The Workers’ Party (WP) team for Marine Parade Group Representation Constituency could be banking on home ground advantage, as WP central executive council Yee Jenn Jong — who is expected to lead his party’s team there — revealed that the “majority” of the five-member slate are residing in the ward, and that he will be leading a team of new faces.
Speaking to TODAY during an interview last week, Mr Yee, 50, declined to say who his team-mates are, but he added that they have several years of grassroots experience, and the party has sought to ensure a balanced make-up, with people possessing legal, finance and operational expertise, which is required to run a town council, should the team get elected. “They are also people who are prepared to roll up their sleeves, go down to the ground and get things running,” said Mr Yee, adding that the line-up was decided via a “collective” process involving himself, the WP leadership and the potential candidates.
“When we got started, I already told them this is a very difficult campaign … Contesting against a former Prime Minister (Mr Goh Chok Tong, who is now Emeritus Senior Minister) and with Marine Parade considered a People’s Action Party (PAP) stronghold,” he said. “I believe if (the candidates) also did not sign up for this willingly, they might crack under the pressure.”
The WP has been formally introducing its new candidates since last Wednesday. Apart from announcing that its incumbents in Aljunied GRC and the Hougang and Punggol East single-seat wards will stay put and defend their turf, the opposition party is playing its cards close to its chest in terms of the line-ups for the other constituencies where it will be contesting.
Nevertheless, over the past weeks, some WP candidates — including Mr Yee — have been spotted regularly doing outreach activities in Marine Parade GRC. Apart from Mr Yee, the others are corporate lawyer He Ting Ru, 32, chocolate business owner Firuz Khan, 48, lawyer Terence Tan, 44 and banker Dylan Ng, 40. Among them, Mr Yee, Mr Khan and Mr Tan are living in Marine Parade GRC. Mr Yee is the only candidate among this group — should this turn out to be the WP’s final line-up for the constituency — who has contested in elections before.
Mr Yee, an entrepreneur running various education businesses, made his electoral debut in the 2011 General Election (GE) standing in the Joo Chiat Single-Member Constituency (SMC). Banking on his selling point as a “local boy made good”, Mr Yee — who has resided in Joo Chiat all his life, while his parents have lived there for more than five decades — garnered 49 per cent of the vote, losing by a narrow margin of 388 votes to the PAP’s seasoned campaigner Charles Chong. The result placed him among the “best losers”, and earned him a ticket to Parliament as a Non-Constituency Member of Parliament.
For the coming GE, Joo Chiat has been absorbed into Marine Parade GRC under the redrawn electoral boundaries. Mr Yee had previously said that he had asked to remain in the GRC. On the difference between contesting in an SMC and leading a team in a GRC, Mr Yee said it is a different ball game altogether.
Apart from the obvious task of covering a bigger area, Mr Yee said the fact that he is the only one in the team with GE experience also meant that he felt a responsibility to help his team-mates avoid some of his campaigning mistakes from the previous election. For instance, in terms of engaging residents, he has learnt to condense his message so that voters can understand it within the small window of interaction.
He added: “Contesting in an SMC, you are very much the candidate managing yourself and the team of helpers. But now, I also have to keep my team members and a much larger team of volunteers motivated … taking on the leadership, inspirational and organisational role.”
Nevertheless, with his team members contributing their own expertise, Mr Yee said he has also learnt from them ways to engage residents and how to use social media. On his hopes for the coming elections, Mr Yee said: “I had a gentlemanly contest the previous time and would like to see the same for this round as well.”
Last week, Mr Goh likened opposition politicians to nomads who move from one place to another, without having any interest in the people’s welfare. As a parting shot, Mr Yee said: “I am no nomad, that’s why I am back.”
Source: www.todayonline.com
