WP's Jackson Au: 'You can be good in Parliament and good on the ground'
SINGAPORE: Jackson Au, a candidate for The Workers' Party (WP) for Punggol Group Representation Constituency (GRC), is possibly the only aspiring MP who has quoted from the hit TV series Game of Thrones at a rally. The 35-year-old communications practitioner made the news for his fiery speech at the WP's first outing at Sengkang on April 24.
He recounted that well-meaning friends and family had asked him if he was sure about joining the opposition and if he wasn't concerned that he would be marked out.
'To them, I will just share this question from Game of Thrones: 'Can a man still be brave when he is afraid? That is the only time a man can be brave,' he said, as loud cheers erupted. @mothershipsg
WP's Jackson Au quotes Game of Thrones at his first rally. #GE2025 Things *are* heated up. Follow #MothershipGE2025 for our election coverage. #singapore #tiktoksg #sgnews
♬ original sound – Mothership – Mothership
Over the weekend, an interview with Mr Au was posted on the Red Dot Perspective YouTube channel, where host Kian Boon told the candidate he had seen the speech and was impressed.
The two talked about a number of topics, ranging from WP stronghold Hougang SMC and the Trump tariffs to Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong's last-minute constituency switch to contest at Punggol.
At one point, Mr Kian told Mr Au that the WP Members of Parliament (MPs) have been known to be active on the ground, listening to people and hearing their views. He went on to ask what Mr Au's style would be if elected — whether he would be more like former People's Action Party's (PAP) MP Louis Ng or similar to WP's three-time Aljunied GRC MP Faisal Manap.
'You know, in the PAP, there is a Mr Louis (Ng) who is known for being very vocal in Parliament, almost a little bit anti-establishment. Then you have another kind of MP that may be more on the ground and less vocal in Parliament. I think a good example of that could be the WP's vice chair, Mr Faisal. So where do you fall between the two extremes?'
Mr Au said, 'I think you have to be a bit of both,' and brought up 'another Louis' — Sengkang MP Louis Chua — as a good example. Among the opposition MPs, Mr Chua had raised the most questions in Parliament, 477 in all.
He added that Sengkang's number of bids and green-lighted municipal projects far exceeds the figure for the average PAP Town Council.
'So it's not mutually exclusive to me when I look at someone like Louis Chua. You can speak up for people in Parliament, but you can also be good on the ground and advocate for a better community, better towns, and better living circumstances for your residents and and this is consistent with the WP's Town Councils.'
Commenters on the podcast have also been impressed with Mr Au.
'Very sharp and eloquent young man. This is the kind of new blood Singapore needs in our parliament. Punggol residents, we are counting on you,' wrote one.
'Very impressed by how well Jackson handled the interview. Thank you sir, for stepping up and being a voice for ordinary Singaporeans,' said another commenter.
One described him as a 'Very down-to-earth and knowledgeable candidate' and added, 'Definitely you can serve Punggol residents.' /TISG
Read also: Harpreet Singh asks DPM Gan, 'Will you answer Tan Suee Chieh's questions about the Income-Allianz deal?'
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