SINGAPORE: Singapore's opposition National Solidarity Party (NSP) on Thursday unveiled its first slate of candidates for the upcoming General Election, the first political party to do so.
They are:
41-year-old Tony Tan, CEO of a private school;
his wife, 41-year-old Hazel Poa;
process manager Jeisilan Sivalingham, also aged 41;
48-year-old lawyer Jeannette Chong Aruldoss; and
37-year-old business consultant Nor Lella Mardiiiah Mohamed.
Mr Tan, Ms Poa, Mr Jeisilan and Ms Nor Lella Mardiiiah are to be fielded at Moulmein-Kallang GRC, said the NSP at a news conference.
"It has always been my dream to break the fortress of the PAP and that is a GRC," said NSP Secretary-General Goh Meng Seng.
The NSP added that Ms Chong is a potential election candidate for Mountbatten single-member constituency (SMC).
The party also said it expects to field up to 20 candidates in the coming General Election, with about half being fresh faces. These will be unveiled over the next few weeks.
The next General Election could see the opposition contest all 27 constituencies, preventing walkover wins for the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) on Nomination Day for the first time since Singapore's independence.
But there may be three- or four-cornered fights, a problem for the opposition because it will dilute their chances of winning against the PAP.
The NSP is locked in a tussle with the Workers' Party (WP) to contest Moulmein-Kallang GRC. The GRC is formed from parts of the former Jalan Besar GRC, which NSP contested in the 2006 and 2001 elections, and most of Tanjong Pagar GRC's Moulmein ward.
The WP wants to contest in the Moulmein-Kallang GRC because of its proximity to Aljunied GRC, where the WP had a strong showing in the 2006 election, garnering 43.9 per cent of valid votes.
The NSP said it is still in talks with the WP to avoid a three-cornered fight.
NSP president, Mr Sebastian Teo, said: "The voters do not want to see NSP and WP in a 3-cornered fight. They (WP) know that NSP has contested in Jalan Besar in 2001 and 2006 and NSP has put in a lot of resources and effort in this constituency, especially after the 2006 GE and we have stepped up the ground activity since 2008 to prepare for this coming election.
"Since we have good people to stand for this (Moulmein-Kallang) GRC, it means we are very serious about it. So in short, I think rightfully we should be given the first priority to field our candidates in this GRC."
Mr Teo added that it is premature to speculate if there will be more three-cornered fights in other GRCs and SMCs.
Four of the five candidates unveiled on Thursday were former members of another opposition party, Reform Party. They are Mr Tony Tan, Ms Poa, Mr Jeisilan and Ms Chong.
Some 20 people had quit the Reform Party last month, citing difficulties in working with its Secretary-General Kenneth Jeyaretnam.
Talking about the four former Reform Party members joining the NSP, Ms Poa said: "Our group and NSP are rather complementary. NSP is strong in areas we are weak and we are strong in areas that NSP is weak. We feel that it will be a very good fit; there will be synergy in this combination and with willingness on both parties to give and take to work towards a common goal, we are confident this will be a successful partnership.
"We are actually greenhorns in politics; there are still a lot of things we still have to learn, whereas the NSP has a much longer history and a lot of experience we can benefit from. On our part, Tony has been in the Ministry of Defence and for myself, I have been in the Administrative Service, so we also bring to the table some experience in the public service."
"To me, the outcome of this election is not about me coming to this party and whether we can win, but what I hope is that after this election, Singaporeans understand that policies affect them, especially long-term policies, and for the young people, how much do you care for this country?" said Mr Tony Tan.
They are:
41-year-old Tony Tan, CEO of a private school;
his wife, 41-year-old Hazel Poa;
process manager Jeisilan Sivalingham, also aged 41;
48-year-old lawyer Jeannette Chong Aruldoss; and
37-year-old business consultant Nor Lella Mardiiiah Mohamed.
Mr Tan, Ms Poa, Mr Jeisilan and Ms Nor Lella Mardiiiah are to be fielded at Moulmein-Kallang GRC, said the NSP at a news conference.
"It has always been my dream to break the fortress of the PAP and that is a GRC," said NSP Secretary-General Goh Meng Seng.
The NSP added that Ms Chong is a potential election candidate for Mountbatten single-member constituency (SMC).
The party also said it expects to field up to 20 candidates in the coming General Election, with about half being fresh faces. These will be unveiled over the next few weeks.
The next General Election could see the opposition contest all 27 constituencies, preventing walkover wins for the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) on Nomination Day for the first time since Singapore's independence.
But there may be three- or four-cornered fights, a problem for the opposition because it will dilute their chances of winning against the PAP.
The NSP is locked in a tussle with the Workers' Party (WP) to contest Moulmein-Kallang GRC. The GRC is formed from parts of the former Jalan Besar GRC, which NSP contested in the 2006 and 2001 elections, and most of Tanjong Pagar GRC's Moulmein ward.
The WP wants to contest in the Moulmein-Kallang GRC because of its proximity to Aljunied GRC, where the WP had a strong showing in the 2006 election, garnering 43.9 per cent of valid votes.
The NSP said it is still in talks with the WP to avoid a three-cornered fight.
NSP president, Mr Sebastian Teo, said: "The voters do not want to see NSP and WP in a 3-cornered fight. They (WP) know that NSP has contested in Jalan Besar in 2001 and 2006 and NSP has put in a lot of resources and effort in this constituency, especially after the 2006 GE and we have stepped up the ground activity since 2008 to prepare for this coming election.
"Since we have good people to stand for this (Moulmein-Kallang) GRC, it means we are very serious about it. So in short, I think rightfully we should be given the first priority to field our candidates in this GRC."
Mr Teo added that it is premature to speculate if there will be more three-cornered fights in other GRCs and SMCs.
Four of the five candidates unveiled on Thursday were former members of another opposition party, Reform Party. They are Mr Tony Tan, Ms Poa, Mr Jeisilan and Ms Chong.
Some 20 people had quit the Reform Party last month, citing difficulties in working with its Secretary-General Kenneth Jeyaretnam.
Talking about the four former Reform Party members joining the NSP, Ms Poa said: "Our group and NSP are rather complementary. NSP is strong in areas we are weak and we are strong in areas that NSP is weak. We feel that it will be a very good fit; there will be synergy in this combination and with willingness on both parties to give and take to work towards a common goal, we are confident this will be a successful partnership.
"We are actually greenhorns in politics; there are still a lot of things we still have to learn, whereas the NSP has a much longer history and a lot of experience we can benefit from. On our part, Tony has been in the Ministry of Defence and for myself, I have been in the Administrative Service, so we also bring to the table some experience in the public service."
"To me, the outcome of this election is not about me coming to this party and whether we can win, but what I hope is that after this election, Singaporeans understand that policies affect them, especially long-term policies, and for the young people, how much do you care for this country?" said Mr Tony Tan.
