WP’s Lee wants to woo Punggol East residents with personal touch

SINGAPORE: The Workers’ Party’s (WP) candidate Lee Li Lian is banking on her experience and personal touch to woo voters in Punggol East.

She said on Wednesday that her target is to cover "100 per cent" of the households in the ward.

Ms Lee is no longer new to campaigning having contested the same seat in the last general election in 2011.

Then, Ms Lee garnered about 41 per cent of valid votes in a three—cornered fight with the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) and the Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA) in the 2011 General Election.

This time round, she is facing Mr Kenneth Jeyaretnam of the Reform Party, Mr Desmond Lim of SDA and Dr Koh Poh Koon from PAP.

But Ms Lee remains unfazed. She is counting on her experience working as a Legislative Assistant for Aljunied MP Pritam Singh and her work at the Aljunied Town Council.

She added that her campaign strategy will be driven largely by the personal touch, as many people have described her as a "people person".

Ms Lee said: "I still believe in personal touch, face to face because people who know me always say that I’m a people person so I really hope that I can reach out to as many residents as I can so that they can also feel me."

And she has got her party leaders backing her up.

WP’s secretary general Low Thia Khiang said: "She is the ground person, a people’s person, can connect well to the ground, we know her for quite a long time, I’m sure she will do her best."

Immediately after the nomination process was over, Ms Lee headed to Rivervale Plaza where upgrading works have stalled because the contractor went bust.

With her husband by her side, Ms Lee spent some time with shop owners and residents listening to their concerns.

Ms Lee did not want to speculate on her chances this time round, only to say that she is focused on her own campaign.

She told Channel NewsAsia that she would do more of what she did during the last general election, that is reaching out to more voters and this time, she is even planning to set up her own Facebook fanpage.

Outside Rivervale Plaza, party volunteers got into full swing, putting up election banners and posters.

Ms Lee said she plans to hold about three rallies. The dates have not been fixed.

— CNA/fa