SINGAPORE - It is important for the Government to get a new mandate from the people to address the challenges that lie ahead for Singapore. And that is what the Government will be seeking at the July 10 election, labour chief Ng Chee Meng said on Wednesday (June 24).

He said: "Like Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said, it's an important thing for us to do, so that we get the people's mandate and deal with the issues ahead."

Mr Ng, who is a Minister in the Prime Minister's Office and has been an MP for Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC since 2015, added: "There will be challenges. So, I think when things are stabilised, we should take this opportunity to seek the mandate from the people to move forward."

Mr Ng was speaking at Anchorvale Community Club on the sidelines of the launch of a programme that gives out computers to students from low-income families.

He is expected to lead the PAP team in the new Sengkang GRC in the coming polls.

He was joined at the event by Senior Minister of State for Transport and Health Lam Pin Min, who is outgoing MP for Sengkang West.

With them was lawyer Raymond Lye, who is the chairman of Punggol East Citizens' Consultative Committee.

The four-member GRC, which has 120,166 voters, comprises parts of the existing Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC, as well as the single seat of Punggol East and parts of Sengkang West.

The move to form the new Sengkang GRC was widely anticipated, given that the area's population has swelled in recent years.

The new GRC is also expected to be contested by the Workers' Party, which held Punggol East from 2013 to 2015 and has also been walking the ground in Sengkang.

On Wednesday, about 20 refurbished computers - donated by charity RSVP Singapore - were given out to students to kickstart the programme.

Called Sengkang Goes Digital, the initiative was started by youth volunteers from Punggol East, Sengkang Central and Sengkang West.

They received support from the Community Development and Welfare Funds, RSVP Singapore and Singapore Computer Society.

The initiative aims to help more than 100 primary and secondary school students from low-income families in Sengkang by giving them PCs or laptops.

Mr Lim Cheng Lei, 28, who is chairman of the People's Association's Sengkang Central Youth Network, said the idea for the initiative came about during the Covid-19 circuit breaker period, when students stayed home from school and had to do home-based learning.

The IT professional said: "We hope this will give students the opportunity to have an equal playing field... and hopefully, it will open up new doors because with the advancement of technology, you have more opportunities to learn new things online.

"We also hope it will expose them to more knowledge, and maybe (inspire them) to come up with new great ideas and contribute to society."