Four Workers' Party candidates were announced today in a Zoom press conference.
4 candidates announced
In addition to Hougang, WP is also planning to contest Punggol West SMC. The other four GRCs they are contesting are Aljunied GRC, Marine Parade GRC, Sengkang GRC, and East Coast GRC.
Here are the new candidates announced.
1. Louis Chua Kheng Wee, 33
He is an equity research analyst at an investment bank. He has been married since 2017, and is a father to a nine-month-old.
Chua said that his job requires analysing companies and making recommendations on whether investors should put money in them, which involves the ability to question decisions and evaluate performances against established benchmarks to make sure all stakeholders are taken care of.
According to Chua, such an assessment is possible due to transparency and disclosure requirements.
It is with that understanding, that Chua believes a monopoly in a government is never a good thing.
Chua stressed the need for an effective opposition. As well as calling for a bigger role for the Workers' Party in parliament.
2. Mohammad Azhar Abdul Latip, 34
He is a political science graduate from the National University of Singapore, and graduated in 2011.
Azhar has worked in the marine insurance industry after graduating. A few years after starting work, he was involved in a traffic accident where he lost his left leg. He is currently working in the gig economy.
Azhar joined the Workers' Party as he strongly believed in having an alternative voice in parliament. He would also like to see a more equitable and fairer society where minorities are not discriminated against, and have a fair shot.
He has been active in the Workers' Party grassroots work in Aljunied GRC.
3. Nicole Seah, 33
She is an associate director at a marketing firm, and has been volunteering with WP since 2015.
Seah also ran in the 2011 general election in Marine Parade, under the National Solidarity Party.
Seah was drawn to WP's party ethos, and building a strong and reasonable opposition that contributes to the political landscape of Singapore.
A party that does not oppose for sake of opposing.
Seah also stated the need to refrain from astroturfing and gutter politics in order to have a respectable and open debate.
4. Yee Jenn Jong, 55
A familiar face for WP supporters.
Yee was a NCMP in parliament from 2011 to 2015, and is also an education entrepreneur in the private sector.
Yee also contested in Joo Chiat SMC in 2011 and was part of the Marine Parade GRC in 2015. Yee joined the Workers' Party because he felt there was a strong need for an alternative voice.
Like Chua, he also warned against the concept of a monopoly forming in parliament. Yee said WP wanted to give voters a respectable alternative.
There you have it, the first batch, two of whom have contested Marine Parade before.
Other announcements
There were plenty of other news from the WP press conference as well.
Three prominent WP figures will not be standing for election in GE2020. These three are Low Thia Khiang, Png Eng Huat, and Chen Show Mao.
Prior to this announcement, a 'coming soon' video following the dissolution of parliament was released by WP.
Here are the faces from that video.
Sylvia Lim (WP Chairman), Dennis Tan (NCMP), Raeesah Khan, Nicole Seah, Yudhishthra Nathan, Lee Li Lian (ex Punggol East SMC MP), Jamus Lim, Fadli Fawzi, Cheryl Loh (GE 2015 Nee Soon GRC candidate), Kenneth Foo (GE 2015 Nee Soon GRC candidate), Leon Perera (NCMP), Pritam Singh (WP Secretary General).
Image from Lauren Choo