Leadership renewal an ongoing exercise for the WP, say party leaders

Letting younger party leaders take the helm has always been the WP's focus, as any political party that does not renew itself will become irrelevant to voters and ossify naturally, said WP chair Sylvia Lim.

- Kok Yufeng

Ms Lim, 60, was responding to a question about leadership succession at the opposition party during a press conference on April 18 to introduce a second batch of new candidates for the upcoming election.

Earlier in the day, Defence Minister and PAP stalwart Ng Eng Hen, 66, had announced that he would retire from politics to make way for new blood.

Noting that she has held the post of party chair for 22 years, Ms Lim said: "Organisationally, I don't think it's ideal because you should have renewal from time to time."

However, she pointed out that she and party chief Pritam Singh did not need to attend the launch of the WP's 2025 election manifesto, which was fronted by incumbent Aljunied GRC MP Gerald Giam and incumbent Sengkang GRC MPs Jamus Lim and He Ting Ru.

She said the party's MPs have learnt a lot from their time in Parliament, and are now able to take charge of some of these major projects.

"I would say that when the time comes for me, personally, to step down as chairperson, I won't be sorry," she added.