SINGAPORE: In a Facebook post on Sunday (May 7), Workers’ Party MP Leon Perera (Aljunied GRC) wrote that together with Louis Chua (Sengkang GRC), he hosted an event held at Parliament for WP volunteers, held the day before (May 6).
Mr Perera wrote that he, Mr Chua, and the WP volunteers had a wonderful time at the special event. “As I understand it, this is the first event ever held at Parliament for Opposition party volunteers.”
“Our group had lunch together, followed by a tour of the Parliament building, including popping in to have a look at the office of the Leader of the Opposition.”
He also wrote that WP’s volunteers “are the lifeblood of the Workers’ Party,” adding that “They make us who we are and enable us to do what we do. Huge thanks to the volunteers who came, as well as the Parliament staff and tour guides who facilitated the event!”
Mr Pritam Singh, the secretary-general for the past five years, was formally designated as Leader of the Opposition after the WP’s momentous win in the General Election of 2020, which saw the party send 10 MPs to the 14th Parliament of Singapore.
While the ruling People’s Action Party still won by an overwhelming majority—capturing 83 of the 93 seats—it was the first time for an opposition party to win a second GRC, the then newly-created Sengkang GRC, in the polls held on July 10, 2020.
After the election results were tallied, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong formally acknowledged in a media conference the designation of Mr Singh as the official Leader of the Opposition.
The Prime Minister said that he personally gave the WP chief a phone call, saying, “I told Mr Singh that with 10 MPs, I think it is right that he, the Workers’ Party leader, be formally designated as the Leader of the Opposition, and that he will be provided with appropriate staff support and resources to perform his duties.” /TISG