PAP plans for East Coast GRC unveiled on new website

A vision to make the "East Side Best Side" was unveiled on April 15, with the PAP representatives for East Coast GRC laying out a refreshed slate of promises and plans on a new website.

The promises were organised around eight pillars - A Place To Learn, Care, Eat, Pray, Conserve, Play, Shape The Future, and A Place For All - and can be found on oureastcoast.sg, which went live at noon.

The website features work completed in the constituency over the past five years, and a road map that looks forward to 2030.

At a media briefing on April 15, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong said core infrastructure is already in place, so the next phase of the East Coast Plan will centre on residents' lived experiences.

"Now that we have the baseline of infrastructure, we are going to take off from there and construct a plan moving forward, based on how our residents would like to use the facilities and how they organise themselves and their family," said Mr Tong.

The plan is organised around how people live, work and play, not around "public shelters or how many footpaths or how many walkways", he said.

The East Coast Plan was first introduced during the 2020 General Election by Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat, the five-member group representation constituency's anchor minister. He was not present at the briefing.

The team of five providing the update comprised Mr Tong, Senior Minister of State Tan Kiat How, Deputy Speaker Jessica Tan and PAP new faces Hazlina Abdul Halim and Goh Pei Ming.

On April 12, Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Maliki Osman, who was part of the team that stood in East Coast GRC in 2020, said he would not be contesting there in the upcoming election and named Madam Hazlina as his successor.

Madam Hazlina, the former chief executive of Make-A-Wish Singapore, started her career as a radio presenter for Mediacorp's Ria 89.7FM.

She later transitioned into television, and was at one point an assignments editor on CNA's Singapore desk.

Mr Goh was Singapore Armed Forces chief of staff - joint staff.

The refreshed East Coast Plan for the next five years aims to equip residents with opportunities to learn and grow. It covers programmes such as digital inclusion for seniors, youth leadership, mental wellness and support for caregivers.

Preserving hawker culture and fostering interfaith harmony are central themes, alongside efforts to create inclusive public spaces and support for pet owners, families and lower-income households.

Environmental sustainability - such as expanded green spaces, electric vehicle charging points and community-led conservation initiatives - also features in the plan.

It also outlines planned infrastructure improvements in the area, such as the upgrading of Tanah Merah MRT station, new Build-To-Order projects in Simei, revamping Kampong Chai Chee Community Club into a community hub and the construction of Safra Bayshore.

"We thought to create a plan that was not centred on hardware facilities, but on the way in which our residents saw these facilities as improving their lives," said Mr Tong.