Comment: Will the next Leader of the Opposition come from Aljunied, Sengkang, Hougang or none at all?

One day after Parliament voted for a motion calling Workers' Party (WP) Secretary-General Pritam Singh unfit to remain as Leader of the Opposition (LO), Prime Minister Lawrence Wong moved to act.

On Jan. 15, he officially removed Singh from the office of LO, as it remains under the purview of the prime minister, having been created by his predecessor Lee Hsien Loong (now Senior Minister).

With this move, the WP now has a decision to make.

Who will it name to replace Singh — or could they leave the position vacant?

Requirements

PM Wong said: "This nominee should not have been implicated in the earlier findings of the COP, and must be able to meet the high standards expected of this office."

This would appear to rule out not only Singh, but others too.

The motion filed by Leader of the House Indranee Rajah noted that the court outcome and COP findings have implications for WP Chair Sylvia Lim and Vice-Chair Faisal Manap, and called on this to be considered separately.

Lim is still a Member of Parliament, while Faisal Manap lost his seat in GE2025, having moved out of Aljunied GRC and contesting Tampines GRC in a losing effort.

If we limit the possible replacements to current WP Members of Parliament who are not implicated in the COP findings, who remains?

Replacements

There are twelve WP members in Parliament, including two Non-Constituency MPs (NCMPs).

Let's rule out Andre Low and Eileen Chong, said NCMPs, because they did not win their electoral contests.

Let's also rule out first-time MPs, as they may not have the sufficient parliamentary experience suitable for a Leader of the Opposition.

That means Abdul Muhaimin Abdul Malik of Sengkang, Fadli Fawzi of Aljunied, and Kenneth Tiong, also of Aljunied, are out.

Adding Singh and Sylvia Lim, that makes seven. Let's look at who else could step up instead.

Gerald Giam

Gerald Giam is the longest-serving politician out of the five potential candidates.

He contested East Coast GRC in GE2011, and entered Parliament as one of two WP NCMPs, the other being Yee Jenn Jong.

Giam contested East Coast again in GE2015, but the three NCMP seats went to Dennis Tan, Daniel Goh and Leon Perera instead.

In GE2020, Giam became an MP for the first time as part of the Aljunied GRC team, together with Perera.

And in GE2025, Giam won another seat as part of Aljunied's team, which means he's stood in as many elections as Singh.

A startup founder, former Treasurer of the WP CEC and their current Head, Policy Research, Giam is both an experienced politician and Parliamentarian.

Giam is also the Chair of the Aljunied-Hougang Town Council.

During his time in the House, Giam has spoken up on a wide range of issues, such as climate change, nuclear energy, and the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

Giam also raised concerns over the use of TraceTogether data and spoke about the "harrowing week" for the WP following the resignation of his fellow Aljunied MP Leon Perera.

He would be a well-seasoned replacement for Singh in the role as LO, having been with the party through ups and downs.

Giam's vote during the 377A repeal, where the WP's party whip was lifted and he was one of three to vote against the bill to decriminalise sex between men, may affect the party's standing with more liberal-minded voters.

Giam was one of the three WP MPs after Singh and Lim who spoke extensively during the Jan.14 debate on the motion.

Dennis Tan

Tan first entered politics in GE2015, contesting Fengshan SMC and losing but doing well enough to secure an NCMP seat.

Since then he has never been out of Parliament, retaining Hougang SMC for the party in GE2020 following the departure of Png Eng Huat, and defending it in GE2025.

Unlike Giam, Tan has a legal background, practicing shipping law and being an Advocate & Solicitor at the Supreme Court of Singapore, and a Solicitor at the Supreme Court of England and Wales. He serves in the party's CEC as the Organising Secretary since 2018.

In Parliament, Tan spoke up on issues like the green economy, aid for those with special needs and disabilities, and political campaigning.

