On Friday evening, The Workers' Party unveiled their brand new, permanent home (for the next 82 years, at least) — a roughly 120 square-metre former office space on the fourth floor of a commercial building on Geylang Road.

It's quite visible from the outside: when the yellow hammer logo is illuminated, it looks almost as if the building might belong to them, and at the cusp of dusk, it is the only spot of light along the short stretch of two connected but separate buildings lining Geylang Road — apart from the shops along the five-footways on the ground floor.

In the presence of volunteers, stalwarts and members of the media, the party's leaders drew open two pairs of small, deep red curtains to reveal a framed photograph of a rally, as well as their longtime wooden hammer icon, to officially open their new headquarters.

We were there, too, and noticed a few things from that evening that tells us where the party is now, in various ways:

1. A similar, simple set-up

Like their previous space on the second floor of Syed Alwi Road, the WP's new space has its blue background on one wall, but it does have an upgrade in the form of a slightly-elevated platform area, and a fancier-looking rostrum.

It's easy to envision the layout of a long table and a row of chairs behind it, where perhaps the WP's candidate slates will be unveiled for the next General Election.

On the whole, certainly an improvement from their previous location, albeit slight. Things are still kept visibly simple.

The party's leaders, secretary-general Low Thia Khiang, chairman Sylvia Lim, assistant secretary-general Pritam Singh and treasurer Dennis Tan gave speeches at the opening ceremony, but they all did so in an off-the-cuff fashion, standing at the stage instead of using the rostrum — a style in line with the idea of simplicity and modest improvement.

All of them also consciously downplayed the size of their headquarters, and Tan, who headed the committee of party members in charge of the new HQ, said:

"It's a small and humble office, but it's something we are very thankful for."

[related_story]

2. Its location

At first glance, the new HQ's surroundings look similar to that of their previous one on Syed Alwi Road — coffee shops and eateries serving up various types of cuisine abound, alongside small shops on the ground floor.

The WP said it was initially, of course, searching within the boundaries of their own represented constituencies (i.e. Hougang and Aljunied), but eventually settled on this space in Geylang — which, as most of us would know very well now thanks to a certain shade-throwing former Prime Minister, is in Marine Parade GRC.

There are a couple of things we observed about the HQ's neighbourhood that we found quite apt:

• It's at the outskirts of Geylang, so it's on the ground, but also at a sort of arm's length from its more dodgy parts, found more commonly within the heart of the area. In a way, the WP shows its commitment to being in touch with the people they hope to represent, while still being in a "family-friendly" environment.
• It is surrounded by a good spread of nearby eateries from various cultures — a Chinese wanton mee shop, a Mookata cheese place called Ladyboy and a Muslim coffee shop just across the street. And it's also not too far away from Geylang Serai -- the heart of Singapore's Malay Muslim community. Arguably a silent symbol of the broad-based support the party seeks to attract.

3. Still a Work-in-Progress

The party also commemorates its 60th year in existence this year and is working toward the release of a book detailing its history, as well as a restaurant dinner, and even a documentary teased on its anniversary microsite.

This event, of course, takes place amid a challenging time for the WP — Low, Lim and other leaders are named defendants in a lawsuit lodged by a panel representing their own Aljunied-Hougang Town Council.

It seemed as if everyone was conscious of this, with the party declining doorstop interviews with mainstream media reporters in attendance, for instance.

But that said, a quiet sense of achievement was in the air.

Party chief Low described the journey WP has gone through over the last 60 years in his Mandarin remarks — he used the Chinese idiom "风雨飘摇" ("swaying in the midst of a storm") , but also noted the "considerable" progress it has made despite its hardship.

For the decades-embattled opposition party, this looks like the start of a new chapter in their story — but now in a place that they can call home.

Indeed, we came away with the feeling that on the whole, the party was making its moves cautiously — buying the space, carrying out conservative, simple renovation work, keeping many things about that evening largely low-key.

But at the same time, the WP we met on Friday was arguably a work-in-progress — finding its feet slowly in the aftermath of GE2015, making plans and regrouping to face its ongoing, and indeed, upcoming, challenges in the coming years.

Top photo by Sulaiman Daud

Related Articles:

WP’s Tang Liang Hong, who got sued until his pants dropped, waged the Battle for Cheng San

Low Thia Khiang will be the longest-serving opposition MP in Singapore’s history by end of 2017

WP has to rise above lawsuits & win back popular support: Pritam Singh