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Cambridge-Educated Lawyer, Lim Tean, Appointed Acting Sec-Gen Of NSP

After weeks of turmoil, Cambridge-educated legal consultant Lim Tean has been appointed the National Solidarity Party’s (NSP) new acting secretary-general, TODAY has learnt.

Mr Lim, who was a partner at law firm Rajah and Tann, was introduced as a potential candidate at a walkabout in Tampines GRC earlier this month. He takes over from Ms Hazel Poa, who abruptly resigned from her post over a week ago because she “strongly disagreed” with the party’s decision to contest in MacPherson.

Mr Lim did not respond to calls for comment, but several party sources at a walkabout today (Aug 30) in Sembawang confirmed the appointment.

When contacted, NSP president Sebastian Teo said the party will introduce its new acting secretary-general and its slate of candidates on Nomination Day on Tuesday.

The party has said it will contest in Tampines GRC, Sembawang GRC, as well as in MacPherson and Pioneer. When asked, Mr Teo also said he planned to contest, but reiterated that final confirmation would have to wait until Nomination Day.

Today, over a dozen NSP members, including NSP organising secretary Spencer Ng, new face Kevryn Lim, youth-wing head Eugene Yeo and former Member Of Parliament Cheo Chai Chen — all touted as potential candidates — gave out flyers at Sembawang and Woodlands MRT stations. Other new faces present included Mr Yadzeth Haris and Mr Nicky Tan.

The walkabout came in the wake of the drama that besieged the party over the past two weeks, with its decision to run in MacPherson — a U-turn from an earlier position that sets up a three-cornered fight with the Workers’ Party and the People’s Action Party — leading to the resignation of Ms Poa and Mr Mohamed Fazli Talip, who was on the party’s central executive committee.

This was followed by an anonymous online smear campaign that went viral, resulting in party member Steve Chia reversing his decision to run in MacPherson. Mr Teo was also a target of the online attack, which detailed his corruption conviction in the 1970s.

On Saturday night, the NSP also said it was filing a police report on an alleged intrusion at its offices. In a Facebook post, the party said the four alleged intruders were captured on closed-circuit television. The police are investigating the incident while the party is also conducting its own investigations.

The uncertainty over the NSP’s election slate has also led the Reform Party to signal that it is keen on contesting in Pioneer if the NSP withdraws.

Source: www.todayonline.com

August 31, 2015
Hazel Poa Seen At SDP Walkabout

After keeping quiet for over a week since she resigned from the National Solidarity Party (NSP), Ms Hazel Poa was spotted at a walkabout organised by the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) yesterday.

Ms Poa, clad in the SDP’s red shirt, was seen helping to give out flyers, and was also captured in a group shot of the party taken at Bukit Timah Market and Food Centre. When contacted, a spokesperson for the SDP said Ms Poa was a volunteer, and yesterday was the first time she was helping out the party. Ms Poa could not be reached for comment.

The SDP introduced its full slate of 11 candidates at a series of press conferences last week, among them party chief Chee Soon Juan. The party plans to contest Holland-Bukit Timah GRC, Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC, and Yuhua SMC.

Ms Poa left the NSP earlier this month, citing a disagreement with the NSP’s decision to do an about-turn and contest in MacPherson. Touted as a star candidate for the NSP in the 2011 General Election, Ms Poa was appointed the party’s secretary-general that year, making her the first female secretary-general of a political party here.

She resigned two years later citing health reasons, but reprised her old role on an interim basis in June after Mr Tan Lam Siong resigned as secretary-general after only five months in the post.

Source: www.todayonline.com

August 31, 2015
SDA Member, William Lim, Resigned From Party For ‘Personal Reasons’

A member of the Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA) who helped set up an alternative association for cabbies touted by the party has resigned.

In a statement to the media, Mr William Lim said he resigned yesterday (Aug 30) due to “personal reasons”.

A full-time taxi driver, he told TODAY he was leaving the party to concentrate on his work and other business commitments, and currently does not have plans to join any other political party. He had been a member at SDA for over a year.

