While there is a possibility that the Workers’ Party (WP) may shuffle its lineup of current members of Parliament (MPs) at the next General Election (GE), analysts believe such a move would not be taken lightly because of the political risks involved.
The party has said it will contest 28 seats in the next GE, up from 23 in 2011. Analysts said a key issue for the party will be whether to redeploy some of its MPs from Aljunied to improve its chances in other constituencies or to keep that winning team intact to try to ensure it retains the Group Representation Constituency (GRC).
Dr Gillian Koh, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies, said WP faced a similar dilemma in 2011. “In GE 2011, the WP also had a very large slate of candidates. In spite of that, what they chose to do was to place what we called their A-Team in Aljunied.”
“It’ll be interesting if they will keep it that way, or they feel that they have spent enough time on the ground, such that the other members of the GRC are now trusted to carry that whole GRC.”
Political scientist Alan Chong of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies said moving high-profile Aljunied MPs to strengthen teams in other constituencies is a possible strategy. “It’s like a chess game,” he said.
“If they are to move players from the existing Aljunied GRC, or even from Punggol East, which I doubt, or Hougang, it’s a matter of moving your heavyweights, just to make sure that certain targets would fall to you. On that basis, they might move one or two key players out of Aljunied. They might do that.”
But he also pointed out the risks of such a move. “The downside of it is, if you as a heavyweight stand in one of these constituencies where because of the pre-existing level of support which the PAP has consolidated over the years, you might actually lose.”
“And if that happens, then you’re momentarily out of politics,” he said.
Dr Eugene Tan, Associate Professor of Law at the Singapore Management University, believes that the Aljunied team is unlikely to change. “Simply because when we look at Aljunied GRC, it is their ‘crown jewel’, which they won only in 2011,” he said.
“And I think for them to disband what I’d describe as their A-Team, their Dream Team, may not go down well with their voters in Aljunied.”
However, some residents in Aljunied GRC did not seem to feel that way. An 80-year-old male resident, who did not want to be named, said: “With limited resources, they may have to move around their better-knowledged, better-experienced MPs from Aljunied. That is a constructive way to further advance their political progress.”
With clear advantages and disadvantages to moving sitting MPs to other constituencies, the analysts said the WP’s approach would become apparent only when the election date is confirmed.
Source: www.channelnewsasia.com