He also represented the WP in the Committee of Privileges that investigated Raeesah Khan for lying in Parliament, which eventually led to Singh losing the LO title.

Tan was the other WP MP who voted against the repeal of 377A, with the aforementioned implication.

He Ting Ru

The Sengkang GRC MP would be an intriguing choice as the next LO.

The 42-year-old, the youngest on this list, entered electoral politics at the same time as Tan, in the 2015 election. She was part of the WP team contesting Marine Parade GRC in an unsuccessful effort.

He shares Singh's legal background, being a Cambridge University graduate and qualifying as a solicitor in England and Wales.

She worked in a law firm overseas before returning to Singapore to work in finance and the head of legal and communications of a listed public company. She also serves as the party's Treasurer in their CEC.

He shocked Singapore with her victory in Sengkang GRC for GE2020, marking the first time Singapore saw two GRCs won by an opposition party.

In Parliament and elsewhere, He spoke up on topics like food production, the Foreign Interference Countermeasures Act (FICA) and gender equality.

She had to manage the fallout after fellow Sengkang MP, Raeesah Khan, resigned from Parliament and the party for lying, assuring Sengkang residents that the team would continue to serve them.

He is also the Chair of Sengkang Town Council.

As a woman, and the youngest of the possible candidates to replace Singh, He's appointment as LO could make inroads for the WP with women and younger voters.

Having He as LO may also help the party to cement its control of Sengkang GRC in future elections.

WP would be able to make the argument (assuming she remains as part of WP's Sengkang team) that voting for the PAP would be to deprive Parliament of its LO.

This argument (in modified form), was used in a highly successful manner by Heng Swee Keat in GE2020, when he was the prime minister-in-waiting and moved from Tampines to East Coast GRC.

Jamus Lim

Lim's ascension to LO would represent a meteoric rise for the Sengkang GRC MP.

Lim has the shortest experience in electoral politics of the four, first standing and winning in GE2020, but is easily one of the most recognisable WP MPs.

Those who followed that campaign will not soon forget his star-making performance in a televised debate with PAP's Vivian Balakrishnan, SDP's Chee Soon Juan and PSP's Francis Yuen.

The phrase "warm the cockles of my heart" has made its way into Singapore's political lexicon.

Winning again in GE2025, Lim has never tasted electoral defeat.

His background is not in law but economics and academia, working as an associate professor of economics, and before that at a sovereign wealth funds and banks.

Lim also serves on the party's CEC, but as Deputy Head, Policy Research, with Giam as the Head.

In Parliament, he has spoken about compassion in politics, wealth taxes and the COE system, and voted the same as He on 377A.

Like He, Lim as LO might help the party in Sengkang, a similar consideration with fellow Sengkang MP Louis Chua.

None of the above

Despite PM Wong's exhortation of the WP to not leave the position open for long, it remains a possibility that it may not be filled at all.

The party is unlikely to make a decision before the conclusion of the disciplinary panel formed to determine if Singh contravened the party's constitution.

The CEC has set a timeline that the disciplinary process be concluded within three months (from Jan. 3), with the Notice of the Special CMC being issued within two weeks after the conclusion of the disciplinary process.

So it could be a while yet.

One mountain cannot have two tigers

Political commenter Eugene Tan noted that a new LO might feel overshadowed by Singh in Parliament.

If Singh takes a "step back" so as to allow the new LO more space, that could impact the party's performance in Parliament too.

While PM Wong's offer does not mention the potential political impact, it falls to others to speculate.

Anointing a new LO would elevate another WP MP in the eyes of the public, and turn them into a potential rival for the overall leadership of the WP.

Not nominating a new LO could be the path chosen by the WP for the sake of party unity and to rally behind Singh.

PAP members and PAP-aligned commenters will probably castigate WP for this, perhaps saying that WP shouldn't "play politics" with the LO role.

But while the WP may lose a step in the short term, it might be what it needs with one eye on the horizon.

Related story:

Top image via WP.