He also took pains to say that the new Singapore Cabbies Association (SCA), which was announced less than two weeks ago by him and SDA chairman Desmond Lim, was “never associated with the SDA in any way”, other than the fact he is the SCA’s founding president and until now, an SDA member. The SCA, which has 200 members, aims to be an alternative to the National Taxi Association in championing cabbie welfare.

Mr William Lim’s announcement comes two days before Nomination Day, but SDA chairman Desmond Lim said that while Mr William Lim was a member of the party, he was not a potential candidate for the upcoming General Election.

“(He is leaving for) personal reasons, our hearts are heavy, but we have to respect (his decision),” said Mr Desmond Lim.

Mr Desmond Lim also said the SCA is still subject to approval by the Registry of Societies. “We had this idea, because we know taxi drivers have certain issues that need us to address. We are very concerned. Since (Mr William Lim) is a taxi driver, we helped him to form this (association), and he was a member of SDA, so it was affiliated to the SDA.”

Mr Desmond Lim added that he would prefer to wait to see if the SCA gets its approval, before commenting on whether the association will continue to be affiliated to the party.

However, Mr William Lim said the SCA will become a “non-partisan association”. “I am the only one who is handling it. Actually I have been planning to set up the SCA since last year,” he said.

Source: www.todayonline.com

August 31, 2015
Father Supports Yee Jenn Jong’s Decision To Join Opposition Despite Apprehension

When Mr Yee Jenn Jong joined the Workers’ Party (WP) shortly before the 2011 General Election (GE), his father was apprehensive and concerned about the possible repercussions. “He was worried that if I am in the Opposition, what will happen to me?” said Mr Yee, 50.

Mr Yee noted that part of his father’s apprehension stemmed from the fact that the 82-year-old — who was a Chinese teacher — had witnessed turbulent times when the Government was fighting the Communists.

Today, his father still has a slight reluctance but has left him to do what he wishes, said Mr Yee, joking that he is already 50 years old now.

Despite their disagreement over his decision to join the WP, Mr Yee said that during the 2011 GE hustings, his father took him around the neighbourhood to personally tell their neighbours to vote for him. “Though (my dad) was apprehensive … the touching thing is he still very supportive,” Mr Yee said.

That support has not wavered. Whenever matters concerning the WP hit the headlines, he would receive a phone call from his father. “When things get a bit ‘hot’, he calls me up and say ‘are you okay’? I’ve to assure him ‘don’t worry I am okay, dad’,” Mr Yee said.

Similarly, his wife has also overcome her initial apprehension and now follows him on his outreach activities. Their three children — aged between 16 and 21 — have also gotten involved: They are roped in as assistants when Mr Yee performs magic tricks during community events.

Recounting his experiences with his family members, Mr Yee said he hopes that more younger people will join the Opposition as the political space here gradually opens up.

He said: “This election to me is as much about the next generation of how Singapore Opposition should be … It is also about the SG100 of the Opposition.”

To that end, Mr Yee said he was heartened by the fact that for the coming General Election, the WP has managed to attract a crop of highly-qualified young candidates who are getting their hands dirty instead of just “complaining about the Government in coffee shops”.

On his parliamentary performance, Mr Yee stressed it is for the public to judge how he did and he did not want to take credit for any policy shifts.

Nevertheless, he was glad that some policy changes in early childhood education — including the expansion of the anchor operation scheme — were along the lines of suggestions that he had made in Parliament. He added that he was among the first MPs to seek amendments to laws to penalise culprits outside of Singapore who contribute to the haze problem. The Transboundary Haze Pollution Act was passed in Parliament last year.

Mr Yee said one of the things he has had to learn to deal with, as an Opposition figure, was “personal attacks” from members of the public.

“When I previously raised issues among friends and go to coffee shops to debate, I don’t get personal attacks. Now, there will be attacks from people who do not like you or the stand you are making … I will then try to improve on my speeches and ultimately, I hope people who disagree with me may see the merits to things I am proposing.”

