TODAY: WP's Ang Mo Kio flutter

PM welcomes Opposition decision to contest his ward

JOSE RAYMOND AND TEO HWEE NAK
jose@newstoday.com.sg

FIRST, Workers' Party (WP) members started showing up at Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's constituency.

Then the fact that the Opposition party has already introduced about 20 candidates - and counting - hinted that it was going to open a surprise battle-front.

Yesterday, WP chairman Sylvia Lim confirmed what some had begun to suspect: The party will contest the Ang Mo Kio Group Representation Constituency, where it will face a formidable ruling party slate led by the Prime Minister himself.

"We would like to give the residents in Ang Mo Kio a chance to vote and express their views on the Prime Minister," Ms Lim told TODAY.

Mr Lee welcomed the prospect of a contest. "I am happy that WP has at last confirmed that it will be contesting Ang Mo Kio GRC," he said in an email reply to this newspaper. "I look forward to the fight."

The Prime Minister has not had to face an electoral battle since 1988 as the Opposition has shied away from challenging for constituencies where the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) was seen as too powerful.

"I have no doubt that my team will have a strong win," he said yesterday. "Nevertheless, we will fight seriously and go for every vote."

Told of WP's decision, other members of Mr Lee's team sounded surprised but confident. "During the two past elections, we waited but no Opposition party turned up," said Mr Inderjit Singh, who became an MP in 1997, but has never faced a contest.

"We are confident of the support we will get and of the results on polling night. The verdict at Ang Mo Kio GRC will reflect the massive mandate that PM Lee will get at the polls."

Even Dr Lam Pin Min, a new PAP candidate who expects to be part of the ruling party's Ang Mo Kio slate, said he was ready for the battle. "It sounds like a war, doesn't it?" he joked. "But seriously, I am looking forward to a challenge, if there is going to be one."

Ms Lim, who said that WP would unveil its final batch of candidates today, added that her party was familiar with the Ang Mo Kio area. "Historically, part of the ward was carved out of Cheng San GRC after the 1997 elections," she said.

In 1997, the PAP team - then led by Mr Lee Yock Suan - defeated a WP slate helmed by Mr J B Jeyaretnam in Cheng San GRC. The constituency subsequently ceased to exist, with parts absorbed by Ang Mo Kio GRC.

Asked about the Cheng San connection, Mr Lee said: "The contest in Cheng San was in 1997, nine years ago. I believe that Lee Yock Suan and Heng Chiang Meng until 2001, and Balaji and Wee Siew Kim since then, have been taking good care of the residents. I am confident they will support the PAP team strongly."

Though the WP, until yesterday, had played its cards close to its chest, there was a little trailer of its plans on April 9, when WP member Yaw Shin Leong and some of his colleagues bumped into Mr Lee during a walkabout at Teck Ghee ward.

Mr Lee asked if the GRC was a target for WP, to which Mr Yaw replied it was a "massive" target. A smiling Mr Lee then said: "Good luck. I hope to see you all there."

Ms Lim would not reveal the party's slate yesterday, but said: "We have been doing the groundwork in Ang Mo Kio for some time now and we would like to give the residents in Ang Mo Kio a chance to vote."

Residents of Ang Mo Kio have not had to vote since 1988. That was also the last time that Mr Lee faced an electoral challenge - he defeated independent candidate Patrick Leong, bagging almost 80 per cent of the vote.

Political watcher and former Nominated Member of Parliament Zulkifli Baharudin saw the WP move as a signal, more than anything else. "The Workers' Party has been trying to show that it is a serious alternative and what better way to show that than by contesting the Prime Minister's own ward?" he said.

Now that a contest is finally coming his way, Mr Lee had a message for the voters. "Take your vote seriously, for your future is at stake," he said.

He also told the Opposition: "Contest cleanly, on the issues and the quality of the teams. That is the way elections should be fought."