Speaking to reporters after his speech, he said the WP has demonstrated over the last couple of parliamentary terms that it is a “respectable, responsible opposition party”, and he hopes residents in the SMC can recognise that.
He said that Jalan Kayu SMC is “one of the youngest constituencies in the whole of Singapore” and that as a 33-year-old, he can “resonate a lot with the younger residents there”.
He added that as an only child with two elderly parents, he will soon be taking on more caregiving responsibilities and can speak for older Singaporeans too.
He added that he will “definitely be on the ground” every single day to “catch up a little bit”.
He also intends to focus on issues such as cost of living, housing affordability, caregiver policies, as well as better access to facilities and amenities in the Jalan Kayu area.
Jalan Kayu SMC was carved out of Ang Mo Kio GRC – which had the most voters across all wards – in the latest electoral boundaries review.
The new ward, which has 29,565 registered voters, includes private estates along Jalan Kayu Road, the Seletar Aerospace Park and a portion of the Housing and Development Board flats in Fernvale.
Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who anchors the Ang Mo Kio GRC team, had earlier said that Jalan Kayu SMC will go under the purview of the Ang Mo Kio Town Council after the election.
On Tuesday, two opposition parties – Red Dot United (RDU) and the People’s Power Party (PPP) – announced that they were dropping out of the contest for the single-seat ward.
Both had previously indicated their interest in fielding candidates there.
Reiterating that “opposition unity is essential”, RDU secretary-general Ravi Philemon said on Tuesday that his party had been engaging others, including the WP leadership, about the SMC.
“As discussions progressed, it became clear they intended to field a candidate there,” he added.
“After careful deliberation – both with the WP leadership and within our own election committee – we have made the difficult decision not to contest in this constituency.”
PPP secretary-general Goh Meng Seng on Tuesday said the party only knew about WP’s possible intention to contest in Jalan Kayu from speculative media reports.
“The Workers’ Party is becoming like PAP, like cat and mouse race … deployment is very opaque,” he added.
