SINGAPORE: The old guard of The Workers’ Party came out in a show of force on the second day of the campaign, with Low Thia Khiang and Png Eng Huat seen on the ground to support candidates for this year’s polls.
The two men were out and about with the WP’s Sengkang GRC candidates: incumbents He Ting Ru, Louis Chua, and Jamus Lim, as well as newcomer Abdul Muhaimin. The WP posted photos of Mr Low and Mr Png — both former MPs who have retired from politics —with the Sengkang team.
Party chief Pritam Singh and chair Sylvia Lim were also present during the ground engagements and media doorstop with Team Sengkang on Thursday (April 24).
Interestingly, Mr Low, 68, and Mr Png, 63, are following a tradition of WP stalwarts continuing to support the party’s candidates in person, especially during election campaigns period. They are also known to fill in at opposition wards when necessary.
Commenters who spotted the veteran politicians cheered.
“Mr Low wearing reservist WP uniform. Glad to see him!,” wrote one, while another chimed in with “So nice to see Mr Low.”
Another got excited about the WP’s first rally on Thursday night at Sengkang, hoping that Mr Low would be a “Teochew guest speaker at rally!!!!”
One addressed Mr Low directly, writing, “It’s really so nice to see you, walking around with your W.P. teams. They have really done very good jobs in the past 5 yrs. They will be doing much better in many years to come…marching into the Parliament 2025 & forever.”
Another addressed younger Singaporeans: “For Gen Z and of course Gen X and Y. This is the great man that makes PAP walk around neighbourhoods. He is so real that residents of Hougang SMC, which he previous held, invited him for weddings and he personally attended void deck funeral parlours. Respect this genuine MP of Singapore. He basically set the standard of what an MP should do!”
“Thanks to the WP’s ‘old birds’, Mr Low & Ah Huat, for lending supportive hands for the WP candidates in SK GRC, EC GRC, and Punggol GRC. Both your ‘appearances’ will definitely help WP candidates to get more votes to Parliament,” a Facebook user chimed in.
Mr Low, the groundbreaking former secretary-general of the WP, has the distinction of having been the longest-serving opposition Member of Parliament in Singapore. He served a total of 29 years as an MP, first at Hougang SMC from 1991 to 2011.
In the General Election of 2011, the Workers’ Party took a gamble and Mr Low contested Aljunied GRC, leading a slate, which included Mr Singh and Ms Lim. In a stunning upset, the WP team won almost 55% of the vote, the first time an opposition party won a GRC.
Mr Low stepped down as party chief in 2018, as part of the WP’s leadership renewal.
Mr Png, meanwhile, served as MP at Hougang from 2012 to 2020. The Workers’ Party was able to keep its seat at Hougang in GE2020, when former Non-Constituency MP Dennis Tan won with 61.21% of the vote.
Both Mr Low and Mr Png announced prior to the election in 2020 that they would not seek re-election. In April that year, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Mr Low was hospitalised for some weeks due to a head injury. He recovered completely and has served in a mentoring role in the party. /TISG
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