GE2015: "Is that not arrogant?": Low

It was meant to be a media conference to unveil the Workers' Party's campaign theme and its candidates for the General Election, but WP chief Low Thia Khiang and party chair Sylvia Lim ended up fielding the lion's share of questions from reporters on other issues.

More than once, Lim asked the media to direct their queries to the assembled candidates instead: Daniel Goh Pei Siong, 42, NUS associate professor of sociology; Redzwan Hafidz, 30, engineer; Dylan Ng Foo Eng, 40, wealth manager at RHB Bank; and Koh Choong Yong, 42, software engineer.

Low and Lim had to step in to answer certain questions on behalf of the candidates, in particular queries about the ongoing Aljunied Hougang Punggol East Town Council (AHPETC) saga and where the candidates might run.

Earlier in the day, the People's Action Party (PAP) was in a combative mood, firing a salvo at WP. At the unveiling of the PAP team contesting Marine Parade GRC, Emeritus Senior Minister (ESM) Goh Chok Tong was asked about the opposition’s challenge in the coming elections. The WP has said that it will be contesting Marine Parade.

ESM Goh said, “They (Workers’ Party) are stronger than the NSP (National Solidarity Party), there’s no doubt about that. There’s a certain arrogance in them… Will that same arrogance be able to replace me in Marine Parade? Let them try.”

In response to Yahoo Singapore's query, Low had a ready answer, "I don’t know what does he mean by that. But I remember Mr Goh Chok Tong also saying that, perhaps you don’t need the opposition to check the government, you need PAP to check the PAP. Is that not arrogant?"

The fear factor

Talk of scaremongering also came to the fore during an animated exchange with reporters. Low had spoken of the need to empower Singaporeans, and a lingering climate of fear in the country.

“Perhaps the legacy of the past also has something to do with this. We need to build a confident people, rather than taking the lead from the government. It's a psychological baggage that we have inherited from the past, that we have to put down and move on,” he said.

But it was pointed out that the WP had attracted high calibre candidates in the 2011 election, and continues to do so. It was also suggested that the party was playing up the "fear factor".

Predictably, Low disagreed, noting that there was still "a spectrum of society" that feared repercussions from political leaders for getting involved in opposition politics.

"And the question is, why are people having that worry in the first place? And importantly, we need to build a confident people. People who are confident of themselves, confident that what I’m  doing is right, I can do what I think is right for Singapore, rather than looking up to the government, and taking the cue from the government," said Low.

Elaborating on the concept of empowerment, Lim added that it was more of a reaction against the government's tendency to run things from the top down.

She said, "We do not think it is healthy for government representatives to be present in every sphere of life, whether it be sporting organisations, art groups, or whatever it is. We know that Singaporeans themselves, they have the passion in the causes that they believe in, or the professions that they work in, and we should allow such talents and such passion to take us to the next level.

We don’t really need a government appointee to be there steer the direction or otherwise. So this is an example of what we mean by empowering."

New candidate Redzwan Hafidz was also asked about the fear factor - in his introduction, he had said that his civil servant wife had reservations about his getting involved with an opposition party.

He noted, "My wife, initially, was a bit fearful, I wouldn’t say very fearful, but it’s still there. I think it boiled down to the fact that opposition is something that a civil servant tries not to be associated with, especially openly," he said.

Redzwan then quipped, "I actually joined the party while she was still my fiancée, so she could have just left me if she wanted to, but eventually we managed to talk things out. She actually does support me today."