Singapore — This is not the first time Workers’ Party (WP) candidates Terence Tan and He Ting Ru are contesting in a General Election but this is the first time they are contesting it as a married couple and as parents.

The decision to do so had not been easy, Ms He said at a press conference on Sunday (June 28).

“When Pritam (Singh) and Sylvia (Lim) asked us to consider (contesting), we thought very hard about it… But it’s something we felt that was right for us to do because we really believe that we need more and stronger alternative voices.

“At least we don’t have to get into arguments around the dinner table about political views.”

Mr Tan, 48, and Ms He, 37, have a lot in common. A background in law, longtime membership not only in the WP but also in the party’s 2015 Marine Parade slate, and two little boys aged two and three.

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But this year, Mr Tan is with the WP team contesting in East Coast GRC. He will be with Ms Nicole Seah, Mr Kenneth Foo Seck Guan, Mr Dylan Ng and newcomer Abdul Shariff Aboo Kassim to face off against a People’s Action Party (PAP) team led by Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat.

Mr Heng’s candidacy in East Coast was one of the biggest surprises of Nomination Day on Tuesday (June 30), as he had previously served as an MP for Tampines GRC.

Ms He, on the other hand, is helming the WP team in the new Sengkang GRC. She is joined there by economist Jamus Lim, equity research analyst Louis Chua and social activist Raeesah Khan.

The WP team in Sengkang goes head to head with a team of PAP heavyweights, anchored by labour chief and Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC MP Ng Chee Meng. Senior Minister of State for Transport and Health Lam Pin Min, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Home Affairs and Health Amrin Amin and newbie Raymond Lye, a lawyer, make up the rest of the PAP line-up for Sengkang.

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Mr Tan wrote in a Facebook post on Monday (June 29): “My wife and I will both be running in this election. I’m truly grateful to her parents for taking care of our young sons, as we begin the campaign trail tomorrow morning. Thank you, from the bottom of my ❤️.”

https://www.facebook.com/terencetanlichern/posts/1798443416964993

The two were married in January 2016. Ms He recently posted a photo with her husband and fellow WP candidates Nicole Seah and Ron Tan from 2017, when she was pregnant with their second son. She wrote: “Gone are the days when we hung out as young singles until the early hours of the morning, and we all have young families to raise now. It’s been a wild ride, with more to come I’m sure! ❤️ you guys!” 

https://www.facebook.com/hetingru/photos/a.716164885155350/2767805099991308/?type=3

According to a report in asiaone.com, Ms Tan has an eye towards her sons’ future. “My children will, in time, like their father, enlist to defend their country and pledge to serve it. I want them to be proud of their country that has overcome obstacles by bringing its most vulnerable along with it. A country where they can have strong and respectful disagreements with one another. And a society which pursues growth but cares about the impact our actions have on our people and planet.” /TISG

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Read also: Two to watch: WP’s Raeesah Khan and Jamus Lim in new Sengkang GRC

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