The Workers' Party (WP) will field its A-team in Aljunied GRC, even if two of the MPs there are stepping down. WP chief Pritam Singh yesterday confirmed the line-up of candidates to defend the lone group representation constituency held by an opposition party.

Mr Singh, party chairman Sylvia Lim and Mr Faisal Manap will be joined by former Non-Constituency Members of Parliament (NCMPs) Gerald Giam and Leon Perera, who will replace former WP chief Low Thia Khiang and party stalwart Chen Show Mao, the party said yesterday, amid speculation there might be further changes to the team.

WP had on Thursday announced that Mr Low, the longest-serving opposition MP in Parliament, Mr Chen and incumbent Hougang SMC MP Png Eng Huat will not stand for election this time, in line with its leadership renewal plans.

Party organising secretary Dennis Tan, who became an NCMP after the 2015 election, will stand in Hougang SMC.

Asked if the decision by the party stalwarts not to contest might place the WP on the defensive, Mr Singh replied: "The Workers' Party is an opposition party. We have been in opposition for many decades now. And when we fight, we fight to win.

"And we do our best to persuade Singaporeans, the residents in Hougang and Aljunied, to cast their vote for us. Now over the last five years, the residents in Hougang and Aljunied can see for themselves what we have achieved in the town, and we leave this decision on who they want to vote for in their good hands."

Political observer Mustafa Izzuddin, a senior international affairs analyst at management consultancy Solaris Strategies Singapore, said the WP was playing to its strengths.

"From the crop of candidates recently unveiled, Gerald, Leon and Dennis are all former NCMPs who have parliamentary experience," he said. These are important traits that strengthen the WP's Aljunied GRC and Hougang SMC candidates, he added.

He said the WP's strategy of keeping the other three members of the Aljunied GRC team within the constituency could be to its advantage, as it allows for more continuity for voters.

Dr Mustafa said: "The WP, as the incumbent, has an advantage. As elected representative of the people in Aljunied and Hougang, voters would be likely to give them the opportunity to re-affirm what they have done to win the votes."

At yesterday's press conference, WP also introduced five more candidates who will be running in the July 10 general election.

New faces include economist Jamus Jerome Lim Chee Wui, 44, and social activist Raeesah Begum Farid Khan, who is the party's youngest candidate at 26 and the daughter of former presidential aspirant Farid Khan.

Dr Lim, an associate professor of economics at the Essec Business School, said he wanted to take up issues relating to Singapore's "pressure cooker" of an education system, which he said has not produced the opportunities and wages it promised.

Ms Khan said she is running to empower marginalised groups. "What we deserve is a country where the marginalised are cared for, including senior citizens and people with disabilities. We have a right to accessible housing for all, to a low cost of living, to better protection for workers."

She added that during the circuit breaker, she reached out to single mothers living in the Sengkang area to offer support and distribute milk formula and groceries.

The other candidates are familiar faces who have stood in previous general elections.

Shipping lawyer Dennis Tan, 49, whose candidacy was announced yesterday, said: "My years as an NCMP has made me even more convinced that PAP's super majority in Parliament is bad for Singapore and bad for Singaporeans. In the post-Covid-19 years ahead with likely deglobalisation, it will be a brave new world and no ruling party can say it has been there before. We therefore need more diversity of ideas and less groupthink in Parliament."

The other two are Mr Dylan Ng, 44, who works in the finance in-dustry; and Mr Ron Tan, 35, who works in a healthcare institution's research office. In 2015, Mr Ng contested Marine Parade GRC, while Mr Tan was fielded in Nee Soon GRC.

Mr Ng said: "Political competition will bring out the best in people, regardless of the party they come from. Coming forward to serve and to provide more choices for Singaporeans is the right thing for me to do."

Mr Tan, who is Mr Low's legislative assistant, said young Singaporeans should step up to be the voice for their seniors, cohort and children. "Their choices and their actions will shape and change how Singapore is and will be for themselves and for their family in the future," said Mr Tan, who is married with a daughter.

More candidates will be introduced at the weekend, along with the WP manifesto. In all, the party will be fielding 21 candidates in six constituencies at the upcoming polls - five in Aljunied, East Coast and Marine Parade GRCs, four in the new Sengkang GRC, and one each for Hougang and Punggol West SMCs.

In 2015, it fielded 28 candidates in 10 constituencies.

