WP's Yee Jenn Jong announces he will not take part in future general elections

Workers' Party (WP) veteran Yee Jenn Jong announced that he will no longer participate in future general elections.

However, he will remain with the party.

Yee looked visibly emotional after the 2025 General Election results were announced last weekend, when the WP East Coast team lost with 41.24 per cent of the votes to PAP’s Edwin Tong and his team.

"Saying goodbyes is always difficult, but at some point in time, goodbyes have to be said, and that's for me personally," Yee said, adding that it had been a wonderful journey.

In a Facebook post on May 5, Yee highlighted a particular message he received from a WP volunteer who thanked him for "stepping up" for Joo Chiat over the past years.

He shared that though he received many messages throughout his political journey, he deeply appreciated this one, mainly because the message aligned with what he had hoped to do when he joined in 2011.

The WP veteran said that he had called for political education inside and outside of Parliament, and throughout his 15-year journey, he had often experienced disappointments and doubts.

"I sometimes wondered if my journey was worth it," he commented, but added he was pleased to know that his journey had inspired the WP volunteer to grow from being a person who was disinterested in politics to a politically aware volunteer for the Workers' Party.

"I look forward with renewed optimism that there will be many others who will take such a journey too. Who knows if it might eventually lead to wearing our badge to stand as a warrior in blue in a future General Election," Yee said.

In a message he attached below his statement, the WP volunteer said that she first came to know Yee when he was introduced as a WP candidate in 2011, and that through her experience in public service, she "came to truly understand the importance of a credible opposition to serve as a check and balance to the government".

"Over time, WP faced challenges, and I too wavered in my faith. But it was your consistent sharing—your words, your honesty—that grounded me again and reminded me why I believed in this cause in the first place. You helped me trust the party leadership again," she said.

The volunteer said that she started volunteering with the WP Hougang team in 2025 and has been actively encouraging her family and friends to support the party.

Yee first stepped into politics in 2011

The WP veteran first stepped into politics in 2011, where he contested in the Joo Chiat Single Member Constituency (SMC) against the People's Action Party (PAP)'s Charles Chong.

Though Yee had lost with 48.99 per cent of the vote, his performance earned him a spot as a Non-Constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) in the 12th Parliament of Singapore.

He announced his retirement from politics after the 2020 General Election, but shocked many when he returned to compete once again in 2025.

Top image via Yee Jenn Jong/Facebook and Mothership