SINGAPORE: The Workers’ Party (WP) slate at Sengkang GRC, composed of incumbent MPs He Ting Ru, 41; Louis Chua, 37; and Jamus Lim, 49; together with new candidate Abdul Muhaimin, 36, has won with 56.31 per cent of the votes.
Ms He, a lawyer, has headed the Sengkang Town Council, which received top marks under the WP. Mr Chua is a research analyst, and Assoc Prof Lim teaches at ESSEC Business School. MP-elect Mr Muhaimin is a senior property manager for the Aljunied-Hougang Town Council. Prior to his stint at AHTC, he was a platoon commander with the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF).
The team defeated candidates from the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) led by physician Lam Pin Min, 55, food and beverage company director Bernadette Giam, 38, venture capital firm co-founder Theodora Lai, 39, and Elmie Nekmat, 43, an Associate Professor at the National University of Singapore.
In the General Election of 2020, the then newly created constituency of Sengkang was narrowly won by the slate from WP, which received 52.12 per cent of the votes, which means the party has gained over 4 percentage points this time around.
The victory in 2020 gave the opposition party its second group representation constituency (GRC) and came as a shock to many, as the newbie WP slate won against a heavily stacked People’s Action Party (PAP) team, which had National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) Secretary-General Ng Chee Meng, Senior Minister of State Lam Pin Min, and Senior Parliamentary Secretary Amrin Amin.
The WP’s win also meant that there would be 10 elected opposition Members of Parliament (MPs), and WP chief Pritam Singh was formally designated as Leader of the Opposition after the party’s historic win.
Since then, however, the WP suffered a blow with the resignation of former Sengkang MP Raeesah Khan amid a scandal, although the remaining WP MPs, He Ting Ru, Jamus Lim, and Louis Chua, have been popular on the ground and are perceived to be doing good work.
Read related: WP’s master plan for Sengkang plan ‘sets the stage for the next lap’
Among the PAP candidates, only Dr Lam, who has been active on the ground in Sengkang over the past few years, returned to contest in the area. Mr Ng, however, is contesting at Jalan Kayu SMC against the WP’s Andre Low.
Although the PAP will continue to remain in power in the coming five years, this year’s General Election has largely been perceived to be a test of how much ground the opposition will gain. It has also been seen as a test for Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, who was sworn into office on May 15, 2024.
The increased cost of living in one of the most expensive cities in the world was widely reported to be the issue that was foremost in voters’ minds in the run-up to this year’s polls, and support for the opposition appeared to be on the rise, at least among commenters online. /TISG