Low Thia Khiang

Low Thia Khiang (born 5 September 1956) is a Singaporean politician and businessman. He is currently the leader of the Workers' Party (WP) and the de facto leader of the opposition in Singapore's Parliament. He has been a Member of Parliament (MP) since 1991, representing the Single Member Constituency (SMC) of Hougang from 1991 to 2011, and the Aljunied Group Representation Constituency (GRC) since 2011. He is currently the MP responsible for the Bedok Reservoir–Punggol Division within Aljunied GRC.

Low is currently one of seven elected opposition MPs in Singapore's 12th Parliament.

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.

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

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 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.

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.

2011 General Election
Between 1997 and 2011, Low and Chiam See Tong were the only two elected opposition Members of Parliament (MP) in Singapore's Parliament, which had 83 seats. However, 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.

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

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.