GE2025: PAP’s Gho Sze Kee to contest Mountbatten; 4-term MP Lim Biow Chuan to step down (2025)

SINGAPORE – Maritime lawyer Gho Sze Kee will be fielded by the PAP to contest the Mountbatten single seat at the general election, taking over from four-term MP Lim Biow Chuan, who is stepping down after almost two decades of serving the area.

Ms Gho’s candidacy was announced at a press conference on April 20 by Manpower Minister Tan See Leng, who will lead the PAP’s five-member slate for Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC in the May 3 polls.

A PAP new face, Ms Gho, 46, has been a party activist since 2012 and has been photographed alongside Mr Lim since August 2024.

She has been the branch secretary at the PAP’s Bukit Timah branch since December 2020.

Ms Gho is associate director of AsiaLegal, a boutique law firm that specialises in maritime law, and has more than two decades of experience in the legal industry.

She said she is stepping up as a candidate because of a personal conviction to give back to Singapore, and because she feels a sense of mission, as a mother, to safeguard the future for the next generation.

She noted that while government policies have generally served Singaporeans well, “not every situation fits policy”.

Some people need a more personalised approach to solving their problems, she said, adding that MPs play a critical role in providing “that last mile of coverage” and bridging the gap between policy and people.

Ms Gho said Mr Lim, whom she has understudied for the past 10 months, has left big shoes to fill.

Mr Lim’s starting point for PAP MPs, she added, is that each of them has to be dedicated to service and amplify residents’ voices in Parliament.

“He wants every one of us to do more than just that,” she said.

“I would like to bring my personal touch, motherly touch,” said Ms Gho, who has two teenage children.

“And what I hope to achieve is that when residents find themselves in a difficult or stressful situation, and if the first person they do think of is me, I will be very, very happy, and I would be most grateful for that chance.”

Ms Gho previously spoke at the PAP Convention in 2021, emphasising the need for gender diversity within the party.

She is expected to be challenged by a candidate from the opposition coalition People’s Alliance for Reform for the Mountbatten seat.

Mr Lim said he felt a “sense of loss of friendship”, as he has been serving the area for 19 years.

“But in politics, there is always a need for renewal,” he told The Straits Times at a Hari Raya celebration in Dakota Breeze on the evening of April 20.

“The leadership at the PAP... will decide at what point in time they should refresh the slate of candidates, and we leave it to the wisdom of that collective leadership.”

Mr Lim said Ms Gho comes across as a “caring, compassionate, humble person” whom he is confident will be able to take care of Mountbatten residents.

Should Ms Gho be elected Mountbatten MP and need any help, Mr Lim said he would be happy to assist. “She can call me any time.”

Mr Lim, 61, entered politics in 2006 as part of a team for Marine Parade GRC led by then Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, which won the constituency in a walkover.

In the 2011 election, Mountbatten – the ward Mr Lim oversaw – was carved out as a single-member constituency.

Mr Lim prevailed in the single seat at three consecutive polls, winning 58.62 per cent of the vote in 2011, 71.86 per cent in 2015, and 73.82 per cent in 2020.

As Mountbatten MP, Mr Lim was actively involved in municipal affairs, serving as Marine Parade Town Council’s chairman for multiple terms from 2010 until April 2025.

In the 14th Parliament, which was dissolved on April 15, Mr Lim was on the PAP’s Government Parliamentary Committees (GPCs) for National Development and Transport. He chaired the GPC for Education in the 12th Parliament.

Before running in the 2006 election, Mr Lim had been a grassroots leader serving in the Jalan Besar area.

While he was an MP, Mr Lim served as the vice-president of the Consumers Association of Singapore from 2006 to 2012, and then as its president from 2012 to 2021.

He was Deputy Speaker of Parliament from 2016 to 2020.

A lawyer, Mr Lim began his career in 1989 and is now a director of boutique firm BC Lim & Lau, which he co-founded in October 2019 with fellow lawyer Lau Kah Hee.

Residents interviewed by ST described Mr Lim as an active MP who was often spotted around the constituency, including at community events and house visits.

Ms Dawn Lim, 37, described him as a friendly MP who remembers her 1½-year-old daughter’s name by heart. “Every community event that I attend, he is always there,” said the architect.

On the MP stepping down, she said: “I wish I had more opportunities to interact with him.”

Madam June Yong, 75, was surprised to hear that Mr Lim was stepping down, adding that he was a warm-hearted MP.

The homemaker recounted an incident that took place on a weekday at 10pm some time in 2024, when she spotted Mr Lim circling the perimeter of a nearby block.

When she approached him, Mr Lim told her that he was checking on a resident’s complaint about sources of stagnant water near the drains.

Madam Yong said: “I thought it was very good of him to be checking on the complaint all by himself... He was a very focused MP.”

Additional reporting by Shermaine Ang