Hougang By-election: Pre-Nomination Day

Second WP man may run in Hougang

By Tessa Wong, The Straits Times, 16 May 2012

A BY-ELECTION that had promised to be predictable has produced its first twist. A second Workers' Party man has prepared the required paperwork ahead of Nomination Day today.

Dispelling speculation he is a reserve candidate, the WP swiftly issued a statement yesterday that Dr Poh Lee Guan, 50, is not its official candidate and that he has not told the party of his intention to contest. Dr Poh remains a party member, it added, even as it later removed his biodata from its website.

The drama to what had so far appeared to be a straight fight between the WP's official candidate Png Eng Huat and the People's Action Party's (PAP) Desmond Choo came in the form of an Elections Department statement yesterday announcing that four people had been granted political donation certificates. The certificates, a prerequisite to candidacy, were given to Mr Png, Mr Choo, Dr Poh and businessman Zeng Guoyan, who tore up his nomination papers during last year's General Election.

Party chairman Sylvia Lim later told The Straits Times that Dr Poh is 'not meant as WP's back-up candidate'.

Dr Poh, who has contested three GEs under the party's banner, was part of WP's Nee Soon GRC team last year.

The adjunct lecturer in management at a private school switched off his phone and remained uncontactable throughout yesterday and it remains to be seen if he files his papers at the Nomination Centre at Serangoon Junior College.

The Parliamentary Elections Act does not prohibit a political party member from running as an independent candidate. These developments came as both WP and PAP yesterday girded themselves for battle.

Mr Png and Mr Choo spent much of yesterday in meetings with their campaign staff planning their strategies and logistics. Party activists on both sides also prepared hundreds of posters that will go up on lamp-posts all over Hougang today.

Separately, Potong Pasir MP Sitoh Yih Pin said in a statement last night that 'each party must field the candidate who can best serve and represent the residents', and that voters would cast their votes according to who could serve them better.

The statement was a response to Ms Lim's blog post on Saturday, in which she said that Hougang residents have shown they would 'defend democracy in their own backyard, even if it costs them'.

Speculation of unhappiness within WP
By Andrea Ong & Tessa Wong, The Straits Times, 16 May 2012

THE possible entry of another Workers' Party member into the by-election fray has sparked speculation that all may not be well within the opposition party.

Yesterday, the appearance of WP veteran Poh Lee Guan's name among the four men issued political donation certificates took party members by surprise. WP said he had not informed it of any intention to contest.

The shock event, which comes days after another member resigned, has led to talk that some members are not happy with how things are being run in WP.

Dr Poh, who contested in three general elections under the WP banner, used to be the party's No. 2 man after WP chief Low Thia Khiang. He was WP's first assistant secretary-general, from 2001 to 2006, before he left its central executive council in 2008. Last year, he contested in Nee Soon GRC.

Sources say the 50-year-old might have felt unappreciated for his contributions, and was seeking to send a signal to WP leaders to register his unhappiness.

Some party members recalled the case of Mr Eric Tan, 56, who quit the party last year after WP's executive council picked younger member Gerald Giam as a Non-Constituency MP, even though Mr Tan was a council member and leader of the East Coast GRC team that posted the highest results among losing teams.

Others suggest that Dr Poh had harboured hopes of contesting in Hougang.

He has been spotted at nearly every meet-the-people session in the ward ever since its former MP Yaw Shin Leong was expelled. He was also active in Hougang when Mr Low was its MP, serving as vice-chairman of the WP's grassroots arm there and as a Hougang Town Council councillor.

Several, however, believe that Dr Poh was merely volunteering himself as a back-up, though WP leaders made clear that he was not meant to be one.

Dr Poh did not answer repeated calls and messages to his phone yesterday. When The Straits Times visited his last known address in Yishun last night, neighbours said they had not seen him in months.

Sources said National Solidarity Party founder and council member Tan Chee Kien may have helped Dr Poh to pick up nomination forms last week.

Mr Sajeev Kamalasanan, who quit the WP on Sunday citing disappointment over not being recognised for his contributions, said the party should show it had 'a healthy and active participation of minorities within its cadreship/CEC ranks'.

