SINGAPORE: In the speech he delivered after it was clear that the Workers’ Party (WP) slate at Sengkang Group Representation Constituency (GRC) would go on to serve another term in Parliament, Jamus Lim said that the team would not rest on its laurels, and he promised that they would work harder than ever.
“We will work on introducing more innovations and improvements to the town, and further enhance the way we provide help and support to our residents, especially with uncertain times ahead. Just as you have had our back, we will have yours,” he said on polling night as the Sengkang Four—incumbents He Ting Ru, Louis Chua, himself, and new Member of Parliament (MP)-elect Abdul Muhaimin—took the stage to thank supporters.
This year, the WP team won 56.31% of the votes, an improvement over its results in GE2020, when the team of then-newbies received 52.12% of the votes against a heavily stacked People’s Action Party (PAP) team that included former Senior Minister of State Lam Pin Min. Dr Lam is the only PAP candidate who returned to contest again at Sengkang. However, his former teammate, National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) Secretary-General Ng Chee Meng, contested at Jalan Kayu SMC this year and won against the WP’s Andre Low by the slimmest of margins, 51.47% to 48.53%.
Nevertheless, the team’s win at the then newly created GRC had been a historic one, marking the first time the WP had won two GRCs and substantially expanding the party’s presence in Parliament. This year’s gain of vote shares meant the WP solidified its foothold at Sengkang.
Assoc Prof Lim mentioned Dr Lam in his speech, saying, “One of the earliest interactions I had in Sengkang GRC after we won the GRC in 2020 was with a resident at the 350 Anchorvale coffeeshop. He was almost in tears when he shared how important Dr Lam had been to the community.
“I knew, then, that we had massive shoes to fill. Over the course of the past five years, Team Sengkang has been tirelessly working to fill those shoes and to reward the brave voters of this constituency for their faith in us.
“During that time, we must have walked just about every corner of the estate, cracked open hundreds of rubbish chutes, burned many nights and often days drafting letters and appeals for our residents, and worked on hundreds of speeches over many weekends. We did so because, for us, Sengkang is home, and Sengkang is family.”
He thanked his wife and daughter, as well as the myriad WP volunteers and supporters.
Addressing voters, he added, “Thank you for keeping the flickering flame of an alternative voice alive in Singapore.” /TISG
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