Faisal Manap’s Next Chapter: From Parliament to Property at ERA

At 51, Faisal Manap is taking on a new kind of public-facing work. After 14 years representing Kaki Bukit in Aljunied GRC, the former Member of Parliament has joined ERA Singapore as a real-estate associate.

The move puts a familiar political figure back at the beginning of a career. Faisal plans to learn the property trade while remaining active in the Workers’ Party and continuing to provide pro-bono counselling.

A career built around service

Faisal entered Parliament in 2011 as part of the Workers’ Party team elected in Aljunied GRC. He represented Kaki Bukit until 2025, then contested Tampines GRC in that year’s General Election.

That chronology matters because Faisal does not describe property as a clean break from his earlier work. He said nearly two decades spent in counselling and public service had made helping people part of who he was.

In his telling, real estate offers another avenue for doing that, as well as greater flexibility in his working hours. That flexibility could help him accommodate the political and counselling roles he intends to retain.

There is an obvious human connection between the different jobs. Constituency work and counselling involve listening to people whose choices are shaped by money, family and changing circumstances. Housing conversations often begin in much the same place, even if the practical work is very different.

Starting again as a learner

ERA’s public profile identifies Faisal as an associate, confirming his new professional home. But his account of the transition is less about arriving with a ready-made property career than learning one from the ground up.

He is working under the guidance of ERA division director Clement Yeo and gaining practical experience through on-the-job training. Faisal said he hopes eventually to work independently, but is now concentrating on strengthening his fundamentals step by step.

That is a considerable change of rhythm after Parliament. National debates and constituency duties are being replaced, at least in part, by individual household decisions and the day-to-day process of learning a commercial profession.

The transition also creates an unusual contrast. Faisal enters the field with years of public recognition, yet is approaching the work as a newcomer under mentorship. His stated path is straightforward: learn alongside someone experienced, build practical knowledge and take on greater independence later.

From Aljunied to Tampines, then ERA

Seen as a timeline, the move looks more gradual than sudden. Faisal spent 14 years in Aljunied, stood in Tampines in 2025, continued his counselling work and has now added property to his working life.

Each stage has involved direct contact with people, but the setting has changed. Instead of meeting residents mainly through political or counselling work, he will now also encounter households making decisions about where and how they live.

For someone starting a new career in his fifties, the most interesting detail may be the willingness to become a learner again. Faisal is not presenting his years in politics as a substitute for property experience. He has described mentorship and field learning as the route towards becoming more self-reliant in the profession.

What he is carrying forward

Faisal has not left party politics. He remains the Workers’ Party’s vice-chair for the 2026–2028 term.

He has also said that he intends to continue offering pro-bono counselling alongside his political commitments and new role at ERA. These are his stated plans, and how the three strands fit together will become clearer as his new routine takes shape.

For now, the common thread is the one Faisal draws himself: service. Parliament, counselling and property are very different kinds of work, but his next chapter begins with a familiar task—sitting down with people, understanding what they need and helping them navigate a consequential change.