Low Thia Khiang

Low Thia Khiang MP
刘程强
Leader of the Opposition
Incumbent
Assumed office 27 May 2001
Prime Minister	Goh Chok Tong Lee Hsien Loong
Preceded by	Chiam See Tong
Secretary-General of the Workers' Party
Incumbent
Assumed office 27 May 2001
Prime Minister	Goh Chok Tong Lee Hsien Loong
Chairman	Sylvia Lim
Preceded by	J. B. Jeyaretnam
Member of Parliament for Aljunied GRC (Bedok Reservoir-Punggol)
Incumbent
Assumed office 7 May 2011
Preceded by	George Yeo (PAP)
Majority	12,460 (9.43%)
Member of Parliament for Hougang SMC
In office 31 August 1991 – 7 May 2011
Preceded by	Tang Guan Seng (PAP)
Succeeded by	Yaw Shin Leong
Personal details
Born	5 September 1956 (1956-09-05) (age 60) Singapore
Political party	Workers' Party of Singapore(1991)
Alma mater	Nanyang University National University of Singapore
Profession	Businessman, teacher
Religion	Buddhism[1]

Low Thia Khiang (simplified Chinese: 刘程强; traditional Chinese: 劉程強; pinyin: Liú Chéng Qiáng; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Lâu Thiâⁿ-kiàng; born 5 September 1956) is a Singaporean politician and businessman. He is the leader of the Workers' Party (WP) and the leader of the opposition in Singapore's Parliament. He had been a Member of Parliament (MP) since 1991, representing the Single Member Constituency (SMC) of Hougang SMC from 1991 to 2011, and the Aljunied GRC since 2011. He is the MP responsible for the Bedok Reservoir–Punggol Division within Aljunied GRC.^[2]

Low is one of six elected opposition MPs in Singapore's 13th Parliament. In 2018, he will become the longest serving Opposition Member of Parliament in Singapore, replacing Chiam See Tong.

Background

Low was educated at Lik Teck Primary School and Chung Cheng High School, before going on to study at Nanyang University where he majored in Chinese language and literature, and government and public administration. In 1981, he completed a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Chinese studies at the National University of Singapore. In 1982, he completed a diploma in education. He worked as a teacher for a few years, before starting his own business. His business was at an all time high.^[3]

Political career

Low joined the Workers' Party (WP) in 1982, and was subsequently appointed its Organising Secretary. At the 1984 general election, he is the election agent for the party's then Secretary-General, J. B. Jeyaretnam, in his successful campaign to win the parliamentary constituency of Anson.

In 2016 Workers' Party CEC election, Mr Low was faced with a contest by Mr Chen Show Mao for the position of Secretary-General of WP. This was the first time the 59-year-old opposition leader faced contest for the post since he took it up in 2001.

Mr Low retained his seat with 61 votes, to Mr Chen's 45. But Mr Chen remains in the CEC as a member with the second highest vote count of the day. ^[4]

1988 General Election

In 1988, Low represented the WP in a televised debate with the PAP government on proposals to create an elected Presidency for Singapore, where he engaged the late Ong Teng Cheong and Lee Hsien Loong (who would later become the President and Prime Minister of Singapore respectively). In the general election later that year, Low, together with Gopalan Nair and Lim Lye Soon, contested the Group Representation Constituency (GRC) of Tiong Bahru against only the PAP and finished second with 42.2% of the vote.

1991 General Election

In 1991, Low, as the Workers' Party's Assistant Secretary-General, won the Hougang constituency in the 1991 Singapore General Elections and entered Parliament. In 1992, Low was appointed by Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong to be a member of the Cost Review Committee. After a year of intensive study, Low decided to produce his own independent report as he had a different perspective from the other members of the committee.

1997 General Election

Low was re-elected as the MP for Hougang at the 1997 general election, his second election victory in Hougang.

2001 General Election

On 27 May 2001, he became the Secretary-General of the Workers' Party, replacing J. B. Jeyaretnam. He was re-elected again as the MP for Hougang at the 2001 general election.

2006 General Election

At the 2006 general elections, Low won his fourth straight term for the Hougang constituency. He received 13,987 of the votes cast, a 62.74 per cent victory margin which is an increase of 7.74% from the last general election in November 2001. His opponent from the People's Action Party, Eric Low, received 8,306 votes.^[5]

2011 General Election

Low (centre) at a rally in Sengkang during the 2011 general election.

