The Workers’ Party (WP) introduced its final crop of potential General Election candidates on Monday (Aug 31).
The party has declared that it will contest 28 seats – five more than the 23 candidates it fielded in 2011 – but has said they will only announce the constituencies the candidates will contest on Nomination Day on Sep 1.
As the incumbent, the Workers’ Party is expected to defend its seat in Aljunied GRC, Hougang SMC and Punggol East SMC. Ms Sylvia Lim earlier said that all the same teams will defend their constituencies.
Mr Leon Perera, 44, is the chief executive of Spire Research and Consulting. The former assistant head of the Economic Development Board’s Enterprise Development Division, Mr Perera graduated from Oxford University with double first-class honours. He is also an adviser for The Independent news website.
Married with two children, he started volunteering with WP for two years before joining as a member one-and-a-half years ago.
“Only with strong opposition can people be involved in asking big questions for our country,” he said. “Ultimately, economic development should mean each citizen’s ability to realise his or her full potential in the way he or she wants to.”
Ms Frieda Chan, 39, contested the 2011 General Election under the WP banner in Moulmein-Kallang GRC. The social worker is married and gave birth to a son about six months ago.
At the press conference, Ms Chan spoke about various stresses on young parents and adults. “(There are still) many barriers that discourage couples from starting a family. As a young mother, I feel the stresses,” she said.
She also called for more support for caregivers. “There are a lot of gaps in the system. I hope that through policymaking, I can be an effective and productive member.”
Mr Bernard Chen joined the WP in 2006 and is a project executive at Ang Chin Moh Foundation. A graduate of the National University of Singapore and the University of Oxford, Mr Chen said that he comes from a humble background – his father was a coffee-shop runner and his mother a cleaner.
At 29, he is the youngest candidate that WP has introduced this election. “I hope my participation in the WP will serve as an encouragement for Singaporeans to have a say in their future,” he said.
Mr Chen hopes to speak up for residents. “I believe residents’ small issues are our big issues,” he said, adding that his “ideal Singapore” is not just an advanced country and economy, but also a “warm-hearted home”.
OTHER POTENTIAL CANDIDATES
On Wednesday, four potential candidates were unveiled: Sociology professor Daniel Goh, engineer Redzwan Hafidz Abdul Razak, banker Dylan Ng and software engineer Koh Choong Yong.
The following day, private investment firm managing director Luke Koh, sales consultant Cheryl Loh, chocolate manufacturing firm manager Firuz Khan and lawyer Terence Tan were presented to the media at Workers’ Party headquarters.
On Friday, corporate lawyer He Ting Ru, property agent Ron Tan, businessman Adrian Sim and polytechnic lecturer L Somasundaram were introduced as potential candidates for the coming General Election.
On Sunday, the party unveiled four potential candidates: Voluntary welfare organisation worker Kenneth Foo, shipping lawyer Dennis Tan, head of the legal department in a real estate company Gurmit Singh and former associate librarian at National Library Board Mohamed Fairoz Shariff.
Source: www.channelnewsasia.com
