SINGAPORE — The Workers’ Party has elected its Central Executive Committee (CEC) for the new term, with Ms Sylvia Lim and Mr Pritam Singh being re-elected as Party Chair and Party Secretary General.
The bi-annual CEC election which was held on Saturday (12 Nov) saw most of the CEC members from the previous committee re-elected by its party cadres.
Mr Png Eng Huat, former Member of Parliament for Hougang SMC who gave way for Mr Dennis Tan to contest at the SMC in the last election, retired from the CEC.
Three new members are elected to the CEC, they are Mr Ang Boon Yaw, Mr Nathaniel Koh, and Mr Tan Kong Soon.
Mr Ang is a lawyer who started with the party as a volunteer at former WP MP, Chen Show Mao’s Meet-the-People Session (MPS). Mr Koh was fielded as a candidate at the Marine Parade GRC in General Election 2020. Mr Tan was formerly elected as a CEC member in 2016 and former vice president of the WP’s Youth Wing.
All nine current WP Parliamentarians are elected into the CEC.
WP has shared that the new CEC has started work with immediate effect.
Ms Lim and Mr Singh’s re-election comes as the Court of Appeal delivered its judgement on the 2017 lawsuit between them and the Aljunied Hougang Town Council (AHTC).
The judgement which was delivered on Wednesday (9 Nov) ruled that the former town councillors — which also include Mr Low Thia Khiang and Mr Kenneth Foo, of having acted in good faith when they awarded the contracts to their managing agent without an open tender, exonerating the Workers’ Party leaders of the allegations made against them over the past couple of years.
Section 52 of the Town Council Act protects one from personal liability if one is to act in good faith.
Therefore, the defendants do not have to pay damages for the claims against them by AHTC over the alleged improper awarding of contracts.
And although the Court of Appeal finds Mr Low and Ms Lim for not acting in good faith for the implementation of the payment process to FMSS and FMSI but notes the “control failures” only demonstrate the risk of improper payments.
Parties involved were asked to file their submissions on the damage to be recovered, noting that the burden is on AHTC to prove that loss was indeed suffered.
The following 15 members are in the Central Executive Committee (CEC):
- Mr Ang Boon Yaw, 40
- Mr Chua Kheng Wee, 35
- Mr Foo Seck Guan Kenneth, 45
- Mr Gerald Giam, 45
- Ms He Ting Ru, 39
- Dr Jamus Lim, 46
- Mr Nathaniel Koh, 39
- Mr Leon Perera, 52
- Mr Low Thia Khiang, 66
- Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap, 47
- Ms Nicole Seah, 36
- Mr Pritam Singh, 46
- Ms Sylvia Lim, 57
- Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong, 52
- Mr Tan Kong Soon, 45
