WP members do not openly mingle with other parties “for fear of being targeted by leadership”: opposition sec-gen

Veteran opposition politician Goh Meng Seng has asserted that Workers’ Party cadres do not openly mingle with members of other opposition parties “for fear of being targeted by leadership” as he alleged that WP members did attend an event on Saturday that saw all other opposition parties come together, despite earlier reports that the party did not make an appearance.

Goh was referring to a forum organised by the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) over the weekend. The SDP reported that members from all the opposition parties in Singapore except the WP turned up to hear how Malaysia’s opposition coalition achieved a historic victory at the Malaysian polls.

The SDP indicated that members of the WP declined to attend despite being invited to the by-invitation-only event, that saw the other opposition parties agreeing that “the process of putting together a unified opposition that can present a credible alternative to the PAP must begin.”

Debunking the SDP’s claims, Goh took to Facebook this morning and wrote:

“Did we have WP members at the SDP Forum? Yes.

“WP cadre members did attend the SDP Tian Chua forum but they would prefer not to be mentioned because they came in their own private capacity and would not want to be seen as representing their own party.

“There are open minded WP cadre members who are more willing to mingle around with other opposition party members in events like this but for fear of being targeted by the leadership, they do not want their presence to be made known. Thus, most of the time, they refrain from taking photos with other opposition parties members.

“Some of these cadres are well known individuals, who have played an important role in party before.

“Although the WP leadership declines to get involved in such event which promotes unity and opportunity for collaborations, but as far as I know, there are quite a number of WP members who are pro-Unity.

“Well hopefully this group will grow in numbers and strength within WP to effect a mindset change.”

A former WP member himself, Goh was reportedly part of the WP’s “A-Team” in the mid-2000s. He had been part of the 5-member WP team that contested Aljunied GRC in the 2006 General Election which lost with a commendable 43.9 per cent of the vote.

The team Goh was a part of performed so well that they won a Non-Constituency Member of Parliament seat that team leader Sylvia Lim took.

Goh, who was a member of the WP’s Central Executive Committee (CEC), left the WP after the election in 2006 and joined another opposition camp.

Local opposition parties come together to hear how Pakatan Harapan achieved historic win at the polls across the Causeway