Workers' Party MPs He Ting Ru, Jamus Lim, Raeesah Khan and Louis Chua elected to Central Executive Committee
Two of Workers' Party's MPs for Sengkang GRC, He Ting Ru and Jamus Lim, during a walkabout at Rivervale Plaza on Jul 7, 2020, before the General Election. (File photo: Marcus Mark Ramos)
SINGAPORE: The Workers' Party (WP) on Sunday (Dec 27) elected all four Members of Parliament for Sengkang GRC to its Central Executive Committee (CEC).
They are Ms He Ting Ru, Dr Jamus Lim, Ms Raeesah Khan and Mr Louis Chua Kheng Wee.
Also elected to the CEC were Ms Nicole Seah and Mr Kenneth Foo, who were part of the WP team that lost in East Coast GRC to the People's Action Party in this year's General Election.
These were the latest movements in the opposition party's core leadership as it continues to renew its ranks after a change in secretary-general two years ago, when Mr Low handed over the reins to Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh.
READ: Workers' Party leaders Pritam Singh, Sylvia Lim re-elected as party 'balances experience with new blood'
At the Cadre Members' Conference on Sunday, Mr Singh and Ms Sylvia Lim were re-elected to the positions of secretary-general and chairman respectively.
Mr Singh said that with these changes, the Workers' Party was balancing renewal with continuity.
"I think the cadre membership recognises that continuity in the party is important, even as renewal is taking place," he told reporters at the conference venue in Clarke Quay.
Former WP chief Low Thia Khiang and former MP Png Eng Huat continue to be members of the CEC, while former MP Chen Show Mao has stepped down.
Assoc Prof Daniel Goh, who said in April that he was stepping down from the WP leadership for health reasons, was also not in the line-up.
The Workers' Party has 10 MPs in Parliament, up from six, after winning a second GRC - Sengkang - in the General Election in July. Three of the Sengkang MPs, Mr Chua, Ms Khan and Dr Lim were contesting in their first election.
Speaking at the event, Mr Chua said that being elected to the CEC was a serious responsibility and that the new members will continue to learn from the senior members of WP.
He added: "I think more importantly, we do not work in isolation. I am not one person, just as in Sengkang GRC, we work together as a team. And as a CEC, we work together as a team ... I don't think I am alone."
When asked if it was too much responsibility for the newly elected MPs to also be on the party CEC, Mr Singh said: "I would call it the burden of leadership. I think if you are in a position of leadership, then you cannot shirk and move away from responsibility."
The WP office bearers for 2020-2022 are as follows:
Chairman: Ms Sylvia Lim, 55
Secretary-general: Mr Pritam Singh, 44
Members:
Mr Louis Chua Kheng Wee, 33
Mr Kenneth Foo Seck Guan, 43
Mr Gerald Giam, 43
Ms He Ting Ru, 37
Ms Raeesah Khan, 27
Dr Jamus Lim, 44
Mr Low Thia Khiang, 64
Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap, 45
Mr Leon Perera, 50
Mr Png Eng Huat, 59
Ms Nicole Seah, 34
Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong, 50
Editor's note: An earlier version of this story stated that Png Eng Huat has stepped down from the Workers' Party's central executive committee. This is incorrect. We apologise for the error.
