SINGAPORE: The Workers' Party (WP) was planning to contest in just one GRC in the 2006 General Election (GE) but in the end decided to target three instead, after much behind-the-scene canvassing by one of its members.
The Aljunied ward was the initial lone target but organising secretary Yaw Shin Leong disagreed and focused efforts on forming a second team to fight for East Coast GRC.
However, when electoral boundaries were announced, Mr Yaw rallied resources within 24 hours to lead a team at Ang Mo Kio GRC as well, pitting themselves against Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his MPs in the ward.
Even though they lost, Mr Yaw's team in Ang Mo Kio -- dubbed a "suicide squad" -- was remembered for getting more than one-third of the votes.
These accounts were detailed in "Towards Political Development and Vibrancy", a Chinese-language book penned by Mr Yaw and launched on Sunday.
At the launch, Mr Yaw's fellow WP central executive council member Gerald Giam also released an English-language book titled "Singapore Version 2.0".
When asked about his thoughts about opposition parties collaborating for the upcoming GE -- such as a possible tie-up between the Singapore Democratic Alliance and Socialist Front -- Mr Yaw said that "when fellow activists come together, it is positive".
He added that to work with others, the party must first build up its capacity internally but added that WP was open for discussions on any partnership.
At the launch, Mr Yaw shared that his book aimed to reach out to the Chinese-speaking population while Mr Giam said his book was for both the young and old to provoke their thoughts on issues such as the local education and healthcare policies.
The Aljunied ward was the initial lone target but organising secretary Yaw Shin Leong disagreed and focused efforts on forming a second team to fight for East Coast GRC.
However, when electoral boundaries were announced, Mr Yaw rallied resources within 24 hours to lead a team at Ang Mo Kio GRC as well, pitting themselves against Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his MPs in the ward.
Even though they lost, Mr Yaw's team in Ang Mo Kio -- dubbed a "suicide squad" -- was remembered for getting more than one-third of the votes.
These accounts were detailed in "Towards Political Development and Vibrancy", a Chinese-language book penned by Mr Yaw and launched on Sunday.
At the launch, Mr Yaw's fellow WP central executive council member Gerald Giam also released an English-language book titled "Singapore Version 2.0".
When asked about his thoughts about opposition parties collaborating for the upcoming GE -- such as a possible tie-up between the Singapore Democratic Alliance and Socialist Front -- Mr Yaw said that "when fellow activists come together, it is positive".
He added that to work with others, the party must first build up its capacity internally but added that WP was open for discussions on any partnership.
At the launch, Mr Yaw shared that his book aimed to reach out to the Chinese-speaking population while Mr Giam said his book was for both the young and old to provoke their thoughts on issues such as the local education and healthcare policies.