Fellow ex-East Coast GRC candidate Mohamed Fazli Talip, who quit in February, also posted a message on Facebook saying he was 'still disappointed' about the party's selection process for cadreship and candidacy.

PAP'S DESMOND CHOO
Underdog will stay the course

Regardless of result, he aims to be back at work in Hougang after poll

By Goh Chin Lian, The Straits Times, 16 May 2012

WIN or lose, the underdog in the Hougang race plans to be back at work in the single-member constituency on May 28 - two days after the polls.

Despite his Teochew roots and the backing of the ruling People's Action Party, Mr Desmond Choo, 34, knows there is a high chance he will lose the by-election to the Workers' Party's Png Eng Huat.

But Mr Choo is determined to stay the course in Hougang for the long term. He was first fielded as a PAP candidate in the general election in May last year, when he polled 35.2 per cent and lost to WP's Yaw Shin Leong.

On his second shot at the polls, Mr Choo told The Straits Times this week:

'I'm getting my guys back to work on May 28, no matter the results.'

Still, the NTUC deputy director for industrial relations says he is fighting to win, in line with his competitive nature.

He has pitched himself as his 'own man' and takes a different line from PAP leaders on whether the WP's expulsion of Mr Yaw should have a bearing on the current contest.

'It's a closed chapter to me. I feel this by-election is about two candidates proving to residents who is better. We're going in clean. Don't let baggage weigh the residents' minds down.

Mr Choo's stance is quite unlike that of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who said in an online post last week that the WP had failed to give a full and proper account of what happened in the Yaw Shin Leong matter, and that Mr Yaw and the WP had let Hougang voters down.

On hearing Mr Choo's view about not revisiting Mr Yaw's expulsion, PAP leaders urged him to make his views known.

'They have agreed that I understand the ground the best, so I should be the key decision-maker,' he said.

Why this show of independence?

'As a new chap, I must be open and receptive to veterans' advice... but that doesn't mean that I should lose my own take on things,' he said.

He is 'not particularly worried' about PAP bigwigs making public comments on the battle for Hougang.

In fact, he is 'quite aligned' with Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean's observation last Friday that if Hougang residents vote for the PAP, they will get the best of both worlds as Mr Low Thia Khiang of the WP, who was the MP for Hougang for 20 years, will still serve them.

He disagrees with Mr Png's view that opposition candidates are at a disadvantage because unlike PAP's losing candidates, they cannot stay on as grassroots advisers with the backing of the grassroots machinery.

He notes that his own schemes, rolled out in the past 15 months and which include transport vouchers and the refurbishment of toilets for the elderly, were funded by private donors he approached.

He said: 'I raise my own funds. Can they also do the same thing?'

Still, he hopes he and Mr Png will have a good working relationship, so they can sort out issues that affect Hougang residents, just as he and Mr Yaw used to do.

The two sent each other text messages telling each other to take care while both were on the campaign trail last year. Post polls, they sorted out a dispute which involved grassroots organisations' use of sites managed by the town council.

Mr Choo said of Mr Yaw: 'He's always been a gentleman to me.'

The goodwill between them is in contrast to the scepticism with which some Hougang residents view Mr Choo and his efforts to help. These residents see the by-election not in terms of whether the candidates can resolve local issues but in terms of the parties they represent.

Indeed, WP chairman Sylvia Lim had in a blog post last week praised Hougang voters for defending democracy in their backyard, at a cost to themselves. Ms Lim charged that transport services to the ward were cut after Mr Low was first elected in 1991.

'On whether national or local issues matter more in this by-election, Mr Choo said he doubted that its outcome would cause Hougang voters to 'lose the spirit of democracy'.

'It is a fair contest where everybody can vote. So the democratic process is observed. The Workers' Party has five voices in Parliament so I don't see why their voice in Parliament will be affected.

'But at the same time, while national issues are being aired, does it mean that we do it at the expense of Hougang residents, that they don't deserve the assistance and help until national issues have been sorted out? I think it's no. We must have the interests of Hougang residents first and foremost,' he added.