DENNIS TAN LIP FONG, 49

Lawyer and founding partner at shipping law firm DennisMathiew

Mr Tan is no stranger to politics. In the 2015 General Election, he lost in Fengshan single-member constituency but was one of the best-performing losing opposition candidates with a respectable 42.5 per cent of the votes.

The shipping lawyer with his own firm became a Non-Constituency MP and has spoken up on various issues, especially those related to transport, and the maritime and air transport industries.

"We need a much more balanced Parliament with constructive elected opposition to deal with important issues affecting Singaporeans such as jobs, fair hiring, cost of living, retirement adequacy and the future economy," he said yesterday.

Mr Tan will be defending the WP's stronghold in Hougang SMC, which he said knows better than any other constituency in Singapore how important it is to have an alternative voice in Parliament. The seat has been held by the Workers' Party since 1991.

"We're very grateful to Hougang voters all these years for their support for the Workers' Party. And all I would say in a humble way is that I will do my best to win the mandate of the Hougang voters again," said Mr Tan, who is married with a four-year-old daughter.

DR JAMUS JEROME LIM CHEE WUI, 44

Associate Professor of Economics at Essec Business School

Even though Dr Lim has spent many years of his life in an academic setting, school was not a breeze.

"But what I went through, really, is nothing compared to the pressure cooker that kids today must endure," said Dr Lim, one of two new candidates introduced by the Workers' Party yesterday.

Singapore may have one of the world's best performing school systems, he said, but there are still graduates who are choosing jobs with little or no future, or are dissatisfied with their career trajectories.

"I believe that we have allowed superficial success in our educational system to blind us to the fact that... our education system is not preparing our children to take on and create good jobs for the future," said Dr Lim, who is married with an eight-month-old daughter.

"I do not wish to leave a legacy where the next generation feels unprepared to confront the future, even though it has done exactly all that we have asked it to do."

Such difficult questions, he said, can be resolved only with a healthy, active and honest debate in Parliament.

DYLAN NG FOO ENG, 44

Director in a wealth advisory firm

Mr Ng entered politics in 2015 and was fielded as a Workers' Party candidate in Marine Parade GRC.

It was the first time since Singapore's inde-pendence that the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) was challenged for every available seat in Parliament.

Looking back on the years when many constituencies went unchallenged, the last thing Mr Ng wants to see is the return of walkover victories for the PAP.

"To me, Nomination Day is more important than Polling Day.

"I think (walkovers) are not healthy for the political landscape in Singapore," he said at a press conference yesterday.

Mr Ng, a Christian, is married with two children, and has 20 years of experience in the banking and finance sector.

He said he spent the circuit breaker period helping a non-governmental organisation distribute laptops islandwide to households with children who needed them for home-based learning.

He was coy when asked if he would return to Marine Parade to try again this year.

"I will leave it to the party to decide, and you will know in a few days' time," he said.

RAEESAH BEGUM FARID KHAN, 26

Founder and chief executive of social enterprise Reyna Movement

Ms Khan will be the Workers' Party's youngest candidate in the coming general election.

But she has been politically aware and active for nearly a decade, she said yesterday.

Involved in student politics since she was 17, as well as civil society groups, she said she understands the concerns of young people.

Married with an infant son, Ms Khan is the daughter of former presidential aspirant Farid Khan, with whom she says she shares a love for public service.

"We also always have a lot of discussions about the things that affect our community, so it's always great to have his listening ear," she said.

Ms Khan has also made a name for herself as the founder and chief executive of the Reyna Movement, an organisation operating in Singapore and Johor to empower marginalised women and children through upskilling programmes and community engagement.

She said: "I'm very passionate about workers' rights, and I'm very passionate about people having a decent living wage and being able to live with dignity."

RON TAN JUN YEN, 35

Senior assistant manager at the National University Health System Research Office

Mr Tan has been active in community events for the past nine years.

He was part of a WP team that went up against the ruling People's Action Party in Nee Soon GRC in 2015. After they lost, Mr Tan did not let up on his outreach efforts.

Since 2017, he has served as legislative assistant to former WP chief Low Thia Khiang .

Mr Tan, who has a double degree in law and commerce from the University of Western Australia, said he has learnt important lessons about being an MP from Mr Low, including that an MP must serve his residents.

"You're elected to take on the responsibility to look after them, to manage the estate, to be their voice in Parliament and to assist them with their day-to-day issues." Even on simple issues like fixing corridor lights, Mr Low would personally follow up to ensure they were resolved, he said.

"The best lesson I learnt from him is that you have to be responsible to your residents," he said.

Rei Kurohi and Audrey Tan