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Engineer wants to campaign on housing issue

SINGAPORE — It was not an easy decision for Mr Redzwan Hafidz Abdul Razak to join the Workers’ Party (WP) in 2011. His wife — then fiancee — was a civil servant, and he would be joining an opposition party.

Mr Redzwan Hafidz Abdul Razak. Photo: Wee Teck Hian

Mr Redzwan Hafidz Abdul Razak. Photo: Wee Teck Hian

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SINGAPORE — It was not an easy decision for Mr Redzwan Hafidz Abdul Razak to join the Workers’ Party (WP) in 2011. His wife — then fiancee — was a civil servant, and he would be joining an opposition party.

“However, with her blessings ... today, here I am as a potential candidate for the Workers’ Party,” said the 30-year-old engineer, who has been active in the party since he joined.

In 2013, he was elected as a Youth Wing Exco member and a grassroots volunteer, serving residents in Aljunied Group Representation Constituency. He has also been married to his 33-year-old wife for three years. Although his wife was supportive of his decision to join the WP, she does not help in any of the party activities. “That’s one of the conditions (we have),” saidMr Redzwan. Neither has she suffered any repercussions at work, he said when asked the question.

“People recognise the fact that having a spouse (as) an Opposition member is not bad after all, provided you’re rational and responsible in the things you do, and the things you say, and the party that you join,” he added.

His interest in politics began after he observed the 2007 Australian Federal Elections as a student in the country from 2006 to 2008.

“People have a choice to choose their government ... that’s the reason why I joined politics,” he said. “To give people the choice of an alternative — an alternative party.”

One of the issues he would like to campaign on is housing, which he feels is an issue for many young Singaporeans. “I do feel the pinch ... felt by many young families when it comes to servicing their loans,” he said.

As a Malay/Muslim candidate, Mr Redzwan said that besides housing, he is keen on the issue of education with respect to raising educational levels and standards, and the quality of living for the Malay community as a whole. “The Government has done quite okay for the past couple of years, but I think more can be done through the agencies, (the) Malay/Muslim agencies,” he added.

Redzwan Hafidz Abdul Razak, 30

 

Engineer

FACT FILE:

• Married with no children

• Grew up in the east

• Member of both Engineers Australia and the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, UK

• Attended Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Pasir Ris Secondary School and Griffiths Primary School, went to a university in Australia

• Only son in the family, has two sisters

He said: “I joined the Workers’ Party in 2011, and after that I helped out in the Serangoon division of Aljunied GRC. I joined the Workers’ Party because I feel it’s a responsible and rational opposition party. But, joining the party was not an easy decision for me, my wife is a civil servant and I think the fear of being politically associated with civil servants is something real in Singapore.”

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