He is realistic enough to know that he cannot change people's views overnight.

'But we can tell them the work that we do and what kind of difference we make to the residents. Hopefully, they would see that hey, maybe the local issues are just as important as the national ones,' he said.

His approach is to 'fill in the gaps' on the ground while national issues are being 'sorted out'. Instead of waiting for the national Home Improvement Programme to reach Hougang, for instance, he went ahead to fit out toilets for the elderly with safety features.

If elected, he plans to run the town council better, such as by making Hougang more elderly-friendly.

In gearing up for battle, Mr Choo said he seeks counsel from his wife, Pamela Lee, 30, whom he married last July and whom he describes as the 'smarter' one. They met on the job in the Manpower Ministry.

Mr Choo also plans to invite former Cabinet minister Lim Boon Heng, whom he considers a mentor, for a chit-chat. He reckons the bigwigs will turn up, to meet his team.

'If they come and visit the troopers, give them a lift, I'm sure my guys will very much appreciate it.'

WP'S PNG ENG HUAT
Hougang is 'special' to WP

Party has a bond with its residents and it must be defended at all costs

By Andrea Ong, The Straits Times, 16 May 2012

HOUGANG is where the flame of the Workers' Party's hopes was ignited more than 20 years ago.

It became a symbol of what the party could achieve, paving the way for its breakthrough in last year's general election, when Aljunied GRC became the first group representation constituency to fall to the opposition.

That is why Hougang must be defended at all costs, said the WP's candidate for the by-election, Mr Png Eng Huat.

'The fire started in Hougang,' he said with quiet intensity. 'Without Hougang, there is probably no Aljunied.'

The special relationship the WP shares with Hougang residents is a theme Mr Png kept revisiting in an hour-long interview with The Straits Times this week.

It is a bond that goes back to 1991, when WP chief Low Thia Khiang wrested the ward from the People's Action Party. This came after a 'lull period', in which the party had no parliamentary presence, after former chief J.B. Jeyaretnam was disqualified from his Anson seat in 1986.

Hougang is like 'the cradle of the rejuvenation of the WP', said Mr Png of the historical significance of the ward.

And it is precisely because Hougang is so important to the WP that the party is throwing its entire weight and resources behind the campaign, which begins after Nomination Day today, he added.

Mr Png was responding to his PAP opponent Desmond Choo's vow to be his 'own man' during the campaign. Mr Choo also said he had refused help from PAP bigwigs.

He also praised the residents of Hougang for their resilience despite the inconveniences of living in an opposition ward.

'They don't mind climbing up the stairs even though lift upgrading wasn't implemented then. They don't mind walking in the rain because there are no covered linkways,' he said.

On what makes Hougang residents so special, he noted their strong kampung spirit. They are also a vocal lot, lobbying for senior citizen corners to be built. This interview took place at one such corner, with several curious residents watching and murmuring about 'Ah Huat'.

The MP is like the kampung chief to these residents, who still address their former MPs Low Thia Khiang and Yaw Shin Leong as 'Ah Low' and 'Ah Yaw'.

'Here, it's a lot of groundwork,' he said, adding it is why he does not have a slogan or personal webpage for the campaign. 'A lot of people don't have Facebook or Twitter. So you have to go to the void deck, their home and talk to them.

'And this is the personal touch that I will bring to Hougang,' said Mr Png, who was put in charge of the WP's grassroots arm when Mr Yaw was expelled.

While Mr Png had been politically aware and was a regular contributor to The Straits Times Forum page, he decided in 2006 to intensify his activity.

Recalling how he used to watch the 'epic battles'' between the PAP and Mr Jeyaretnam or Mr Low, he said: 'It's kind of a David versus Goliath battle. You will surely want to support David.'

He donated to the WP his entire Progress Package of $800 that was given by the Government in 2006 - a Budget measure some see as an election carrot.

He also joined the party and was deployed to Hougang, where he organised events and headed welfare schemes.

A businessman with an artistic flair, he was also often called on to design or make decorations for festive celebrations.

