Let voters decide S’pore’s political evolution: WP chief
Even as the battle of words between the Workers' Party (WP) and People's Action Party (PAP) leaders continues, WP chief Low Thia Khiang has placed the ball firmly in the court of voters on Saturday.
Speaking at the unveiling of WP's third batch of General Election candidates, Low said, "People who talk about a two-party system, or even the PAP is asking whether the WP will form the next government. It is not for the PAP to decide, neither is it for the WP to decide."
On Friday, Education Minister Ng Eng Hen challenged the opposition to come together to form the next government to allow voters "a real choice".
"It is for the voters to decide," said Low, declining to speculate on whether the opposition can form an alternative government. "How the system will evolve, that the voters will decide."
Singapore People's Party chief Chiam See Tong took up the challenge by predicting that the opposition could form an alternative government by the next election.
Low, however, felt "it may not be likely".
Responding to Minister Ng's concerns that voting for the opposition may unintentionally weaken the government, Low said, "I
suppose it's typical PAP. They want some noises in parliament but they do not want representation from the people."
"We need a strong system of government, not just a strong government," added Low, referring to the need for an alternative government to take over should the current one fail.
WP chairman Sylvia Lim also responded to criticism of their manifesto for a First World Parliament. While again reiterating the party's stand on what a First World Parliament means, Lim stressed that the WP is a "pro-Singapore party".
"We don't just block any policy or amendments. In fact, we exercise our objections quite carefully, only when we feel there are legislation or constitutional amendments which are detrimental to the national interest," she said, citing the Workfare Income Supplement scheme and productivity push as policies the WP has supported.
On Saturday, four more WP candidates were introduced, bringing the total number unveiled to 12.
They are Dr Poh Lee Guan, 50, Mohd Rahizan Yaacob, 55, and new faces Koh Choong Yong, 37 and Toh Hong Boon, 31.
Koh, an IT practitioner, described himself as "just another man on the street" who can relate to the average Singaporean.
One of the biggest concerns for Singaporeans is the rising cost of living, he said, attributing one factor to be electricity bills.
He called for more transparency in how electricity bills are calculated and suggested looking at alternative pricing methods, such as the tiered pricing in Hong Kong.
Toh, a senior research officer in the Genome Institute of Singapore, said he wanted to focus on three areas: infrastructure, retirement and work-life balance.
"We need to refocus the Central Provident Fund to using it as a retirement plan, instead of using it for so many things, to cover so many areas," he said.
"The real test for the PAP government performance should be, has the quality of your life improved in the last five years?" asked Dr Poh.
Both Dr Poh and Rahizam said they wanted to raise the problems and aspirations of ordinary Singaporeans in Parliament.
More on the candidates:
1) Mohd Rahizan bin Yaacob, 55, WP vice-chairman
Education: Certificate in Administration & Organisational Management, Universiti Technologi Malaysia
Occupation: Businessman
Marital status: Married with three children
Background: Rahizan has been involved in politics since 1984, inspired by his father, a politician and grandfather, a community leader during the colonial times. He contested in the Aljunied GRC in the 2006 polls.
2) Dr Poh Lee Guan, 50, WP advisor, Northern Area Committee, Vice-Chairman, Hougang Constituency Committee, Councillor, Hougang Town Council
Education: Doctor of Business Administration, University of Southern Queensland, Australia
Occupation: Senior Lecturer with a Private Education Institution
Marital Status: Divorced with one son
Background: Dr Poh has been involved in politics for more than 10 years. He served as an election agent for independent candidate Chia Shi Teck in Choa Chu Kang SMC in 1997.
He joined the WP after that and stood as a candidate in Nee Soon East SMC in GE 2001 and 2006.
3) Koh Choong Yong, 37, WP webmaster, president of youth wing
Education: Bachelor of Science (Information systems & computer sciences), National University of Singapore
Occupation: Principal consultant, ARCWorks
Marital status: Married with two boys
Background: After working as an IT analyst in Accenture for two years and local start-up Aretae for five years, Koh founded his own IT firm ARCWorks in 2004.
He joined the WP after GE 2006.
4) Toh Hong Boon, 31, WP member
Education: Master of Science (Biomedical Sciences Research), King's College London
Occupation: Senior research officer
Marital status: Married
Background: Toh works at the Genome Institute of Singapore. He joined WP recently.
Follow Yahoo! News on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.
This article is published by Yahoo! Southeast Asia Pte. Ltd., 60 Anson Road #13-01 Mapletree Anson, Singapore, 079914.
