Workers' Party (WP) chief Pritam Singh said he has acknowledged the disappointment of some Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC residents whom he met on Nomination Day (April 23), following news that the constituency will not be contested this general election.

The People's Action Party (PAP) won this new GRC in a surprise walkover after WP did not turn up at the constituency's assigned nomination centre. WP was expected to field a team in this constituency.

This is the first electoral walkover since the 2011 General Election.

Responding to a question posed by the media on the walkover, Singh said on April 24 that there is "nothing untoward" about WP's decision on where to field candidates, and that they had put forward the "best slate" possible.

"We want a more balanced political system. And this is the same point I made yesterday to some Marine Parade residents who I met," he told reporters at Sengkang's Kopitiam Square.

"I acknowledged and validated their disappointment that we will not standing there.

"But after I explained it to them, after I shared with them the reality of boundaries being redrawn, the reality of our own calculations as a party as to what is a better strategy, I think they understood where I was coming from."

Singh was with WP's Sengkang team He Ting Ru, Associate Professor Jamus Lim, Louis Chua, and first-time candidate Abdul Muhaimin Abdul Malik on Thursday morning.

Former WP chief Low Thia Khiang and former Hougang MP Png Eng Huat were also there. 

Singh had said in an earlier Facebook post on April 23 that it was a "very difficult decision" for WP to not stand in Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC, and that they are a "small opposition party" with "limited resources".

He restated again to the media on April 24 that WP is a "small party" compared to the PAP and has different considerations.

The party chief was also asked if there was a strategy in fielding an unchanged team for Sengkang GRC. 

Pointing that this is the second time that Sengkang GRC will be contested, Singh said today that He, Chua and Lim have worked the ground well, are "highly effective" in Parliament and have been aggressive in seeking funding for town improvements.

"One looks at the whole package," he added.

"And ultimately, I think the key decision for us to make was this is a team that is defending its ground for the first time. So, we wanted a team which had a longer history with the voters in Singapore."

In her address to the media, He said that Sengkang residents are most important and are what drives the team forward.

"The Sengkang team - our approach is that we're going to focus very much on the work that we've been doing so far, to connect with as many residents as possible, to share with them the work we've done, and also the vision that we have for Singapore in the next five years."

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