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On June 25, Workers' Party chief Pritam Singh announced that Low Thia Khiang, Chen Show Mao and Png Eng Huat will not be running in GE2020.

Following this announcement, Pritam also wrote a Facebook post elaborating on this decision.

Pritam talked about leadership renewal and how it was a collective decision to allow WP to remain relevant to Singaporeans.

Reporters went to Low's house

But to get the official word straight from the horse's mouth, reporters showed up at Low's Upper Thomson home to interview the longest-serving opposition MP in Singapore's history.

Even though Low did not plan to speak to the media, he apparently acceded to their request as the reporters were waiting in the drizzle for him.

In a Lianhe Zaobao video interview with Low later that evening, the former WP chief spoke about his decision not to run, as well as his thoughts and reflections on the party.

As Low spoke to the reporters, the sky grew dark and the sound of rain could also be heard in the background.

Speaking about his decision not to run, the 63-year-old who did not look worse for wear even though he lost his sense of smell due to his head injury from a bad fall at home, said: "I can only say that I’ve given my best... I have no regrets."

He also clarified that this decision was not a "sudden" one, and most certainly not due to his fall, which occurred on April 30 and put him in intensive care unit.

New blood needed in party

Low said that it is important for the party to have "new blood", and a party needs to have a range of members from different ages so that their worldview and thinking would not be restricted to a particular generation.

Emphasising the need for younger people to step up, he said he was looking for somebody who can "get things done" and can work with others, which was his considerations for selecting the next sec-gen.

"And of course this sec-gen must be younger than me! It's quite tough to find a young person," he said.

On the topic of getting new faces, he also spoke a bit about how the Workers' Party recruits its members, saying that people are drawn to the party because of their ethos of "transparency".

When it comes to recruitment, he said that there is no "fixed set of criteria".

However, the typical process is that an individual would start out being a volunteer, and through interacting with members over time, they might be asked to join the party if they are assessed to be suitable.

When it comes to fielding candidates for elections, however, these people "definitely meet a certain standard".

Low's legacy

The video ended with a reporter asking Low: "Do you hope that people will remember you?"

Low replied: "I will remember my people."

You can watch the full video, which is over 10 minutes long, here: