The Worker’s Party on Monday officially unveiled its candidate Lee Li Lian for Punggol East ahead of Nomination Day this Wednesday.
The 34-year-old was introduced as the party’s choice at a press conference held at the party’s headquarters on Syed Alwi Road.
A trainer with insurance company Great Eastern Life, she was the Worker’s Party candidate for Punggol East in the 2011 General election, garnering 41 per cent of the vote, losing to Michael Palmer from the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP).
In a report by Channel NewsAsia, WP chairman Sylvia Lim said she is the "best person to represent the party" in Punggol East, and cites her prior knowledge of the ward and hard work on the ground in the previous election.
Sincere, reliable and committed is how Lim described Lee, as well as a "key player with a heart for the people".
Why Li Lian, and not Gerald Giam?
Anyone expecting the Workers' Party to pull a new rabbit out of the hat for the Punggol East seat was disappointed.
Most other people expecting to see it pull out one of its two Non-Constituency MPs and had willed themselves into thinking it made the most sense had a start yesterday when the WP plumped for consistency in the form of Lee Li Lian.
So why did the WP decide on Ms Lee? There are two likely reasons.
First, with the growing likelihood of a multi-cornered fight, the WP has assessed its chances of victory to be diminishing. By picking Ms Lee, 34, it ilikely reflects that the WP has made its final calculations and decided that there is little chance of winning Punggol East.
Second, the WP is sending out the message - for internal and external dissemination - that it is a political party that values hard work and consistency over stardom.
Workers’ Party picked the right person in Lee Li Lian: pundits
When both Giam and Lee entered the party’s headquarters together for the scheduled press conference on Monday morning, the media was left playing the guessing game till the last minute.
In the end, Lee was officially introduced as the selected candidate by party chairperson Sylvia Lim.
Political observers are not surprised at the decision and believe the party has selected the right person to be its candidate.
Former Nominated MP Siew Kum Hong said, “I always thought that the Workers' Party should go with Li Lian, to maintain continuity with their choice for GE2011 and demonstrate their faith in and commitment to her as a candidate.”
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