On Sunday (April 20), the Workers’ Party (WP) introduced its fourth and final batch of potential candidates for the upcoming General Election. This time, the spotlight was on three newcomers: a senior manager of corporate affairs and marketing with the London Stock Exchange Group, a former US Navy security administrator, as well as the chief operating officer of a technology start-up.
WP Secretary-General Pritam Singh and Chair Sylvia Lim presented the trio during a press conference, wrapping up the party’s candidate introduction rounds.
One of them is Jackson Au (35), who leads regional communications and corporate affairs at the London Stock Exchange Group, and has been volunteering with the WP in Aljunied GRC since 2022. He was the legislative assistant to former Aljunied GRC MP Leon Perera, and subsequently became the coordinator for the constituency’s Serangoon division after Mr Perera resigned in July 2023. He also sits on the executive committee of the WP’s youth wing and is a core member of the party’s media team.
Speaking at the event, Jackson said: “I believe this is important in speaking truth to power and holding our institutions accountable. I want to guard against the risks of executive overreach through laws such as Pofma,” he added.
He was referring to Singapore’s fake news law, the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act.
The other two candidates are Paris V. Parameswari (51) and Michael Thng (37).
Paris recently resigned from her job as a security administrator at the US military base in Singapore. Before that, she worked in the Singapore Navy and the insurance industry. She has been a WP volunteer for four years.
Paris said: “If elected, I want to push for better job opportunities for ex-offenders and help remove the social stigma they face… I also hope to champion better work-life balance for students.”
Michael Thng is the founder of local startup Showdrop. He has been involved with WP for 15 years, and in recent years has been helping with ground work in Sengkang GRC, supporting former MP He Ting Ru.
He shared: “I want to help build a stronger political system, one where issues are raised earlier, addressed quicker, and tackled in a constructive way.”
With this final batch, WP has now introduced 8 candidates under the age of 40, a clear move to refresh its team and appeal to younger voters in GE2025. Whether these new candidates can connect with voters and whether they’re truly ready will be something to watch.
