New WP man makes his rounds in Aljunied GRC
By Jeremy Au Yong & Zakir Hussain
Mr Chen arriving at Changi Airport over the weekend. His walkabouts in Bedok North on Sunday raise the possibility that the WP will once again field its strongest team in Aljunied GRC. Mr Chen is a partner in international law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell's Beijing office. -- TNP FILE PHOTO
LAWYER Chen Show Mao, widely seen as the Workers' Party's (WP) star catch for the upcoming polls, has been spotted doing his rounds in Aljunied GRC.
His walkabouts raised the possibility that the opposition party will once again field its strongest team in the group representation constituency.
On Sunday, while WP chief Low Thia Khiang was at Moulmein-Kallang GRC, Mr Chen, 50, was at Aljunied GRC with WP chairman Sylvia Lim and a handful of members. He visited coffee shops in Bedok North Street 3 - which was part of Marine Parade GRC in 2006 but has now been drawn into Aljunied GRC.
A picture of him having coffee with three party members - Mr Faisal Abdul Manap, Mr Lian Chin Way and Mr Vernon Voon - at the Block 539 coffee shop was posted on the WP Facebook page on Monday.
A partner in international law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell's Beijing office, Mr Chen returned to Singapore over the weekend and it has been reported he will be here for a few weeks. His credentials have generated a buzz among political watchers curious to know more about him. He is on the advisory board of the Singapore Management University law school. He studied economics in Harvard University, and languages and history at Oxford University, and obtained a law doctorate from Stanford University.
Said former opposition member Wong Wee Nam, now an online contributor: 'He has impressive credentials. I believe if an established party like Workers' Party is willing to take him, he has something to offer. Hopefully he's not just window-dressing. We have to wait and see.'
Ms Lim has said she wants to run in Aljunied GRC again, after leading its team there in 2006. If she is joined by Mr Chen, the combination would give the party a boost, said sources. Aljunied GRC was the scene of 2006's fiercest battle. The People's Action Party (PAP) team led by Foreign Minister George Yeo won with 56.1 per cent of the vote - the ruling party's narrowest win in a GRC that year.
This time, other possible members of the WP team are Mr Faisal, 35, a counsellor with a voluntary welfare organisation, and Mr Lian, 41, a marketing manager in a telecommunications company who contested in Nee Soon Central as a WP candidate in 2006. The party indicated that Mr Voon, a lawyer in his 40s, is not a candidate but a volunteer.
Ms Lim said yesterday the party would reveal its line-up on nomination day. The Straits Times has not been able to contact Mr Chen for comments.
PAP activists in Aljunied are not jumping to conclusions yet about the WP.
'This could be a ploy to throw us off their scent. They may be trying to distract us. It may be that they want all of us to concentrate on Aljunied GRC, but they turn up in East Coast on nomination day instead,' said a party member.
By Jeremy Au Yong & Zakir Hussain
Mr Chen arriving at Changi Airport over the weekend. His walkabouts in Bedok North on Sunday raise the possibility that the WP will once again field its strongest team in Aljunied GRC. Mr Chen is a partner in international law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell's Beijing office. -- TNP FILE PHOTO
LAWYER Chen Show Mao, widely seen as the Workers' Party's (WP) star catch for the upcoming polls, has been spotted doing his rounds in Aljunied GRC.
His walkabouts raised the possibility that the opposition party will once again field its strongest team in the group representation constituency.
On Sunday, while WP chief Low Thia Khiang was at Moulmein-Kallang GRC, Mr Chen, 50, was at Aljunied GRC with WP chairman Sylvia Lim and a handful of members. He visited coffee shops in Bedok North Street 3 - which was part of Marine Parade GRC in 2006 but has now been drawn into Aljunied GRC.
A picture of him having coffee with three party members - Mr Faisal Abdul Manap, Mr Lian Chin Way and Mr Vernon Voon - at the Block 539 coffee shop was posted on the WP Facebook page on Monday.
A partner in international law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell's Beijing office, Mr Chen returned to Singapore over the weekend and it has been reported he will be here for a few weeks. His credentials have generated a buzz among political watchers curious to know more about him. He is on the advisory board of the Singapore Management University law school. He studied economics in Harvard University, and languages and history at Oxford University, and obtained a law doctorate from Stanford University.
Said former opposition member Wong Wee Nam, now an online contributor: 'He has impressive credentials. I believe if an established party like Workers' Party is willing to take him, he has something to offer. Hopefully he's not just window-dressing. We have to wait and see.'
Ms Lim has said she wants to run in Aljunied GRC again, after leading its team there in 2006. If she is joined by Mr Chen, the combination would give the party a boost, said sources. Aljunied GRC was the scene of 2006's fiercest battle. The People's Action Party (PAP) team led by Foreign Minister George Yeo won with 56.1 per cent of the vote - the ruling party's narrowest win in a GRC that year.
This time, other possible members of the WP team are Mr Faisal, 35, a counsellor with a voluntary welfare organisation, and Mr Lian, 41, a marketing manager in a telecommunications company who contested in Nee Soon Central as a WP candidate in 2006. The party indicated that Mr Voon, a lawyer in his 40s, is not a candidate but a volunteer.
Ms Lim said yesterday the party would reveal its line-up on nomination day. The Straits Times has not been able to contact Mr Chen for comments.
PAP activists in Aljunied are not jumping to conclusions yet about the WP.
'This could be a ploy to throw us off their scent. They may be trying to distract us. It may be that they want all of us to concentrate on Aljunied GRC, but they turn up in East Coast on nomination day instead,' said a party member.
