On Thursday, June 25, the Workers' Party (WP) introduced four candidates who would be running during GE2020.

The new faces include Louis Chua Kheng Wee (equity research analyst at an investment bank) and Mohammad Azhar Abdul Latip (who worked in the marine insurance industry and has been volunteering in Aljunied GRC).

Other familiar faces included Nicole Seah (who ran in Marine Parade GRC under the National Solidarity Party in 2011) and Yee Jenn Jong (NCMP who ran in Joo Chiat SMC in 2011 and Marine Parade GRC in 2015).

Apart from unveiling new candidates, WP chief Pritam Singh also announced during the press conference that Low Thia Khiang, Png Eng Huat and Chen Show Mao will not be contesting this parliament term.

Here are some observations from the press conference on June 25.

Type of press conference: Zoom

How long? About an hour.

How were candidates introduced? The candidates were introduced by WP chairperson Sylvia Lim. A total of four candidates were introduced on June 24. They were introduced in pairs, where each pair would offer some remarks followed by a Q&A session.

Here are some things we noticed from the press conference

#1: Hammer in background

The press conference set-up involved a long table that seated four. On the wall behind the panel is what appears to be a sledge hammer.

Here's a closer look at it:

#2: Two candidates with young children spoke about them and the future

All four candidates have children.

However, only two of the candidates introduced, Seah and Chua, mentioned their kids during the press conference.

Both of them are parents to young children – Seah has a two-year-old daughter while Chua has a nine-month-old baby.

Responding to questions on why Seah chose to return to politics, she said she recognises that this will mean "increased scrutiny".

However, she said she does it for the party because she believes in the leadership. She also said that she does it for her daughter, whom she feels is the "next generation of Singaporeans".

"I want to leave behind a legacy for her where she would feel comfortable regardless of her political inclinations, or the kinds of views that she's expressing," she said.

Chua, who is a "proud father", said he cares deeply for the future of Singapore that his "son will grow up in" when asked why he decided to join the party.

#3: Almost all the new candidates spoke about the importance of checks and balances and/or breaking the "monopoly" of government

Yee, Seah and Chua all spoke about the importance of opposition voices in Parliament.

Yee said that he joined WP because he believes that Singapore "needs a strong alternative".

He said: "In business we need anti-monopoly laws to keep companies from taking advantage of consumers and to keep on innovating. The same thing goes for politics as well."

Seah said she was drawn to WP because the party "believes in building a strong and reasonable opposition that contributes to our political landscape".

While responding to a question on what she has learnt from the past election, she said that warm ground sentiment may not actually translate to votes and "every single vote counts".

"Otherwise, we could be in a situation where we might have absolutely no opposition parties in Parliament as elected MPs, after this election is over," she said.

For Chua, who is an equity research analyst, his job involves questioning decisions and analysing companies, as well as making recommendations on whether investors should put their money in companies.

By understanding and appreciating such processes, he said that "monopoly in a government is never a good thing".

"We need to recognise that dissenting views should not only be accepted, but should actually be encouraged," he said.

#4: Pritam's "closing remarks on party renewal" was actually an announcement on Low, Png & Chen not running in GE2020

To end off the session, Pritam announced that Low, Png and Chen would not be contesting this parliament term.

"However their decision to step down, is not a retirement," he said.

Pritam then outlined the considerations for this collective decision, citing factors such as the need for broadening the leadership base and mentorship of younger leaders.

He also said that the senior leaders will contribute "in a different capacity" when it comes to mentoring young party leaders.

Pritam also said that Dennis Tan will be contesting at Hougang SMC, and Gerald Giam and Leon Perera will stand in Aljunied.

The session ended right after Pritam's remarks on the matter, and there were no further remarks made by any other WP members.

There was no fanfare, or waxing lyrical.

#5: WP website experienced high traffic after the press conference

Information on the new candidates were uploaded to the WP website after the press conference.

Less than an hour after the press conference ended, WP's telegram channel sent out a telegram alert saying that their website is experiencing high traffic.

"Hence there may be longer loading times or an error message may appear," the message stated.

Top photo via Workers' Party

The Mothership WFH Press Conference is a series to watch politics unfold from the comforts of one's home.