Source: www.todayonline.com

August 31, 2015
Workers’ Party To Field Residents In Marine Parade GRC

The Workers’ Party (WP) team for Marine Parade Group Representation Constituency could be banking on home ground advantage, as WP central executive council Yee Jenn Jong — who is expected to lead his party’s team there — revealed that the “majority” of the five-member slate are residing in the ward, and that he will be leading a team of new faces.

Speaking to TODAY during an interview last week, Mr Yee, 50, declined to say who his team-mates are, but he added that they have several years of grassroots experience, and the party has sought to ensure a balanced make-up, with people possessing legal, finance and operational expertise, which is required to run a town council, should the team get elected. “They are also people who are prepared to roll up their sleeves, go down to the ground and get things running,” said Mr Yee, adding that the line-up was decided via a “collective” process involving himself, the WP leadership and the potential candidates.

“When we got started, I already told them this is a very difficult campaign … Contesting against a former Prime Minister (Mr Goh Chok Tong, who is now Emeritus Senior Minister) and with Marine Parade considered a People’s Action Party (PAP) stronghold,” he said. “I believe if (the candidates) also did not sign up for this willingly, they might crack under the pressure.”

The WP has been formally introducing its new candidates since last Wednesday. Apart from announcing that its incumbents in Aljunied GRC and the Hougang and Punggol East single-seat wards will stay put and defend their turf, the opposition party is playing its cards close to its chest in terms of the line-ups for the other constituencies where it will be contesting.

Nevertheless, over the past weeks, some WP candidates — including Mr Yee — have been spotted regularly doing outreach activities in Marine Parade GRC. Apart from Mr Yee, the others are corporate lawyer He Ting Ru, 32, chocolate business owner Firuz Khan, 48, lawyer Terence Tan, 44 and banker Dylan Ng, 40. Among them, Mr Yee, Mr Khan and Mr Tan are living in Marine Parade GRC. Mr Yee is the only candidate among this group — should this turn out to be the WP’s final line-up for the constituency — who has contested in elections before.

Mr Yee, an entrepreneur running various education businesses, made his electoral debut in the 2011 General Election (GE) standing in the Joo Chiat Single-Member Constituency (SMC). Banking on his selling point as a “local boy made good”, Mr Yee — who has resided in Joo Chiat all his life, while his parents have lived there for more than five decades — garnered 49 per cent of the vote, losing by a narrow margin of 388 votes to the PAP’s seasoned campaigner Charles Chong. The result placed him among the “best losers”, and earned him a ticket to Parliament as a Non-Constituency Member of Parliament.

For the coming GE, Joo Chiat has been absorbed into Marine Parade GRC under the redrawn electoral boundaries. Mr Yee had previously said that he had asked to remain in the GRC. On the difference between contesting in an SMC and leading a team in a GRC, Mr Yee said it is a different ball game altogether.

Apart from the obvious task of covering a bigger area, Mr Yee said the fact that he is the only one in the team with GE experience also meant that he felt a responsibility to help his team-mates avoid some of his campaigning mistakes from the previous election. For instance, in terms of engaging residents, he has learnt to condense his message so that voters can understand it within the small window of interaction.

He added: “Contesting in an SMC, you are very much the candidate managing yourself and the team of helpers. But now, I also have to keep my team members and a much larger team of volunteers motivated … taking on the leadership, inspirational and organisational role.”

Nevertheless, with his team members contributing their own expertise, Mr Yee said he has also learnt from them ways to engage residents and how to use social media. On his hopes for the coming elections, Mr Yee said: “I had a gentlemanly contest the previous time and would like to see the same for this round as well.”

Last week, Mr Goh likened opposition politicians to nomads who move from one place to another, without having any interest in the people’s welfare. As a parting shot, Mr Yee said: “I am no nomad, that’s why I am back.”

Source: www.todayonline.com

August 31, 2015