WP’s Gerald Giam will not be taking NCMP position
[UPDATED 16 Sept 2015: Added quotes from party chief Low Thia Khiang]
The Workers’ Party’s Gerald Giam confirmed in a blog post on Wednesday that he will not be taking up the role of a Non-Constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP), following news from the Workers’ Party that it is electing Dennis Tan Lip Fong and nominating Leon Perera for the NCMP positions following the results of the 2015 General Election.
Giam said on his blog on 16 Sept that he had asked the party’s Central Executive Council (CEC) to consider nominating Perera, and if Parliament opened Lee Li Lian’s vacated seat, for associate professor Daniel Goh to fill it. Giam added he was pleased the CEC agreed.
Lee, who lost her seat in Punggol-East SMC in the General Election, told the media during her thank you parade that she will not be accepting the NCMP post.
“I am grateful to have had the privilege and opportunity to serve as an NCMP in the 12th Parliament of Singapore. It was a very fulfilling four years,” he said. Giam also thanked WP volunteers and his family for the support, and added that he will continue to serve residents of East Coast GRC on the ground,” wrote Giam.
According to the Parliamentary Elections Act, the NCMPs to be declared elected “shall be determined from amongst the candidates of the opposition parties who contested in the GE on the basis of the percentage of votes polled by such candidates”.
However, Parliament is not obliged to fill a vacant seat, said the Elections Department (ELD). Parliament "may at its discretion" declare an NCMP seat vacant if an NCMP fails to take the Oath of Allegiance at the first or second sitting of Parliament.
'Future leadership core of WP'
“As six Workers’ Party candidates have been elected to Parliament in General Election 2015, the law allows for the three candidates who received the highest votes amongst the unelected candidates from Opposition political parties to be declared elected as NCMPs. These three candidates are Ms Lee Li Lian who contested in Punggol East SMC, Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong who contested in Fengshan SMC, and one candidate from the team which contested in East Coast GRC,” said a statement on WP’s website.
During a meet-the-people session in Hougang, party chief Low Thia Khiang was asked how the three - Tan, Perera and Goh - factored into the party's renewal plans. Low said, "They are younger than myself as well as the party chairman, they are the future leadership core of the Workers' Party. We very much hope that in next election they can be elected so that the Workers' Party’s renewal can be progressed. Now that they are not elected, the second best possible option would be for them to become NCMPs so that more Singaporeans can know them better."
Lee polled 48.2 per cent of the votes in Punggol East SMC, while Tan got 42.5 per cent of the votes in Fengshan SMC. WP’s East Coast GRC team, which consisted of Gerald Giam, Leon Perera, Daniel Goh and Fairoz Shariff, totalled 39.27 per cent of the votes against the People’s Action Party.
WP also succeeded in retaining its seats in Hougang SMC and Aljunied GRC.
-- additional reporting by Teo Kai Xiang
