GE2020: WP introduces five more candidates, including a 27-year-old social activist

• WP introduces second slate of five candidates for July 10 polls
• Their ages range between 27 and 49
• Party confirms line-up for Aljunied GRC

SINGAPORE — The Workers’ Party (WP) unveiled another five of its General Election (GE) candidates on Friday (June 26).

They are:

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  Outgoing Non-Constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) Dennis Tan, 49, who previously contested Fengshan Single-Member Constituency (SMC) in 2015

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  Social activist Raeesah Begum Farid Khan, 27, the party’s youngest candidate

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  Finance professional Dylan Ng Foo Eng, 44, who contested in Marine Parade Group Representation Constituency (GRC) in GE2015

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  Associate Professor Jamus Lim, 44, an associate professor of economics at Essec Business School

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  Mr Ron Tan Jun Yen, 35, senior assistant manager at the National University Health System, who contested in Nee Soon GRC in GE2015

So far, the party would only confirm its line-ups for the two constituencies that it held after GE2015: Hougang SMC and Aljunied GRC.

For the coming polls, Mr Dennis Tan will be running in Hougang SMC, replacing Mr Png Eng Huat, who will not be fielded this time.

As for Aljunied GRC, the WP team retains party chief Pritam Singh, chairman Sylvia Lim and Mr Faisal Manap, but there will be two replacements to its previous slate: Mr Leon Perera and Mr Gerald Giam.

Mr Perera and Mr Giam replace former WP chief Low Thia Khiang and Mr Chen Show Mao, who will also not contest in GE2020.

The party has not said where its other candidates would contest in the coming GE.

At an online press conference to introduce the candidates on Friday, Mr Singh said that the party’s medium-term aim of winning a third of parliamentary seats still remains, even though it is fielding only 21 candidates this GE.

Asked by the media for an update on this goal, Mr Singh said that much of this hinges on the quality of people who are prepared to contest for WP. “We have a good slate for this GE,” he said.

He said the party would continue to ensure that it can secure at least a third of parliamentary seats.

Based on the 93 elected seats to be filled this GE, that works out to about 31 seats.

On whether the rejuvenation of party ranks is happening fast enough, Mr Singh said: “It’s important to get people who are committed to public service.

“If we have people with that spirit, with that attitude, with that passion, then the speed of rejuvenation will take on a life of its own. But we should not force that process and force individuals who are not prepared to stand and represent the interests of Singaporeans strongly and fearlessly in Parliament if they are not ready to.”

With the continuing Aljunied-Hougang Town Council (AHTC) court case, Mr Singh was asked if the party was confident about retaining Aljunied GRC.

Ms Lim, along with Mr Singh and Mr Low, had been found liable by a High Court judge last year in a landmark case investigating misuse of town council funds. They have filed an appeal.

In response, Mr Singh said that from 2015, the performance of the AHTC has not had any issues of concern that residents have had to worry about. Its financial performance, for example, is comparable to that of any other GRC in Singapore, he said.

“More importantly, residents and the MPs and the town councillors have all worked together to deliver good outcomes to the residents of Aljunied-Hougang.”

When asked about Dr Tan Cheng Bock’s Progress Singapore Party fielding more candidates than WP, Ms Lim said that her party was not in a competition with other opposition parties. “We have a common cause in enabling as many voters as possible in Singapore to vote,” she said.

To date, the party has introduced nine candidates. On Thursday, it unveiled its first slate of four candidates, including former National Solidarity Party member Nicole Seah.

WP will field 21 candidates across four GRCs and two SMCs: Aljunied GRC, Marine Parade GRC, East Coast GRC, Sengkang GRC, Hougang SMC and Punggol West SMC.

This is fewer than its last outing at the polls in 2015, when the party fielded 28 candidates in five GRCs and five SMCs.

NEW CANDIDATES

Raeesah Begum Farid Khan, 27

The party’s youngest candidate, Ms Khan has been helping in WP’s meet-the-people sessions as a case writer.

She is also the founder of the Reyna Movement, a regional organisation set up in 2016 to empower women through community engagement and upskilling programmes.

Ms Khan said during her introduction on Friday: “In the course of my work, I often ask myself why it is getting disproportionately harder for working-class families to live a decent life, why is it that when it comes to navigating our post-Covid future, only the elites get a seat at the table.

“This is not the Singapore we deserve. What we deserve is a country where the marginalised are cared for, including senior citizens and people with disabilities.”

