The Workers' Party (WP) has officially introduced 4 of its non-Member of Parliament (MP) candidates today and announced its campaign theme of "Empower your future".
This year, the WP will contest 28 seats, 3 more seats than it did in 2011, but has remained adamant that it would only name the candidates that will represent them at the various constituencies on 1st September. The WP is expected to contest against the PAP in Nee Soon GRC, Jalan Besar GRC, East Coast GRC, Marine Parade GRC, Seng Kang West SMC, Fengshan SMC and MacPherson SMC.
However, WP's chairman Ms Sylvia Lim had previously announced that its MPs for Aljunied GRC, Hougang SMC and Punggol East SMC would remain in place to defend their seats, while all the teams who contested in the previous elections would likewise be contesting again.
At a press conference today, the WP unveiled the following 4 non-MP candidates:
42 year-old Daniel Goh Pei Siong - National University of Singapore associate professor of sociology. Assoc Prof Goh said that he was inspired to run under the WP by his 3-year-old son. "I seek to empower his future and other Singaporeans," he said, adding that he hopes to create a "space to dream" for his son just as his own parents did for him.
"I once dreamed of becoming a journalist, a detective, an astrophysicist and even a Jesuit priest at one time," Assoc Prof Goh told the media.
As someone with plenty of questions about society, Assoc Prof Goh became a sociologist so that he could have the answers to these questions: "Why is Singapore not democratised? Why a one-party rule?"
As a candidate however, Assoc Prof Goh said he would be contesting not for the sake of academic knowledge, but would be pursuing political arguments as a form of national service.
30 year-old Redzwan Hafidz Abdul Razak - Mr Redzwan is a member of Engineers Australia and the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in the UK. Having been active with the WP as a grassroots volunteer serving residents in Aljunied GRC since 2011, he was eventually elected as a Youth Wing Exco member in 2013.
He said that he believes the WP to be a "responsible, rational party", but added that he faced genuine fears of being politically associated with the opposition because when he joined the WP in 2011, his fiancee - who is now his wife - was already a civil servant.
However, he managed to convince her about his choice of party, and finally "joined [the WP] with her blessings".
Redzwan says that if elected, he would speak up on issues of housing policies. “I feel the pinch felt by many young families when it comes to servicing their loans,” he explained.
42 year-old Koh Choong Yong - Software Engineer at Ruckus Wireless Singapore. Mr Koh contested Sengkang West SMC in GE 2011 but lost to the People's Action Party (PAP) candidate Lam Pin Min. He had joinedthe WP after the 2006 GE and was elected into the WP Central Executive Council in 2008.
Through his meet the people sessions (MPS) and grassroots activities, Mr Koh says that he has learnt many things about the issues faced by his residents and the ways that the WP can help.
40 year-old Dylan Ng Foo Eng - Head of Wealth Management and Loan Sales in the Singapore office of a Malaysian bank since 2013. Mr Ng has 2 children and hails from a "humble" background before he worked his way up the corporate world. He believes that it is important to give back to society through public service, and has been helping with the WP for 3 years.
"Singapore can benefit from more robust policy-making platforms," Mr Ng said. "Residents tell me they are worried about issues and I'm grateful to WP to help me contribute in a bigger way.
"I look forward to helping build a more dynamic and vibrant Singapore," he added.
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