Two years ago, he and WP chairman Sylvia Lim strummed guitars and led a group of WP volunteers in singing Christmas carols to children in Hougang.

A fan of pop and rock groups such as the Beatles, Pink Floyd and Simon and Garfunkel, he can play the guitar, drums and keyboard.

Last year, he contested as a WP candidate in East Coast GRC. That taught him valuable lessons in engaging people, as the team had to deal with doors being slammed in their faces.

Now, in Hougang, residents are warm and welcoming, but his challenge is of a different order: filling the large shoes left by Mr Low.

He is not worried that residents are voting for Mr Low and not him as a person. 'Look at GE 2011. We function as a party. We have the occasional star candidate, but overall you look at the WP team as a WP team.'

Family time is important to Mr Png, who makes it a point to send his daughter, 11, and son, nine, to school every Monday and jog with them on weekends.

When Mr Low tasked him to be the Hougang candidate in the same week Mr Yaw was expelled, he asked for three days to consider.

He made up his mind only after receiving his family's blessings.

His wife trains teachers and caregivers for children with special needs, said Mr Png, whose son is mildly autistic.

He was reluctant to say much on Mr Yaw, who was sacked for failing to account for alleged extramarital affairs.

Asked about the right way to deal with such situations, he said: 'Well, it's hard to say...All I know is I have very strict boundaries. I don't cross certain boundaries, full-stop. I think people know me, my wife knows me.'

When asked if he has set himself a target vote margin at the polls, he said a 'simple majority' is enough as a mandate from the residents.

While the PAP has argued that the need for opposition voices in Parliament is no longer as pressing in this by-election, Mr Png pointed out that the WP has only five seats compared to the PAP's 81.

'It's still a David and Goliath thing. One seat means a lot to us. What's more, this is Hougang.'

Ex-WP member: Quitting not timed to hurt party
By Tessa Wong, The Straits Times, 16 May 2012

FORMER Workers' Party (WP) member and Nee Soon GRC candidate Sajeev Kamalasanan has dismissed online suggestions that he timed his resignation to discredit the party.

He also rejected accusations that he had alleged that the party and its chairman Sylvia Lim, who is an MP for Aljunied GRC, were racist.

He quit the WP on Sunday, and after copies of his announcement began appearing online, netizens wondered whether his resignation was aimed at damaging WP's credibility at a critical period.

Yesterday, in a statement, he said his departure was 'not timed to discredit/affect WP in the Hougang by-elections'.

'The timing is incidental, a natural progression of the multiple unsatisfactory discussions/talks' he said he had with Ms Lim in March and last month on the party's selection process for cadres.

He also pointed out that he had never said 'at any time that Ms Lim or WP is racist, and I would urge others not to misconstrue the reasons for my resignation'.

He admitted that as there were no witnesses present during his talks with Ms Lim, neither side could prove what was said.

'The public is free to form its own opinions and I respect that,' he said.

In his earlier statement, Mr Sajeev said he was not made a cadre after standing in last year's general election.

He alleged that when he asked Ms Lim why he was not nominated, one reason she gave was that 'it has been the party's experience that Indians tend to leave after getting party cadreship'.

On Monday, Ms Lim dismissed the allegations that she and the party were racist as 'baseless and absurd'.

Mr Pritam Singh, one of two minority-race MPs in Aljunied, also said 'racism was not an issue' in the WP. The other minority-race MP is Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap.

But in his statement yesterday, Mr Sajeev called on the WP to be 'transparent and account to the public if there is a healthy and active participation of minorities' in its cadreship or central executive committee, 'besides the minority Aljunied GRC MPs'.

His resignation led former WP East Coast GRC candidate Mohamed Fazli Talip to post on his Facebook page yesterday: 'With Sajeev's departure from the party, I am still disappointed about the selection process for cadreship and candidacy.'

Pointing out that representing a party in an election involves a sacrifice of time and money, he added: 'Recognition should be given.'

Mr Fazli left the WP in February, citing personal and work commitments as his reasons for leaving.

Their departures notwithstanding, both men wished the WP candidate Png Eng Huat 'all the best' in the May 26 Hougang by-election.

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