WP introduces 4 more candidates

THE Workers' Party (WP) introduced its fourth batch of potential candidates for the Sept 11 General Election yesterday, a day after it unveiled its 48-page manifesto titled "Empower your future".

WP chairman Sylvia Lim and Hougang MP Png Eng Huat announced their identities at the party's Syed Alwi Road headquarters.

They are former associate librarian Mohamed Fairoz Shariff, 36; Singapore Cancer Society manager Kenneth Foo, 38; shipping law firm partner Dennis Tan, 45; and lawyer Gurmit Singh, 55.

Mr Tan, whose wife is also a member of the party, is actively involved in producing the WP's newsletter, The Hammer. He started volunteering after the 2011 General Election.

Said Mr Tan: "Like many Singaporeans, I was quite disturbed by the ruling party's policies, and it brought home a point that in the long run, a one-party system is untenable for Singapore.

"There should be better balance and a greater diversity in Parliament."

Mr Fairoz is a party veteran who joined WP in 2004. He said that he had quit his job as an associate librarian, during which he wrote articles on Singapore's history for an online portal, in order to take part in the coming polls.

It was not an easy decision to choose between "serving the nation as a public servant and joining the WP", said Mr Fairoz.

"It was for my children that I made a decision. I asked myself what kind of Singapore do I want to give them - a Singapore with only one voice, or where alternate voices are heard?"

He intends to raise issues related to education and work-life harmony if elected.

Mr Foo, who works with the less privileged at his job in a voluntary welfare organisation, listed the chance to work with WP chief Low Thia Khiang as one reason for joining politics.

"Late one night, Mr Low told me he needed to attend the wake of a constituent. I asked him why so late - he said it was his duty as their MP, and also because it's less crowded so he could talk to them and find out more," Mr Foo recounted.

The last new face, Mr Singh, said the party "resonated" with him and he had decided to join in 2013.

The causes he intends to champion include the plight of low-wage workers and the challenges Singaporean professionals, managers, executives and technicians face amid the influx of foreign workers.

The party began introducing its potential candidates on Aug 26. So far, 12 names have been revealed, including new faces such as sociology professor Daniel Goh and corporate lawyer He Ting Ru.

WP has not revealed where it will field these potential candidates.

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