Jurong East-Bukit Batok GRC, and had earlier indicated interest in contesting in Jalan Kayu SMC, Tanjong Pagar GRC and Radin Mas SMC.

• Christine Tan is a journalist at The Straits Times reporting on crime, justice and social issues in Singapore.

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