Low Thia Khiang

Low Thia Khiang (born 5 September 1956) is a Singaporean former politician.

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.

Low joined the Workers' Party (WP) in 1982, and was subsequently appointed as its Organising Secretary.

At the 1984 general election, he was the election agent for the party's secretary-general, J. B. Jeyaretnam, in his successful campaign to win Anson constituency.

Low is well known for giving speeches in Teochew, which have won him much support from a large number of Teochew-speaking residents in Hougang SMC.

In 1988, Low represented the WP in a televised debate with the PAP government on proposals to create an elected Presidency for Singapore, during which he engaged Ong Teng Cheong and Lee Hsien Loong, who later became 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 Tiong Bahru GRC against the PAP and won 42.2% of the vote while the PAP won 57.8% of the vote.

He served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for Hougang SMC between 1991 and 2011, and also Aljunied GRC representing Bedok Reservoir — Punggol division between 2011 and 2020.

Low made his political debut in the 1991 general election where he contested in Hougang SMC as a WP candidate.

In 1991, Low, as the Workers' Party's assistant secretary-general, won the single-member constituency (SMC) of Hougang in the 1991 general election and entered Parliament.

In 1992, Low was appointed by Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong as 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.

A member of the Workers' Party (WP), Low was one of the two opposition MPs in Parliament between 1997 and 2011 and served as Secretary-General of the WP between 2001 and 2018.

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

Between 1997 and 2011, Low from WP and Chiam See Tong from the Singapore People's Party (SPP) were the only elected opposition Members of Parliament (MP) in Parliament.

He was appointed Secretary-General of the Workers' Party since 27 May 2001.

This was the first time Low was challenged for the post since he took it up in 2001.

Low retained his seat with 61 votes, to Chen's 45.

Chen remains in the CEC as a member.

On 27 May 2001, Low 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.

He received 13,987 of the votes cast, a 62.74 per cent victory margin which was 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.

He served as the de facto Leader of the Opposition between 2006 and 2018.

At the 2006 general elections, Low won his fourth straight term for the Hougang constituency.

During the 2011 general election, Low decided not to seek re-election in Hougang SMC and instead contested in Aljunied GRC and led the party into a historic breakthrough when his team won the first group representation constituency (GRC) from the governing People's Action Party (PAP).

Low became one of five elected opposition MPs for Aljunied GRC in the 13th Parliament and represented the Bedok Reservoir–Punggol division between 2011 and 2020.

During the 2011 general election, Low and Chiam left their respective strongholds in Hougang and Potong Pasir SMC to challenge the ruling PAP in Group Representation Constituencies (GRCs).

Low's team along with Pritam Singh, Sylvia Lim, Muhamad Faisal Manap and Chen Show Mao would challenge the ruling PAP in Aljunied GRC, while Chiam would contest the Bishan–Toa Payoh GRC.

In so doing, Low and Chiam risked a situation where there would be no elected opposition MPs in Parliament had they lost.

He was the de facto Leader of the Opposition after the 2015 general election after his team won Aljunied GRC and retained back Hougang SMC.

In the 2016 Workers' Party Central Executive Committee (CEC) elections, Low's position of secretary-general was contended by fellow Aljunied MP Chen Show Mao.

As part of a leadership renewal, Low was succeeded by Pritam Singh as Secretary-General in 2018, and also stepped down as the MP for Aljunied GRC prior to the 2020 general election, making him Singapore's longest-serving opposition Member of Parliament with 29 years in service.

He has indicated his desire to remain active in politics.

Low studied at Lik Teck Primary School and Chung Cheng High School before he attended Nanyang University, where he majored in Chinese language and literature, and government and public administration.

Low announced at his party's 60th anniversary dinner that he would not be contesting for the post of secretary-general for the 2018 party elections and would step down to renew leadership in WP after being at its helm for 17 years.

Low formally stepped down as WP chief on 8 April 2018.

Chan Chun Sing, the Minister for Trade and Industry, subsequently praised Low at a Parliament sitting on 15 May 2018 for the role he played in Parliament, acknowledging him as "a fellow Singaporean and very much part of Team Singapore", and that while the PAP may not always agree with Low's perspectives or methods, the PAP nevertheless appreciate(d) his efforts to work together to build a better Singapore.