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Four more Workers' Party candidates unveiled

WP candidates unveiled 28 August 2015.

By Bryan Huang

Opposition parties in Singapore are still trying to establish themselves as a check and balance to the ruling People's Action Party, Workers' Party chairman Sylvia Lim said on Friday.

Lim was speaking to reporters after the WP revealed another batch of new faces for the 2015 General Election at its Syed Alwi Road headquarters.

She said there were some who hoped opposition parties could go further such as establishing a shadow cabinet, but admitted such a process would take time.

Lim also said it was “hard to tell” if the WP would increase its share of the vote this election, as the mood of the voters could swing significantly, even during campaigning.

"Sometimes, even a single sentence said by someone could affect people to vote differently," Lim said.

Earlier, she and Hougang MP Png Eng Huat had unveiled lawyer He Ting Ru, 32, property agent Ron Tan, 30, businessman Adrian Sim, 43, and polytechnic lecturer L. Somasundaram, 51, who contested for WP in the Moulmein-Kallang GRC in 2011, as party candidates.

He, who has experience working in law in the United Kingdom, said the young people of her generation were worried over rising costs, and some “no longer think to dream of a better life and future for themselves and their children”.

Tan, also the director of a small investment company, was first introduced to grassroots activities by his fiancee after serving National Service, and said his experience led to him wanting to “give back to the community”.

Sim, a managing director who grew up in a poor family and had to sell newspapers over the weekend, said a more “balanced parliament” would lead to better debates, and in turn, better policies.

Somasundaram, a lecturer at Temasek Polytechnic, said he could feel the “pain” of the baby boomer generation, and wanted to speak up for them.

Questions were also asked about the allegations brought against sociologist Daniel Goh, who was unveiled as a WP candidate on Wednesday.

Hougang MP Png said the WP welcomed scrutiny of its candidates, but said it needed evidence, and not anonymous letters, before it would decide on actions to take.

He also said he hoped the media would play a responsible role in such situations, after one newspaper posted an online report of the allegation without giving Goh ample time to respond.

On Thursday, the party introduced sales consultant Cheryl Denise Loh, chocolate factory owner Firuz Khan, lawyer Terence Tan, and Luke Koh, the managing partner of a financial investment business, as potential GE 2015 candidates.

Along with Goh, the WP previously announced wealth manager Dylan Ng, engineer Redzwan Hafidz, and 2011 Sengkang West candidate Koh Choong Yong were also likely to run.

In addition, all current WP incumbents would be defending their respective seats.

The WP has said it would field a record 28 candidates in five Group Representation Constituencies and five Single-Member Constituencies in this election.