Economics professor, activist among WP's second batch of GE candidates

Singapore

AMONG the Workers' Party's second batch of candidates introduced on Friday are two first-time candidates, one an economics professor and the other, a social activist.

The activist is Raeesah Begum Farid Khan, 26, founder of Reyna Movement and daughter of former presidential-election hopeful Farid Khan. Married with an infant son, she is WP's youngest candidate at the upcoming General Election.

Jamus Lim, 44, an associate professor of economics at ESSEC Business School who has been spotted on walkabouts with WP members in Sengkang, is the other first-time candidate. He is married with an eight-month-old daughter.

They were introduced by party chief Pritam Singh and party chairman Sylvia Lim at a virtual press conference on Friday.

Ms Raeesah said she has worked with people from all walks of life as a humanitarian, women's rights advocate. This includes underprivileged families, survivors of sexual abuse and migrant workers, she said, adding that she is especially passionate about workers' rights.

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"What we deserve is a country where the marginalised are cared for, including senior citizens and people with disabilities. We have a right to accessible housing for all, a low cost of living, to better protection for workers. It's time to fight for such a country, for a Singapore that is fair and equitable," Ms Raeesah.

Prof Lim said, if elected, he is hoping to raise questions about Singapore's education system and economic structure in parliament, as he asked what Singapore's "focus on outcomes" has brought in terms of opportunities.

Noting that WP has always stressed its members are "loyal oppositions", Prof Lim said: "What we want ultimately is the best for Singapore, and the way that we do that is by pushing the margins of what has not been asked and sometimes cannot even be imagined by the incumbent."

The other three candidates have previously contested in the 2015 GE.

Lawyer and former Non-Constituency MP Dennis Tan, 48, confirmed that he will contest in Hougang Single Member Constituency, taking over the reins from Png Eng Huat. He previously contested in Fengshan, also a single-seat ward, in 2015, but began assisting Mr Png in estate and constituency matters in 2017.

"My years as NCMP has made me even more convinced that PAP's super majority in Parliament is bad for Singapore and bad for Singaporeans," Mr Tan said, stressing the importance of "less groupthink" in Parliament especially in a post-Covid-19 world.

Finance professional Dylan Ng, 44, who was previously fielded in the party's team for Marine Parade Group Representation Constituency (GRC), is also set to be fielded in this GE.

Through his grassroots work, Mr Ng said a key learning experience for him is treating all residents' feedback with equal importance.

"Be mindful, do not overpromise, but reassure the residents that as a responsible party, we're looking into all this feedback, and to the best of our capacity, address them," he said.

The fifth candidate is Ron Tan, 35, who works at the National University Health System managing research-related contracts. He contested in Nee Soon GRC in 2015, and in 2017, began serving as legislative assistant to former party chief and Aljunied MP Low Thia Khiang.

"The best lesson I've learnt from him is that you have to be responsible to residents. You were elected to take on the responsibility to look after them, to manage the estate, to be the voice for them in parliament and assist them in their day-to-day issues," Mr Tan said. Even if it's a simple matter like fixing a light bulb, he said Mr Low always personally followed up to ensure the issues are fixed, he said.