Low to stay in Aljunied, defends stance on multi-party fights

SINGAPORE — Workers’ Party (WP) chief Low Thia Khiang said today (Aug 5) that he will stay put and defend the Aljunied Group Representation Constituency (GRC) in the coming General Election (GE), putting to rest speculation that he could lead another WP team to make new inroads into the People’s Action Party’s (PAP) turf. “I will not move,” said Mr Low. “I appreciate (Aljunied residents) who have given us a chance to serve.”

Speaking to reporters before his Meet-the-People Session, Mr Low also explained his party’s stance on multi-cornered fights and why it is insisting on contesting Marine Parade GRC despite the interest of the National Solidarity Party (NSP), which had fielded a team there in the 2011 GE.

Pointing out that the WP lost by only 388 votes in Joo Chiat single-seat ward, which has been absorbed into Marine Parade GRC, Mr Low said: “Are we going to say, sorry Joo Chiat residents, because you are now being drawn into Marine Parade, we back off?”

He added: “We are a serious party, we take the support of the voters seriously ... If this is what they want, yes, we will put up a fight.”

Sources had told TODAY that during Monday’s talks among the opposition parties to resolve potential multi-cornered fights, representatives from the WP and the NSP were involved in a heated tussle over Marine Parade GRC, Jalan Besar GRC and the MacPherson Single Member Constituency (SMC).

The WP was also said to have refused to budge on the other three GRCs (Aljunied, East Coast and Nee Soon) and four SMCs (Hougang, Punggol East, Fengshan and Sengkang West) it had declared an interest in, following the release of the electoral boundaries report last month.

Mr Low and WP chair Sylvia Lim did not attend the horse-trading talks, which resume tonight. The WP was represented by Aljunied GRC Member of Parliament (MP) Faisal Manap, Non-Constituency MP Yee Jenn Jong — who stood in Joo Chiat SMC in the 2011 GE — and potential candidate Daniel Goh.

Mr Low stressed that his party attended the talks with the intention of avoiding multi-cornered fights as far as possible. He noted that the multi-cornered fights in Punggol East SMC in both the 2011 GE and a by-election in 2013 were a “waste of resources”. He added: “I suppose we can better use ... resources to focus on giving a choice to the people.”

By declaring its interest in the 10 constituencies — which will see the party fielding 28 candidates, five more than in the 2011 GE — the WP was being honest, Mr Low said.

“We want to make it clear to everybody what our intentions are, this is our plan, we will not want to hide (and say) maybe we are going here, maybe we are going there,” he added.

“When we say we are going to this area, we are serious about that and we had given due consideration to the constituencies where we want to go.”

The WP is mainly gunning for constituencies in the eastern part of the island, and Mr Low said “Sometimes, it is quite difficult for us to move”.

He said: “Where else can we move? Our base is basically here. We don’t have resources to go as far as the west or go all over Singapore ... We know what we can possibly do to offer (voters) a choice, to make good use of our resources to provide a choice to Singaporeans to build a credible opposition over time.” The WP has to be realistic, he reiterated. “So we are being honest (when we say) look, these are the constituencies we are looking at, (and) hopefully there will be no three-cornered fights.”

Without elaborating, he added: “At an appropriate time, maybe our party will share (publicly) how we tried ... to avoid three-cornered fights as far as possible.”

Mr Low noted that the political scene here is becoming more vibrant. “I am happy to see that Singaporeans now have ... many more choices, but, of course, with that, you end up with three-cornered fights. But that’s a reality that we have to see how we can manage,” he said.

In Monday’s talks, an NSP representative was said to have threatened to send a team to contest Aljunied GRC. When asked about this, Mr Low said: “There are many things not within our control ... It is the right of every opposition party to contest anywhere in Singapore that they wish.”

On his decision to stay put in the GRC, he said Aljunied residents had responded to the WP’s call in the 2011 GE to move Singapore “towards a First World Parliament”.

Citing the Government’s “many policy U-turns” since then, Mr Low said: “I am grateful for (the residents’) support, I am very happy their support has resulted in a better and more responsive government today.”