Ms Khan is also the daughter of Mr Farid Khan, a presidential hopeful from the Presidential Election in 2017, which was reserved for Malay candidates.

When asked how he has influenced her, Ms Khan said that they shared a passion for public service and have many discussions about the community.

She has a bachelor’s degree in economics and marketing from Murdoch University.

Mr Dylan Ng Foo Eng, 44

Mr Ng joined the party in 2012 as a volunteer before contesting Marine Parade GRC in GE2015, where the party lost to the People’s Action Party (PAP) team.

He said that political competition will bring out the best in people, regardless of the party to which they belong.

“Coming forward to serve and provide more choices for Singaporeans is, for me, the right thing to do,” said Mr Ng, a director in a wealth advisory firm.

On his learning points from his last electoral outing, Mr Ng said that all feedback from residents is important.

“Once you receive residents’ feedback, do not put them aside. There is no feedback that is less important or more important,” said Mr Ng, who added that as a “responsible party”, WP will look into feedback regularly and as fast as it can.

Mr Ng has a degree in economics from the University of Western Australia, as well as a higher diploma in private banking from the Singapore Management University.

Assoc Prof Jamus Lim, 44

The associate professor of economics at Essec Business School is a first-time candidate, although he has been walking the ground with WP for some time.

A father of one, Assoc Prof Lim returned to Singapore after two decades abroad. He has a master’s degree in economics from the London School of Economics and a master’s in history from Harvard University in the United States. He also has a master’s in politics and doctorate in international economics from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Before joining academia, Mr Lim worked on international development at the World Bank. He was also lead economist at the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, which manages the sovereign wealth fund of the city, and worked on policy issues at the Institute for Southeast Asian Studies.

On Friday, he said that children here endure a “pressure cooker” education system, an environment steeped in tuition, supplementary classes and co-curricular activities. He questioned the consequences of the focus on outcomes, with young graduates often becoming private-hire car drivers or deliverymen.

He said the country’s education system is not preparing Singaporean children to take on good jobs, and wants to raise issues such as these in Parliament for the sake of his eight-month-old daughter and other children.

“We can only resolve these most difficult questions when there is a healthy, active debate — and an honest debate — about solutions,” he said.

Mr Ron Tan Jun Yen, 35

Mr Tan, a senior assistant manager at the National University Health System’s research office, started volunteering with WP in 2012. He contested in Nee Soon GRC in GE2015 as part of a WP team that lost to the PAP.

Mr Tan, who is married with a daughter, holds a Bachelor of Law and Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Western Australia.

Mr Tan said that he has been serving with the grassroots for the last nine years and believes that young Singaporeans should step up and speak for others, such as seniors and their children.

Mr Tan is a legislative assistant to outgoing MP and former party chief Low Thia Khiang, and is an executive committee member of the party’s media team.

As an aide to Mr Low, Mr Tan said that he learnt the importance of being responsible to the residents who voted WP into Parliament.

“You are elected to take on the responsibility to look after them, to manage the estate, to be the voice for them in Parliament, and to assist them in their day-to-day-issues,” he said.

Mr Dennis Tan, 49

First volunteering with the party in 2011, Mr Tan will be the party’s candidate in Hougang SMC, taking over from outgoing MP Png Eng Huat.

He is also an outgoing Non-Constituency MP, a post he has held since 2015.

Mr Tan, who is also WP’s organising secretary, made his political debut in the 2015 GE where he contested Fengshan SMC, which has since been absorbed into the East Coast GRC for the coming polls. He lost to the PAP’s Ms Cheryl Chan.

He is a shipping lawyer at the DennisMathiew law firm and a father of one.

He began helping Mr Png in Hougang, a seat WP has held since 1991, three years ago. As an NCMP, he has brought up a range of issues, including public transport, National Service training safety and climate change.

“My years as NCMP has made me even more convinced that a PAP supermajority in Parliament is bad for Singapore and bad for Singaporeans,” he said on Friday.

He added: “We, therefore, need more diversity of ideas and less groupthink in Parliament. We need a more balanced Parliament with a constructive elected opposition to deal with important issues affecting Singaporeans, such as jobs, fair hiring, cost of living, retirement adequacy and future economy.”

Asked whether he is established enough in Hougang to retain the seat, Mr Tan said: “I will do my best to win the mandate of the Hougang voters again... I really wish they would give me the opportunity.”