GE2015: Worker's Party Aljunied team set to defend ward

Members of the Workers' Party unveiling their party's manifesto on Aug 29. ST PHOTO: CAROLINE CHIA
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SINGAPORE - The Workers' Party (WP) five incumbent MPs at the Aljunied GRC appear set to defend the ward on Nomination Day (Sept 1) morning.

Party chief Low Thia Khiang arrived at the WP Hougang Town Council around 9am with little fanfare. He mingled with supporters, and spoke to the parents of fellow Aljunied GRC MP Faisal Abdul Manap.

The Aljunied GRC team, which includes Mr Low, chairman Sylvia Lim, Mr Chen Show Mao, Mr Pritam Singh and Mr Faisal, left for nomination centre Raffles Institution soon after.

"We're all excited. this is something we've been looking forward to for quite some time," said Mr Gurmit Singh, a WP new face who arrived at Hougang town council earlier.

Meanwhile, most of the candidates tipped to contest East Coast GRC, Marine Parade GRC, Fengshan, Punggol East and MacPherson SMCs gathered at the Kaki Bukit branch of the Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council (AHPETC) and left for the two nomination centres - Fengshan Primary School and Kong Hwa School.

They include Non-Constituency MPs Yee Jenn Jong and Gerald Giam, chocolate factory owner Firuz Khan, and lawyer He Ting Ru.

The nomination centre for East Coast GRC and Fengshan SMC is Fengshan Primary School, while Marine Parade GRC candidates will head to Kong Hwa School.

At Bendemeer Primary School, the nomination centre for Jalan Besar GRC, WP candidates Frieda Chan, 39, a social worker, polytechnic lecturer L. Somasundaram, 52, engineer Redzwan Hafidz Abdul Razak, 30, and businessman Adrian Sim, 43, arrived around 9.45am.

The team that looks set to contest Nee Soon GRC arrived at Yishun Primary School before 10am.

They include Singapore Cancer Society manager Kenneth Foo Seck Guan, 38, managing partner of private investment business Luke Koh, 41, lawyer Gurmit Singh, 55, and sales consultant Cheryl Denise Loh, 31.

WP will be fielding a record 28 candidates in 10 electoral divisions at the Sept 11 General Election.

All eyes will also be on Fengshan SMC, where a WP candidate will face PAP's Cheryl Chan, a veteran grassroots activist who is running in an election for the first time.

The party will also contest Nee Soon GRC and Jalan Besar GRC, and single wards MacPherson and Sengkang West.

Two wards - Marine Parade GRC and MacPherson SMC may see a three-cornered fight as the National Solidarity Party (NSP) has also said it will field candidates there.

On Tuesday morning, veteran opposition politician Cheo Chai Chen told The Straits Times that he will be standing in MacPherson. Cheo was once an MP for Nee Soon Central SMC after winning in the 1991 election under the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP).

Fifteen new faces have been introduced by the WP thus far.

Last Saturday, the party released its six-chapter, 48-page election manifesto, which contains more than 130 proposals.

Titled Empower Your Future, it was unveiled by younger members of the party including Mr Giam.

The group put together the manifesto after years of research and debate within and outside the WP, said the party.

The manifesto focuses on issues like the Singaporean core, economic security, strengthening education, family and social welfare, home and city, governance as well as foreign relations.

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