Yaw Shin Leong resigned from Workers’ Party leadership

Yaw Shin Leong resigns from WP leadership :SINGAPORE:Mr Yaw Shin Leong has resigned from the Workers’ Party leadership, in an announcement by the party itself late on Tuesday night. He will instead focus on being Member of Parliament for Hougang. MP for Hougang Yaw Shin Leong has resigned from the Workers’ Party (WP) leadership and ceased to be the Treasurer of the party.

The announcement came from Workers’ Party’s Executive Council, which said that the Council accepted Mr Yaw’s resignation from the party leadership at the monthly meeting on Tuesday.The Workers’ Party issued a press statement via its website and Facebook page, saying its Executive Council had accepted the resignation of Mr Yaw Shin Leong during the council’s monthly meeting.

With immediate effect, Mr Yaw Shin Leong ceases to be the treasurer of the party. Deputy treasurer Yee Jenn Jong has now been appointed as the party’s treasurer.Mr Yaw Shin Leong will cease to be the party’s Treasurer with immediate effect, said the WP statement.The Council has also decided to appoint Deputy Treasurer Yee Jenn Jong as the party’s Treasurer.

The statement added that Mr Yaw Shin Leong will focus on his responsibilities as Member of Parliament (MP) for Hougang.The Workers’ Party assures residents of Hougang of the party’s commitment to the constituency and to supporting the work of their MP.

Yaw Shin Leong Personal and Political career:Yaw Shin Leong (Chinese: 饶欣龙born June 2, 1976) is currently the Treasurer of The Workers’ Party of Singapore, and a Member of Parliament representing the constituency of Hougang after the 2011 Singapore General Elections.

Yaw Shin Leong Personal profile:Yaw Shin Leong’s father died when he was 13. His widowed mother then struggled to bring up both his younger sister and himself, supporting them through tertiary education. He is the Programme Director of Eduhearts Consultancy and a Managing Partner of Easto Global LLP. He is also an adjunct Lecturer in Business Studies.He holds a Bachelor of Arts (BA, Merit) degree in Political Science & Sociology from National University of Singapore Yaw Shin Leong also holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from University of Western Sydney. .
Yaw Shin Leong served as a combat medic during his National Service. He is currently with the Singapore Armed Forces’ ROVERS (Reservist On Voluntary Extended Reserve Service) program. Yaw Shin Leong is a Teochew clansman of the Nanyang Pho Leng Hui Kuan and a member of the Singapore Teochew Poit Ip Huay Kuan. He is married.

In December 2010, Yaw Shin Leong published a Chinese book ‘Towards Political Vibrancy & Development’ (迈向政治发展与繁荣) a translation of his selected English blog posts which include reflections on his 10-odd years of political participation.In January 2012, news of a rumoured extramarital affair with a fellow member of the Workers’ Party broke out. Yaw Shin Leong said he did not intend to respond to the rumours.

Yaw Shin Leong Political career:Yaw Shin Leong joined the Workers’ Party in June 2001. He is a member of the party’s Central Executive Committee, holding the office of Treasurer. He is also Chairman of the Workers’ Party Hougang Constituency Committee, Vice-Chairman of the Aljunied-Hougang Town Council and the Vice-Chairman of Hougang Education Trust.

In the 2006 Singapore General Elections, Yaw Shin Leong was candidate and leader of The Workers’ Party team that contested the Prime Minister’s seat of Ang Mo Kio Group Representative Constituency. Made up largely of young, first-time candidates under the age of 35, the team was dubbed the “suicide squad” by the media, and the PAP chairman Lim Boon Heng boldly predicted that the Prime Minister’s team would win 80 to 85% of the votes, putting the “suicide squad” at risk of losing their deposits. However, Yaw’s team managed to secure more than one-third of the votes against the PAP team led by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.Yaw Shin Leong became the Workers’ Party candidate for Hougang Single Member Constituency during the Singapore General Election 2011 after the former MP, party leader Low Thia Khiang, opted to vacate his seat of 20 years to contest in Aljunied Group Representation Constituency with other Workers’ Party of Singapore candidates. Low gave Yaw Shin Leong his strong personal endorsement after explaining to the voters of Hougang that his decision to leave was one of the most difficult decisions in his life, saying that he needed to do so in order to break the PAP’s monopoly on Parliament.

On 7 May 2011, Yaw Shin Leong won the Hougang Single Member Constituency with 64.8% of the vote beating Desmond Choo of the People’s Action Party, who took 35.1% of the vote. His margin of victory was the highest-ever achieved by the Workers’ Party since it first won the constituency in 1991. Yaw, along with fellow MP, Dr Chia Shi-Lu and Mr Ong Teng Koon, has been invited to join the Advisory Council on Community Relations in Defence (Accord) which he accepted.