SINGAPORE – 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.
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.
Responding to the same question about party renewal, Mr Singh said he has always had an eye on the future of the WP since he became secretary-general in 2018.
However, while bringing new people into the party is an “ever ongoing exercise” for the WP, Mr Singh said it is a harder task for the opposition.
“If I can use the analogy of a mountain, there’s a rock face, and then there is a gentle ascent to the summit. No prizes for guessing where the Workers’ Party candidate starts. He starts at the base of the rock face… and it’s a tough climb,” he added.
Asked whether Singaporeans can expect more from the WP as the main opposition party here, and whether it has any intention of forming a shadow Cabinet or producing shadow Budgets, Mr Singh said public demand for “a different sort of approach” can be expected if more WP MPs are elected.
“But ultimately, whatever approach it is, it wouldn’t be performative,” he said.
Shadow Cabinets are a feature of the Westminster system of government, in which senior members of the official opposition party act as counterparts to incumbent Cabinet ministers, scrutinising specific policy areas.
Mr Singh said an important criterion for whether he sees the WP as being in a position to contest a third of the seats in Parliament, is having a team of candidates with different skill sets, abilities and backgrounds, who can provide perspectives that resonate with the majority of Singaporeans.
“Obviously we’re not there yet, but we keep trying, and we keep looking out for good people to join us,” he added.
The Leader of the Opposition has previously said that the WP’s medium-term goal is to win a third of the seats in Parliament.
Of the eight fresh faces that have been unveiled by the WP so far, five of them spoke in Mandarin during their introductions to the media.
Asked if this was something the party looked out for, and whether this was a response to criticism it received for its absence at the live Mandarin debate during the 2020 election, Mr Singh said he was proud that the party’s new faces are “effectively bicultural”.
In 2020, Mr Singh had apologised to voters for not having a candidate proficient enough to debate in Mandarin, and said at the time that the WP would work hard to attract bicultural Singaporeans.
Biculturalism refers to the co-existence of two different cultures within an individual.
Noting that legal counsel Siti Alia Abdul Rahim Mattar and Sengkang GRC candidate Abdul Muhaimin Abdul Malik both spoke in Malay during their introductions, Mr Singh said “language is important for all our communities”.
He added: “As a multiracial society, it is so important for our culture… It’s by extension important for the Workers’ Party as well.”
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