Loke Hoe-Yeong/
Low Thia Khiang emphasized from the outset that he had contemplated and had decided to move out of Hougang and contest in a GRC a long time ago. The question, rather, was when and how it should be done.
A key to his decision was his observation that opposition parties have not made progress in parliament since he was first elected in 1991. After the 1997 elections, the number of opposition MPs stagnated at two – himself and Chiam See Tong. ‘Is this desirable for Singapore?” Mr Low asked at the press conference at the Workers’ Party HQ on Thursday. “Is this what Singaporeans want?”
Mr Low said the Worker’s Party believes that Singaporeans want more democracy, and that they want a First World parliament. Hence it is serious about breaking into a GRC.
Together with his party, Mr Low made the hard decision to move out of Hougang and into Aljunied GRC – a natural choice of GRC, since that constituency showed strong support for the Worker’s Party in the 2006 elections, and since Sylvia Lim has been working the ground there as well.
He was most determined to make his move when the boundary report was released earlier this year. That report indicated that 29, 000 residents of Aljunied GRC, which had given the Worker’s Party substantial support in 2006, was to be zoned out to Ang Mo Kio GRC, among other constituencies.
Therefore it would be ‘wishful thinking’ that Aljunied GRC could be won without putting in high stakes, ‘based on the way the PAP gerrymanders at every election’, Mr Low said. The disappearance of Cheng San GRC, wherethe Worker’s Party team garnered 45% of the vote share in the 1997 elections, was not to be forgotten.
Mr Low also explained the choice of Yaw Shin Leong to take over his candidature in Hougang. He said Mr Yaw has been with the party for a long time. From 2001-05, he was a Hougang Town Councillor. In the 2006 elections, Yaw led a Worker’s Party team that polled more than one-third of the votes in Ang Mo Kio GRC, against Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s incumbent PAP team.
Yaw has also worked the ground in Hougang for the past three years. “Every Hougang resident should have his namecard by now”, said Low in jest.
Other members of the Worker’s Party Aljunied GRC team – ‘an A-plus team’, as described by one journalist at the press conference – also spoke. 34-year-old Mr Pritam Singh aims to represent the views of his age group. Mr Muhamad Faisal bin Adbul Manap said he would be humbled to serve alongside his colleagues. Mr Chen Show Mao declared that ‘we take this small step to help Singapore take a big step’.
While acknowledging the risks that parliament could end up with no opposition MPs this time, Low is confident of his chances in Aljunied and said that ‘the ground is sweet’.
NB. Low Thia Khiang has written an open letter to the residents of Hougang SMC to explain his decision to contest Aljunied GRC.
HELP keep the voice of TOC alive!
If you like this article, please consider a small donation to help theonlinecitizen.com stay alive. Please note that we can only accept donations from Singaporeans. Thank you for your assistance.Do you have a flair for writing? Volunteer with us. Email us your full name and contact details to theonlinecitizen@gmail.com
汉高祖三年（公元前204年）十月,汉将军韩信率军攻赵，穿出井陉口，命令将士背靠大河摆开阵势，与敌人交战。韩信以前临大敌，后无退路的处境来坚定将士拼死求胜的决心，结果大破赵军。 “背水一战”比喻处于绝境之中，为求生路而决一死战
What are his plans for Aljunied? What does “first world parliament” have to do with me? I want to know what he want to do for my estate. I have never seen him around – and Sylvia Lim hasn’t come here for 5 years…..
I went to the WP rally – lot of talk about auditing PAP. Nothing about what they will do for AlJunied…. WTF? Are we supposed to be some sort of stepping stone to their 1ST WORLD parliament…..
I want to know what they will do for ME! First world parliament -hell care I!
Aljunied 29 April 2011
I went to the WP rally
I want to know what they will do for ME
………….
again you asked
what can the country do for you?
so what did the pap government do for the aljunied constituned for the last 5 ears? named me 5 good deeds..just 5…
be confident with MR LTK,of course he will do his best to take care of aljunied, just that sometime things need not to be said,it is DO IT.. thats why hougang is with him and WP for the past 20 years,infinite more to come… WP WP, ALL THE WAY~ Q(‘.’Q)
Steph C 29 April 2011
What are his plans for Aljunied? What does “first world parliament” have to do with me? I want to know what he want to do for my estate. I have never seen him around – and Sylvia Lim hasn’t come here for 5 years
………….
and sirgeorgeyeo visited you every now and then perhaps?
you meant sylvia lim has the power to wash aljunied void deck?
yes no or maybe?
plse read a very good entry from this link:
http://kirstenhan.me/2011/04/29/legislation-not-administration/
you can always get cleaners to do the cleaning…but you need legislators
the pap has FAILED
1.to attract investments with better paying jobs-tats why t heavy reliance on cheap labour aka FTs
2.the 2 child policy = 1.5MM aliens now-why was t policy reversed in time??-sack pap
3.poor education system = why sporean parents need to spend billion $$ a year on tuition.sack NE hen
5.bad forcast public housing = sky high COVs-
sack mah
6. failed to catch MAS SELAMAT whilst he was resting in brother’s flat-LOL-sack WKS
7.massive losses in GIC -sold our 3 power stations to improve cash flow?
why not t istana oso? -sack PM
8.wasted $$ on CTE,KJE,TPE- instead of building
t circle n bt timah lines-where’s t priority ??
-sack rayLIM
9.7% gst-bcos reduced top end income tax.remove estate duty.
robbing t porr to pay/attract t rich??-sack tharman
10.$300mm overpend on YOG-why?? sack bala
12.no minimum wages-how t poor coup with inflation n increase in cost of living??-sack lim swee say
13.unable to attract higher pay jobs-why? high land cost?? sack lim h khiang..
Come on, put aside emotions and self-centred thinkings!
We need to vote for our stability, secured, corrupt free society! We need a capable team to bring us foward, survive and able to compete on the whole stage, compete with big countries like India and China that have huge natural resources as the fallback. But we a small country only have human beings as our resources…so we need to attract,compete with the whole world to attract investors and investment in Singapore to creat more jobs for our people with good, practical, effective politics and a clean, efficient govenment to bring us forward!
We still need manufacturing sectors to provide jobs to all class of people, just service sectors is definitely not enough to satisfy all class of people! If we have two drivers keep quarelling, urging, it will only waste our PETORL and Resources, so the inside passengers are still in the same spot, not moving anywhere and how to compete with the rest of the world? I prefer to pick a capbale and reliable driver, to birng us faster and further and reach the destination with our limited PETROL!