WP Introduces Four Fresh Election Candidates, Including Ex-Diplomat

Pritam says party is invested in looking for people who can carry it forward

- Kok Yufeng

The opposition Workers' Party on April 17 introduced four fresh faces who will be fielded in the upcoming general election on May 3. All four candidates are contesting an election for the first time.

The candidates are:

• Mr Kenneth Tiong Boon Kiat, 36, director of tech start-up Sensemake.ai, who will be fielded in Aljunied GRC.

• Mr Abdul Muhaimin Abdul Malik, 36, a senior property manager at Aljunied-Hougang Town Council (AHTC), who will stand in Sengkang GRC.

• Ms Siti Alia Abdul Rahim Mattar, 43, a legal counsel in a multinational corporation.

• Ms Eileen Chong Pei Shan, 33, a former diplomat who now works at Singapore-based charity Asia Philanthropy Circle.

It remains to be seen where Ms Alia and Ms Chong will be fielded.

WP secretary-general Pritam Singh and WP chairwoman Sylvia Lim introduced the four candidates during a press briefing held at the party's headquarters in Geylang.

Speaking to reporters, Mr Singh said: "For the party to grow, we need people who are better than us. And I think this is something that all of us in the party are invested in: to look at people who will carry the party forward in future."

Mr Singh did not touch on how many candidates the party will field at the election, or which constituencies it will contest.

He said: "Have we decided on the constituencies? We have, and you will know what they are in good time."

He added that the party will not be able to field enough candidates this time to meet its medium-term goal of winning one-third of the seats in Parliament. There are a total of 97 elected seats up for grabs at the 2025 polls.

The WP could field as many as 17 first-time candidates in 2025 – its largest slate of political newcomers.