GE2025: WP new face Kenneth Tiong spotted at Aljunied community event
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WP new face Kenneth Tiong at his party’s Neighbourhood Conversations event at the Eunos ward on April 12.
ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN
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SINGAPORE – Workers’ Party (WP) new face Kenneth Tiong was spotted with Aljunied GRC MPs at a community event in Bedok Reservoir on April 12, fuelling expectations that he could be part of the opposition party’s slate in the constituency.
The 36-year-old, who is director of tech start-up Sensemake AI, spoke to residents along with Aljunied GRC MPs – party chief Pritam Singh and chairwoman Sylvia Lim, Mr Faisal Manap and Mr Gerald Giam. Hougang SMC MP Dennis Tan was also at the event.
The Neighbourhood Conversations event was held at Block 122 Bedok Reservoir Road, which is under Mr Singh’s Eunos ward.
Mr Singh and Mr Tiong declined to comment when approached by The Straits Times.
Mr Tiong is expected to be fielded in the group representation constituency’s Serangoon ward, which has been left vacant since July 2023 when former MP Leon Perera stepped down.
He has been coordinating Meet-the-People Sessions in the ward since 2024.
Mr Tiong has also been recently seen at mosque and temple visits with WP MPs, and appeared in several social media photos posted by Mr Singh, Ms Lim and Mr Giam.
In a Facebook post on March 26, Mr Tiong said he felt “compelled to step up and play a more active role in shaping the conversation about where our nation is headed” at the upcoming election.
Also spotted at the event on April 12 was Mr Abdul Muhaimin Abdul Malik, 35, a senior property manager at Aljunied-Hougang Town Council, who appears set to contest in Sengkang GRC.
WP new face Abdul Muhaimin Abdul Malik at his party’s Neighbourhood Conversations event at the Eunos ward. He appears set to contest in Sengkang GRC.
ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN
Mr Jimmy Tan, 53, a potential WP candidate in Tampines GRC, also attended the event. The industrial equipment sales manager is legislative assistant to Mr Singh.
Analysts have speculated that Mr Singh, who is Leader of the Opposition, would leave Aljunied to go to neighbouring East Coast GRC.
A WP team in East Coast managed to poll 46.6 per cent against a PAP team led by Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat in the 2020 General Election.
WP new faces Kenneth Tiong (far left) and Jimmy Tan (second from right) with WP volunteers and Aljunied GRC MPs (from fourth from left) Faisal Manap, Sylvia Lim, Gerald Giam and Pritam Singh.
ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN
Eunos resident Ivy Lim, 75, said she attended the community event as she wanted to tell Mr Singh about the difficulty seniors face in keeping up with technology.
Madam Lim, who works in a massage parlour, said she does not know how to use ride-hailing apps such as Grab, so she takes the bus and train most of the time.
“But when I’m in a hurry, it’s not easy to flag a cab nowadays as most people use Grab. It’s very difficult for seniors like me to keep up,” she said.
Isabelle Liew is a journalist at The Straits Times. She covers housing issues in Singapore, with a focus on public housing.