Between 1997 and 2011, Low and Chiam were the only elected opposition Members of Parliament (MP) in Singapore's Parliament. At the 2011 General Election, both Low and Chiam left their seats in Hougang and Potong Pasir SMC respectively to contest in Aljunied GRC and Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC respectively, risking that there will be no elected opposition MPs in parliament. Low's gamble pays off as he led the Workers' Party to a historic breakthrough in the 2011 Singapore general elections, with a victory in Aljunied GRC. The win marked the first time ever that an opposition party had won a GRC, bringing an additional five Workers' Party MPs into Parliament. His previous seat in Hougang SMC was retained by his party member, Yaw Shin Leong

2015 General Election

At the 2015 General Election, Low and his team won and retained their seats in Aljunied GRC. However, the team's votes share decreased to 50.96%, a drop of 3.76%, with a narrow margin of 1.9% (2626 votes). As the margin was within the 2% range, there was a recount. This was Low's sixth continuous win as an elected opposition MP (4 in Hougang SMC and 2 in Aljunied GRC). He has been one of few elected opposition MPs to successfully defend a GRC and by the end of his term, he would have displaced Chiam See Tong as the longest serving elected opposition MP in Singapore.

Current appointments

The current appointments held by Low are as follows:

• Secretary-General, Workers' Party of Singapore
• Chairman, Aljunied Constituency Committee (AJCC)
• De facto Leader of the Opposition of Singapore

Electoral record

Teochew speech

Low Thia Khiang is well known for his speech in the Teochew dialect. Ever since the Government of Singapore discouraged the use of Chinese dialects from 1979 onwards, he insists delivering his speeches in his mother tongue, Teochew, which have won the attraction and strong support from residents of the Hougang Constituency, comprising mainly Teochew people.

Personal life

Low is married with two sons and a daughter. He is a Buddhist.

References

Members of the 13th Parliament of Singapore (since 2016)
Speaker: Halimah Yacob
Group Representation Constituencies (GRCs) AljuniedWP Chen, S M Lim, S L Low, T K Faisal Singh Ang Mo KioPAP Ang, H K David Gan, T P Intan Koh, P K Lee, H L Bishan-Toa PayohPAP Chee, H T Chong, K H Ng, E H Saktiandi Teo, L M Chua Chu KangPAP Gan, K Y Low, Y L Yee, C H Zaqy East CoastPAP Lee, Y S Lim, S S Maliki Tan, S N Holland-Bukit TimahPAP de Souza Liang, E H Sim, A Vivian Jalan BesarPAP Heng, C H Neo, Lily Phua, L P Yaacob JurongPAP Ang, W N Lee, T S Rahayu Tharman Tan, W M Marine ParadePAP Fatimah Goh, C T Seah, K P Tan, C J Tong, C F Marsiling-Yew TeePAP Halimah Ong, T K Wong, S T Yam, Z M Nee SoonPAP Faishal Kwek, H C Lee, B W Ng, K K Shanmugam Pasir Ris-PunggolPAP Ng, C M Puthucheary Sun, X L Teo, C H Teo, S L Zainal SembawangPAP Amrin Khaw, B W Lim, W K Ong, Y K Vikram TampinesPAP Baey, Y K Cheng, L H Choo, P C Heng, S K Masagos Tanjong PagarPAP Chan, C S Chia, S L Indranee Pereira Yong, Y C West CoastPAP Foo, M H Iswaran Lim, H K Tay, T G Single Member Constituencies (SMCs) Bukit BatokPAP Ong, K H→Pillai Bukit PanjangPAP Teo, H P FengshanPAP Chan, W L Hong Kah NorthPAP Khor, L S HougangWP Png, E H MacPhersonPAP Tin, P L MountbattenPAP Lim, B C PioneerPAP Foo, C K Potong PasirPAP Sitoh, Y P Punggol EastPAP Chong, Y F Radin MasPAP Tan, C S Sengkang WestPAP Lam, P M YuhuaPAP Fu, H Y Non-elected members NCMP Perera Tan, L F Goh, P S NMPs Azmoon Chia, Y Y Chua, K S Ganesh Kok, H L Kuik, S Y Mohan Tan, G K Thanaletchimi
The party affiliation of each member is indicated right after the constituency he or she represents. PAP: People's Action Party; WP: The Workers' Party The NCMPs listed above are from the WP, while NMPs do not belong to any party. Other Current/Former MPs Nav Boxes 13 12 11