Opposition Workers’ Party leader, MP Low Thia Kiang, yesterday (Nov 3) announced that he will be making way for a new secretary general next year by not contesting for the party leadership election. The 17-years WP sect gen made the announcement at the party’s 60th year anniversary dinner, saying that it is time for the younger leaders to take over rein.
“I have achieved what I set out to do when I was handed the party’s reins in 2001 after Mr JB Jeyaretnam left – renewal of the Workers’ Party and making political progress towards democracy in Singapore. WP now has a new breed of young politicians. It is time for these younger leaders to step up to the steering wheel … to drive the party forward to continue this walk with Singapore. I shall therefore not be contesting the post of secretary-general at the next party election to enable the younger generation of party leaders to take over the party completely.”
The charismatic Opposition leader then thanked his voters and supporters for the decades of support which have led the Workers’ Party to being the biggest and only opposition party in the PAP-dictatorship.
WP MP Chen Show Mao is likely the next leader as the former Rhodes scholar is hugely popular within the party and voters.
WP Chairman Sylvia Lim took to stage addressing the lawsuits and political persecution by the ruling party over alleged misappropriation of town council funds. MP Sylvia Lim said that the ruling party leadership withdrew the taxpayer-funded financial software from opposition town councils, leading to the mess today:
“The WP was denied the use of the town council management system software” that residents had paid for. We coped as best as we could with the system in Hougang SMC (single member constituency) for five years. Despite the adverse news on town council management issues, there have been no disruptions to residents of Aljunied-Hougang and that the town is progressively being renewed and improved.”
WP MPs Low Thia Kiang, Sylvia Lim and Pritam Singh are currently facing a S$33 million lawsuit from PAP town councils under dictator Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s order. The 3 MPs will likely lose their seats as the Singapore court is corrupted and under heavy influence from the ruling party dictatorship.
Despite the funding shortfall from the government, the opposition town council is well managed with no lift breakdown incidents or high profile corruption cases in PAP town councils. The town council is also the only one that did not raise service and conservancy charges.