Newly elected MP Leon Perera touched by how Aljunied residents interact with him

Newly elected Member of Parliament (MP) Leon Perera revealed that he is touched by the way his constituents at Aljunied GRC interact with him, in a recent Facebook post.

Oxford-educated Mr Perera was in a senior management position at the Economic Development Board before he co-founded Spire Research and Consulting – a business planning firm where he serves as the chief executive officer. He served as a grassroots activist at the Paya Lebar division of the Workers’ Party-held Aljunied GRC before he was fielded as a WP candidate in the 2015 general election.

Mr Perera was a member of the WP team for the East Coast GRC. Although the WP team lost East Coast GRC to the incumbents, their vote share of 39.27 per cent made the team the best performing opposition team that failed to clinch a ward. One of the East Coast team members was eligible to take up a Non-Constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) seat and the party nominated Perera to the seat.

For the next five years, Mr Perera served as NCMP in Singapore 13th Parliament. In the 2020 general election, he was fielded as one of two new members in the WP’s team for Aljunied GRC after two incumbent MPs, Low Thia Khiang and Chen Show Mao, decided against standing for re-election.

Despite the absence of Mr Low and Mr Chen, the new WP was re-elected with a resounding mandate of almost 60 per cent. It was the best score the opposition party had ever received at the five-member ward, which was held by the ruling party until 2011.

Mr Perera took over the Serangoon Division from WP chairman and Aljunied GRC MP Sylvia Lim, who took on the Paya Lebar division after Mr Chen’s departure.

In a Facebook post published on Monday (24 Aug), Mr Perera said that he is moved by how his constituents in the Serangoon division of Aljunied GRC openly interact with him. He wrote:

“Meeting constituents at coffee shop outreach sessions and food distribution in Serangoon over the past two weekends, I’ve been touched by their openness to chat, to share perspectives and express important feedback on local and national issues.”

Reflecting on his conversations with residents, Mr Perera also thanked his volunteers for making such interactions possible and inspiring him with their work. He wrote:

“Sometimes, I have fleeting moments where these conversations remind me of how we’re all human being whose lives are equally important, doing our best to make our way in the world and leave it a tiny bit better than we found it. All made possible by the awesome Team Serangoon volunteers – you inspire me!”