WP launches election manifesto, keeps electoral cards close to its chest
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Workers’ Party chief Pritam Singh (centre, left) and chairwoman Sylvia Lim (centre, right) with the party’s new faces (from left) Eileen Chong, Siti Alia Abdul Rahim Mattar, Abdul Muhaimin Abdul Malik and Kenneth Tiong.
ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM
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SINGAPORE – The opposition Workers’ Party launched its election manifesto and introduced its first batch of four candidates on April 17, with secretary-general Pritam Singh saying that the party has firmed up its slate.
He stopped short of addressing questions about the total number of constituencies WP will contest, saying: “You will know what they are in good time.”
The WP chief also kept mum about the number of candidates the party will field when Singapore goes to the polls on May 3.
Speaking at the WP headquarters in Geylang, Mr Singh, who is also Leader of the Opposition, said: “I think the bigger objective is to make sure that we assemble good teams, individuals who can actually work in the interest of Singapore and Singaporeans.”
Flanked by WP chairwoman Sylvia Lim and the four fresh faces, Mr Singh fielded questions from reporters on the party’s electoral plans and other issues.
The WP has kept its electoral plans close to its chest, but based on activity on the ground and party sources, it is expected to contest Aljunied GRC, Sengkang GRC, East Coast GRC, Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC, Punggol GRC, Tampines GRC, Hougang SMC, Tampines Changkat SMC and Jalan Kayu SMC.
This accounts for 31 out of the 97 parliamentary seats up for contest this election.
When asked if this number will be enough to meet WP’s medium-term objective of holding one-third of the seats in Parliament, he said: “We will not be able to meet that one-third number of candidates to fill one-third of Parliament (with) opposition MPs.”
WP unveiled four of its new faces
Mr Abdul Muhaimin will be part of the party’s Sengkang GRC team, while Mr Tiong will be part of the Aljunied GRC team.
The party leaders did not say where Ms Siti Alia and Ms Chong will be fielded, but confirmed they will not be in Aljunied GRC.
Speculation has swirled that there may be changes to the party’s Aljunied slate made up of long-time MPs who are also senior party leaders.
There have been suggestions that Mr Singh may leave Aljunied GRC to helm the party’s East Coast GRC team, following in the footsteps of former party chief Low Thia Khiang, who left Hougang SMC to helm the WP’s Aljunied GRC team in the 2011 General Election. There has also been talk that Mr Faisal Manap could move from Aljunied GRC to lead the WP team in Tampines GRC.
When asked about WP’s Aljunied slate, Mr Singh said: “At this stage, I am not going to rule anything out. But if there are any changes, they will be very minimal.”
He added: “Has the PAP introduced its people in Marine Parade and East Coast officially yet? They have been very coy about the final line-up, right? There are no coincidences to that coyness.”
WP also launched its manifesto, a 122-page document with policy proposals in five areas: affordability and cost of living, economic growth and opportunities, inclusion and equality, accountability and democracy, and security and geopolitics.
Titled Working For Singapore, it contains 125 proposals ranging from alternatives to the goods and services tax to higher allowances for national servicemen, and a lower voting age of 18 years.
“This is our plan for a fairer, more secure Singapore, one that works better for everyone. This is our plan for working for Singapore,” said Mr Gerald Giam, who heads the party’s policy research team.
Speaking on a panel with incumbent Sengkang GRC MPs Jamus Lim and He Ting Ru, Mr Giam added that the party was able to test out its ideas in Parliament over the past five years, after Singaporeans elected an unprecedented number of WP MPs in the 2020 General Election.
He said: “We hope that Singaporeans will give us a chance to be able to speak up for them, not just in a few constituencies, but in all the ones we are contesting, and that they can give us a chance to raise these proposals in Parliament and debate them with the office-holders – and more importantly, for Singaporeans to hear the proposals, so that they can also assess for themselves whether this is a better plan forward for Singapore.”
In a message to voters accompanying the manifesto, Mr Singh said Singapore’s political system, as designed by the country’s founding leaders, ensures that politics remains contestable, and allows Singaporeans of all stripes to organise and participate in politics.
He said: “Critically, Singapore’s political system is designed to host an opposition presence in Parliament – a loyal opposition – that works in the interests of the country.
“A loyal opposition exists to remind us that any Singaporean can legitimately host a different view to the PAP. And there is nothing wrong or disloyal about that.”
He added that what is important is that those alternative views seek better outcomes for Singapore and Singaporeans.
“This is the driving force behind the Workers’ Party’s General Election 2025 slogan – Working For Singapore,”
The WP is expected to field at least 17 first-time candidates in 2025 – its largest slate of political newcomers. This surpasses the record 16 new faces fielded by the party in 2011 and 2015, and is almost double the nine fielded in 2020.
Some of the new faces include senior counsel Harpreet Singh Nehal,
More candidates will be introduced to voters in the coming days.
The WP panel of Mr Giam, Ms He and Associate Professor Lim also took questions from reporters on a range of issues, including the US tariff situation.
Responding to a question about what suggestions the WP would propose in relation to the tariffs and how the party intends to support Singaporeans during such turbulent times, Mr Giam said Singapore needs to have fresh thinking in its approach to trade policies amid the US tariff situation.
Mr Giam said the solutions to such challenges might not even come from the WP.
“It is going to come from a more open society where people can step forward and have the confidence to offer their ideas,” he said, adding that is the society that the opposition party wants to try and advance in Singapore.
Mr Giam also said the WP is worried about too much power centralised in the ruling PAP.
This is why the WP continues to put forward good candidates in the general election, he added.
“We want these candidates, these potential MPs, to be able to come up with alternative ideas that are not subject to the PAP whip, and that they are able to speak freely according to what they feel is important under their consciences, and to be able to advance policy that way,” he said.
