Former Ministry of Finance (MOF) director Shawn Loh was seen with Jalan Besar GRC MPs at a community event on April 6, fuelling speculation that he may be fielded as a People’s Action Party (PAP) candidate in the upcoming general election.
Mr Loh, 38, attended the Mega Give and Take Market, a ground-up initiative offering free groceries and school supplies to lower-income families. He was seen interacting with residents alongside MPs Josephine Teo, Heng Chee How, Denise Phua and Dr Wan Rizal Wan Zakariah.
Mr Loh is one of five senior civil servants who have stepped down ahead of GE2025. He most recently served as MOF’s director of security and resilience programmes, and was Budget director for 2024 and 2025 — the first Budgets shaped by the Forward Singapore national engagement exercise. He also played a key role in rolling out the CDC and SG60 voucher schemes.
Before joining MOF, Mr Loh was vice-president of Singapore businesses and industry manpower development at the Economic Development Board.
The April 6 event also marked the launch of Horizons @ Jalan Besar, a leadership programme for youth in community service. Mr David Hoe, director of philanthropy at Majurity Trust and district counsellor for Central Singapore CDC, was also present and involved in the pilot phase of Horizons.
Mr Hoe was also seen a day earlier at the Jurong-Clementi Town Council’s masterplan launch, volunteering alongside long-time grassroots leader Cassandra Lee — both believed to be potential candidates for the new Jurong East-Bukit Batok GRC. Horizons team member Lim Kay Yong said the programme aims to build “values-driven leaders” grounded in empathy. Past participant Valencia Tan added the programme inspired her to make “a positive impact back home” after an overseas learning trip
