SINGAPORE: Is a comeback in the works for former Workers’ Party chief Low Thia Khiang? Mr Pritam Singh, his successor and the Leader of the Opposition, seemed to hint as much at a WP outreach at the Bedok Reservoir Market last weekend.
Talking to some diners about Mr Low, Mr Singh said, ”Not standby. Stand. East Coast! Fight!” as shown in a TikTok video from Sunday (Mar 12).
@thehammertok Jovial residents and fun chats! Thanks for supporting us! #wpsg #aljuniedgrc #sgnews #eastcoastplan
♬ original sound – The Workers’ Party 🔨 – The Workers’ Party 🔨
In it, Mr Pritam Singh can be seen talking to a group of men while holding The Hammer, which is the party’s newsletter.
“Did you see Mr Low?” he asks the men, before telling them, “He want to retire. Say no retire. Come back.”
One of the men then says, “Stand by lah…”
To which the WP head replies, “No no standby. Stand! East Coast. Fight!”
Although maybe the TikTok shouldn’t be taken too seriously, as it’s captioned “Jovial residents and fun chats!”
But it’s turning out to be one of the more popular videos for WP, getting 43,000 views in less than a day.
Moreover, a number of commenters expressed support for what they termed as WP’s “East Coast Plan.”
On his own Facebook page, Mr Pritam Singh posted a photo of the outreach, captioning it “Lovely day to be out with the team!”
A number of WP leaders turned out for the outreach, including Mr Low, party chair and vice chair, Ms Sylvia Lim and Mr Muhamad Faisal bin Abdul Manap, Aljunied GRC MP Mr Leon Perera, Sengkang GRC MP Mr Louis Chua, and WP Youth Wong President Ms Nicole Seah, among others.
Aside from being the former WP chief, Mr Low is the longest-serving opposition Member of Parliament, having served as an MP for 20 years.
He was hospitalised on Apr 30, 2020, suffering a head injury after a fall. He stayed at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital until May 21.
While he was still confined, the party announced that he and fellow MPs Chen Show Mao and Png Eng Huat would not contest in that year’s election, as the WP would “broaden its leadership base and also remain in touch with the ground as Singapore’s population changes.”
But the immensely popular Mr Low has remained active on the ground.
Last August, the WP announced its entry into the world of TikTok with a video of the former WP chief on an Anchorvale estate walk.
Any questions about Mr Low’s health were likely put to rest after seeing the TikTok, which shows him energetically examining the equipment at a playground.
@thehammertok Tagging along with Mr Low on an estate walk at #Anchorvale as he covers Jamus Lim. Leggo! #sengkang #anchorvale #wp #workersparty #firsttiktok
“Checking if everything is working well for the Anchorvale residents,” the TikTok says.
The WP team has been very active in East Coast GRC for a number of years now. During the pandemic, it carried out food distribution activities to dozens of households and even extended legal assistance in one case.
Ms Seah, Mr Kenneth Foo, Mr Terence Tan, Mr Abdul Shariff Aboo Kassim and Mr Dylan Ng, gave the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) team a serious run for their money in the last elections.
The PAP team, anchored by Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat, together with incumbents Dr Maliki Osman and Ms Jessica Tan, plus Ms Cheryl Chan and Mr Tan Kiat How, won the GRC with a narrow margin, getting only 53.39 per cent of the vote.
/TISG
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