GE2020: Workers’ Party presents final slate of candidates, including 54-year-old researcher contesting for the first time

• WP has introduced its full slate of 21 candidates
• They will be fielded in four group representation constituencies and two single-member constituencies 
• WP chief Pritam Singh reiterated its medium-term aim of having at least a third of parliamentary seats 
• He said that the party’s slate hails from a wide segment of society, including a former bus driver and an ex-World Bank economist 

SINGAPORE — The opposition Workers’ Party (WP) introduced its fourth and final slate of candidates on Sunday (June 28) for the coming General Election (GE).

Its latest slate of candidates include: 

• Mr Abdul Shariff Aboo Kassim, 54, researcher and project coordinator who has left his job to contest in the election. He is a first-time candidate

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  Ms He Ting Ru, 37, head of legal and communications with a listed multinational company in Singapore. Ms He, who is a lawyer, contested in the last polls in 2015 on the WP ticket in Marine Parade Group Representation Constituency (GRC)

The party also presented two former Non-Constituency Members of Parliament (NCMPs) who will be part of WP’s previously announced line-up in Aljunied GRC. 

They are:

• Mr Gerald Giam, 42, former NCMP and chief technology officer in a start-up he founded 

• Mr Leon Perera, 48, WP Youth Wing president and outgoing NCMP

The three other candidates who will form WP’s team in Aljunied GRC are Mr Pritam Singh, Ms Sylvia Lim and Mr Muhamad Faisal Manap. The three were among the party’s Members of Parliament for the GRC before Parliament was dissolved. The other two, Mr Low Thia Khiang and Mr Chen Show Mao, will not be contesting in the coming GE. 

Over the last four days, WP has introduced its full slate of 21 candidates who will contest four GRCs and two single-member constituencies (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.

At the first introduction session on Thursday, there were four candidates, including former National Solidarity Party member Nicole Seah. 

At the second session on Friday, WP presented five candidates. Among them was its youngest for this election, social activist Raeesah Begum Farid Khan, 27.

On Saturday, it announced another five candidates, including lawyer Terence Tan. 

The party has so far announced its line-up only for Aljunied GRC and Hougang SMC, where outgoing NCMP Dennis Tan will be its candidate. Mr Tan is replacing Mr Png Eng Huat who won in Hougang in a 2012 by-election as well as the 2015 GE, but will not be standing in the polls. 

WP has not disclosed which candidates would stand in the other constituencies. 

Speaking at an online press conference to introduce the final slate of candidates on Sunday, Mr Singh, who succeeded Mr Low as WP chief in April 2018, reiterated that WP’s medium-term aim is to have at least a third of parliamentary seats.

“I believe that WP should aim in the medium term to have at least one-third of Parliament in opposition hands. I think this is important, as it forces the ruling party to consult widely when it wants to change the law,” said Mr Singh.

He added that it is also important to have a diverse slate of individuals in Parliament representing society. To this end, he noted that WP’s candidates for the coming GE hail from a wide segment of society. They include Mr Abdul Shariff, a former bus driver, and Associate Professor Jamus Lim, who worked at the World Bank.  

Mr Giam, who will be contesting in Aljunied GRC this GE, was also asked if he is ready to fill the shoes of the outgoing Aljunied MPs, Mr Low and Mr Chen. 

Mr Giam said that he had done a lot of ground work in East Coast GRC where he had last contested, as well as the former Fengshan SMC.

“Unfortunately, Fengshan SMC got folded into East Coast GRC. And circumstances also happened that Mr Low had his unfortunate fall and he was injured, and I was asked to stand in for him during the last two months,” said Mr Giam.

He noted that he had experience working the ground in Fengshan SMC, East Coast GRC and Aljunied GRC.  

Mr Singh was also asked why WP is contesting in two new constituencies — Sengkang GRC and Punggol West SMC — and if it expects a tough fight on these new grounds.

On Sunday, the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) announced that labour chief Ng Chee Meng would lead its team in Sengkang GRC.  He is joined by two other PAP political office-holders in the last Parliament — Mr Lam Pin Min and Mr Amrin Amin — as well as new candidate Raymond Lye.

Mr Singh said that WP had chosen to contest in these constituencies as it had walked the ground in these areas. “Because of the contiguity of Punggol West SMC and Sengkang GRC, and some of the areas of the east in general, it was a natural extension (for the party),” he said. 

While the WP expects a tough fight, he said that it would give these areas its best shot. 

THE CANDIDATES

Mr Abdul Shariff Aboo Kassim, 54

A first-time candidate, Mr Abdul Shariff started volunteering with WP eight years ago. He was inspired to join the party after seeing how Mr Singh and other volunteers attended to every resident without fail at Meet-the-MP sessions, despite the lack of proper facilities at void decks where sessions were held.  

Mr Abdul Shariff said that he had quit his last job as a researcher to run in the coming election owing to his company’s policy on non-partisanship. 

Mr Abdul Shariff, who has a Bachelor of Science and Master of Tri-Sector Collaboration from the Singapore Management University, said that he held menial jobs such as undertaker, bus driver and security guard well into his 30s to put himself through university.

“It’s my firm belief that coming from humble beginnings does not mean you are humble. When you believe that you have succeeded purely on individual merits, you may hold the view that those who are not successful have only themselves to blame,” said Mr Abdul Shariff.

Ms He Ting Ru, 37

The lawyer began volunteering with WP in 2011. She graduated with an undergraduate degree in natural sciences from Cambridge University in the United Kingdom before reading law in London.

With the Covid-19 pandemic, Ms He said there would be “headwinds to come” in the economy and it was time for Singaporeans to ask themselves about the kind of future they want for the country.

“Do we want a country that is dominated by the views of a few, or one where healthy and vibrant views can be exchanged respectfully without accusations of disloyalty?” she asked. 

Ms He said that she wants her two young children, aged two and three, to be proud of being in a country that has overcome obstacles by helping its most vulnerable people along with it.

She also hopes for a society where people can have strong and respectful disagreements with one another.

Mr Gerald Giam, 42

Mr Giam is no stranger to politics, having contested under WP’s banner in East Coast GRC in the last two elections.

Mr Giam, who is the party’s treasurer, also served as an NCMP from 2011 to 2015 — years that he described as a “baptism of fire” where he had many productive debates with ministers about healthcare, transport and manpower policies.

He said that he had learnt a lot from his time in Parliament and planned to build on his experience, including tapping subject-matter experts and putting his ear “closer to the ground”.

“I am prepared to reach across the aisle to come up with the best solutions to solve the challenges we face as a nation. That is what constructive politics should be about — being laser-focused on achieving results for the benefit of Singaporeans,” said Mr Giam.

Mr Leon Perera, 48

An outgoing NCMP, Mr Perera is the deputy chair of WP’s media team and president of the party’s Youth Wing.

In the 2015 GE, he was part of a team that contested East Coast GRC and lost to the People’s Action Party. He will contest in Aljunied GRC in the coming polls.

Mr Perera said that since 2015, he has been working with Ms Lim in the Serangoon ward of Aljunied GRC. 

“We have been engaging residents through house visits, through tea sessions, talking to residents to obtain feedback that we can use in Parliament, undertaking welfare interventions to help needy residents within the community and doing many other things,” he said. 

Away from politics, Mr Perera is the co-founder and chief executive officer of market research firm Spire Research and Consulting.