Singapore — Ms Nicole Seah spoke at the Workers’ Party press conference on Sunday (Dec 27) on being elected as one of the 12 people in its central executive committee (CEC).
“I just want to say a very big thanks to the leadership for supporting us. For me, personally, it’s been a very long journey starting from 2015 when I was volunteering as a member, and to come to this stage has been with the support of many members in the party.”
“We will continue to keep our heads down and work very hard on the ground. In every way possible, we really want to go from strength to strength in serving the needs of Singaporeans,” she added, as WP leader Pritam Singh nodded in the background.
“And more importantly, I think this is a great opportunity even as the WP CEC enters a phase of renewal and growth for the next generation of leaders to come up. We will continue learning from the older, more experienced leaders and members who have paved the way for us.”
As for the East Coast GRC, she said that the WP team there has continued with the work that other party members have done over the past election cycles. Ms Seah noted that the WP team has kept up a minimum of three outreaches a week.
She added that it has been very encouraging for her and Mr Kenneth Foo to be inducted into the CEC. They had, with two others, contested in East Coast GRC in this year’s General Election.
“We can reflect the needs of East Coast GRC constituents and bring that to the table as part of our leadership plan,” she said.
Ms Seah and Mr Foo are among the 12 people elected to the WP’s CEC.
Mr Pritam Singh and Ms Sylvia Lim remain party head and chair respectively, and the CEC is a mix of party stalwarts and younger standouts.
The WP’s CEC is now composed of Mr Louis Chua, Mr Kenneth Foo, Mr Gerald Giam, Ms He Ting Ru, Ms Raeesah Khan, Associate Professor Jamus Lim, Mr Low Thia Khiang, Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap, Mr Leon Perera, Mr Png Eng Huat, Ms Nicole Seah and Mr Dennis Tan.
Ms Seah first contested in the 2011 General Election in Marine Parade GRC under the National Solidarity Party. Only 24 at that time, she gained enormous popularity, to the point of being dubbed as a “rock star”. The NSP was sometimes even known as the Nicole Seah Party.
Her team lost to the incumbents that year but gained a respectable 43.35 per cent vote share, which many credited to her, including former Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong, who had anchored PAP’s Marine Parade slate for many years.
Ms Seah resigned from the NSP in 2014 and started volunteering with the WP the following year, later becoming a member.
She said this year that she contested in the General Election for the sake of her young daughter. “I do it for my daughter because she’s the next generation of Singaporeans and I want to leave behind a legacy for her where she would feel comfortable regardless of her political inclinations or the kinds of views she’s expressing.” /TISG
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