The Straits Times (Singapore)
August 19, 2011 Friday
Low Thia Khiang appointed party Whip;
Move necessary because WP now has more members in Parliament
BYLINE: Kor Kian Beng, Political Correspondent
SECTION: PRIME NEWS
LENGTH: 480 words
THE Workers' Party (WP), in keeping with its insistence on discipline among members, has appointed a party Whip for the new Parliament.
He is Mr Low Thia Khiang, the secretary-general, whose key duty will be to ensure its eight Members of Parliament, including two Non-Constituency MPs (NCMPs), speak and vote in line with the party's position.
Party chairman Sylvia Lim is the deputy Whip.
The move, believed to be a first by an opposition party, is prompted by the need for more organisation as WP will have more members in the House, said Ms Lim.
She disclosed the new appointments in an interview with The Straits Times when she gave updates on work at the Aljunied-Hougang Town Council (AHTC).
Explaining the move, she said: 'In the past, when there were only two of us, it was very clear. We could work and know what was happening. Now with more MPs, a bit more organisation is helpful.'
In the last Parliament, the WP had only Mr Low as the Hougang MP and Ms Lim as NCMP.
But following the May 7 polls, the WP will have six elected MPs, five of whom are from the Aljunied GRC.
Besides Hougang MP Yaw Shin Leong, 35, the others are Mr Low, 54; Ms Lim, 46; Mr Chen Show Mao, 50; Mr Pritam Singh, 35; and Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap, 36.
The two NCMPs are IT consultant Gerald Giam, 33, and educational entrepreneur Yee Jenn Jong, 46.
Besides ensuring his MPs toe the party line, Mr Low, as the Whip, is free to lift the Whip on occasion and let the MPs vote according to their conscience.
Ms Lim, however, said the party has not discussed the range of policies or issues for which the Whip might be lifted.
She also disclosed that the party has divided different aspects of parliamentary work among the eight MPs, but would not elaborate.
Sources, however, say some of the MPs have been assigned specific policy areas to focus on. Mr Giam is likely to concentrate on transport and Mr Yee, education and small and medium-sized enterprises.
Ms Lim also said the WP has yet to begin preparations for the next general election as it wants to focus on its town council and constituency work in Aljunied GRC and Hougang.
'We feel this is the most important thing we need to do now because we owe that responsibility to the voters who voted us in.
'Of course, a few months down the road, we will start to think about the next GE and of the new areas that we would like to contest, and then start to see who our potential candidates are,' she added.
When contacted, political analyst Derek da Cunha said the appointment of the party Whip 'seems to be in line with its stated goal of moving towards a First World Parliament'. He also said assigning issues to its MPs should see more vibrant debate in the House.
He added: 'At the same time, the WP would be firmly underlining the fact that it is the only opposition game in town.
