YAW STEPS UP IN HOUGANG

Yaw Shin Leong, 35, has been handed the reins in the WP stronghold of Hougang.

By Nigel Tan

Chief Editor

Following the decision of Workers’ Party leader Low Thia Khiang to contest in Aljunied GRC, Yaw Shin Leong has been presented with an opportunity of a lifetime. The 35 year-old private school lecturer, who is also the WP’s Organising Secretary, will be fielded in Mr Low’s former stronghold of Hougang – where he has been the MP for 20 years.

Mr Yaw has been involved in the WP for some time and is one of Mr Low’s key lieutenants. He has served as a legislative assistant to Mr Low as well as a town councillor in Hougang. He is the holder of an MBA degree from the University of Western Sydney as well as a political science degree from NUS.

He is perhaps most well-known for leading the WP’s young “suicide squad” – made up almost entirely of young first-time candidates – which captured the attention of the public when it stood in Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s Ang Mo Kio GRC in 2006, capturing more than one-third of the votes despite predictions from the PAP that they would lose their deposits. Five years later, Mr Yaw has been handed the reins of Hougang as a reward.

While it is by no means certain that Mr Yaw will retain the seat, he will be riding on a surge of pro-opposition sentiment – and nowhere is this stronger than in the WP fortress of Hougang. Mr Low has been known to be devastatingly effective at working the ground, making it a point to attend all funeral wakes in his ward. In the 2006 election, he trounced the PAP candidate, obtaining over 63 per cent of the vote.

This time, the PAP has sent a stronger candidate in Desmond Choo, a former Police Force scholar with significant experience in the NTUC, and the nephew of former PAP MP Choo Wee Khiang. Mr Choo has come across well in media interviews and says that even staunch WP supporters have warmed up to him during his walkabouts.

Whether or not Mr Yaw will succeed in retaining the seat for the WP will depend on whether he is seen as a credible successor to Mr Low, and how well Mr Low manages to convince the residents that he has not abandoned them in pursuit of a bigger prize – a message which Mr Choo and his PAP colleagues will no doubt attempt to drive home.

If Mr Yaw loses to Mr Choo, he will be able to rebuild and come back stronger; he will only be 40 at the next general election. But if he wins, he could go down in history, adding to the ranks of only five opposition MPs since Singapore’s independence.

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The author is the Chief Editor of The Satay Club

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