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Tag: Walkabout

  • SDP Goes On First Walkabout In Sembawang GRC and Bukit Panjang SMC

    SDP Goes On First Walkabout In Sembawang GRC and Bukit Panjang SMC

    The opposition Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) today (Jan 25) conducted its first walkabout since it launched its preparations for the next General Election, due to be held by January 2017.

    The walkabout kicked off at the Marsiling Food Centre, with about 50 members and volunteers taking part. They covered several markets and food centres around Marsiling, Fajar and Bangkit, which lie within the boundaries of Sembawang GRC and Bukit Panjang SMC.

    Leading the walkabout was SDP Secretary-General Chee Soon Juan and his sister Chee Siok Chin. Dr Chee has said he plans to run in the upcoming election, after sitting out the previous two because of bankruptcy. Also present was SDP Vice-Chairman John Tan, who ran in the 2011 General Election.

    “We want to continue to be able to tell people that they need a voice in the Parliament – a voice that will help them articulate their concerns and their worries,” said Dr Chee.

    SDP also handed out copies of its newsletter, The New Democrat, which highlights its alternative vision for the Central Provident Fund system.

    Dr Chee said he does not think starting SDP’s preparations early will result in them losing momentum. “We are not doing this for ourselves,” he said. “It is a cause and causes are timeless. There is no time frame to it.”

    Despite the loss of star candidates after the last General Election in 2011, the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) remains confident it will be able to put forward a strong team for the next election, said party chief Chee Soon Juan.

    Speaking to reporters after a walkabout at Marsiling Food Centre yesterday, Dr Chee was coy about new faces in his party. “For sure, this is going to be something to watch. We’re going to be able to put up a very good slate of candidates. We’ve got new people coming in,” he said. “People are getting excited about our message and … they want to be a part of this. We feel very good and very confident at this stage.”

    In attendance at the walkabout were about 50 members and volunteers, who distributed the party’s newsletter The New Democrat and spoke with residents at several food centres and markets in Marsiling, Fajar and Bangkit. These places fall within Sembawang GRC and the single-seat Bukit Panjang — two constituencies in which the SDP contested during the 2011 GE and plans to stand in again.

    Since 2011, the SDP has lost several high-profile members, among them Mr Tan Jee Say and Dr Ang Yong Guan, who set up their own political party, Singaporeans First. Ms Michelle Lee, who contested in Holland-Bukit Timah GRC under the SDP banner, has been seen at Workers’ Party events, while Dr Vincent Wijeysingha resigned in 2013 to focus on civil activism.

    The party has also announced that it would release an economic policy paper next month and a party manifesto in May. It also plans to introduce potential candidates in October.

     

    Source: www.todayonline.com

  • Singaporeans First Party Hold First Walkabout In Tanjong Pagar GRC

    Singaporeans First Party Hold First Walkabout In Tanjong Pagar GRC

    SINGAPORE – More than 20 members and supporters joined Singaporeans First (SingFirst) on Sunday morning as the new political party held its debut walkabout in Tanjong Pagar GRC, a stronghold of the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP).

    Among them were six of the party’s 10 founding members, including its secretary-general and former presidential candidate Tan Jee Say.

    SingFirst also launched its website, http://singfirst.org, on Saturday as it gears up for the next general elections, which must be held by January 2017.

    Announced in May and officially registered in August, the party has received more than 100 applications from people keen to become members, Mr Tan said at a press conference held after the walkabout.

    He added that the party has plans to contest “maybe four” constituencies, and reiterated its intentions of working together with other parties to avoid splitting the opposition vote.

    “If they have a stronger team, we’ll make way for them,” said Mr Tan, an investment advisor who ran for the 2011 general elections under the Singapore Democratic Party’s banner.

    He added: “The whole idea is to win. We are all in favour of opposition unity. We will respect other parties. The real objective is to defeat the PAP.”

    SingFirst has spoken to the National Solidarity Party and the Democratic Progressive Party, Mr Tan said. The Singapore Democratic Party have waved away the need for a formal introduction, while the Singapore Malay National Organisation and the Singapore Democratic Alliance have said they need to hold internal discussions before agreeing to work together.

    The Reform Party, the Singapore People’s Party and the Workers’ Party – the only opposition party with elected MPs in Parliament – have not responded to SingFirst’s overtures, said Mr Tan.

    But he is not worried: “We still have time. No need to rush. Election is not around the corner so there’s still some time. We’ll work something out.”

    Dressed in royal blue shirts bearing the party’s red-and-white logo, SingFirst’s members and supporters visited areas around the Holland Drive Market and Food Centre for close to two hours, shaking hands and giving out pamphlets explaining the party’s objectives.

    Explaining why the party chose to visit Tanjong Pagar GRC, Mr Tan said residents in the constituency have not had the chance to vote for more than 20 years.

    The constituency has been won by the PAP in walkovers since it was created in 1991. In 2011, a group of independents led by businessman Ng Teck Siong – chairman of the Socialist Front – made a last-minute bid to contest the GRC, but was disqualified after submitting their nomination papers too late.

    SingFirst plans to visit various constituencies in the coming months to drum up awareness about the party – a strategic move as electoral boundaries have not been set in stone, said Mr Tan.

    The party’s chairman Dr Ang Yong Guan also added that SingFirst is hoping to make a shift away from “personality-based politics”, where political parties are associated with certain key people.

    “We want to move away from that and tell Singaporeans that political parties in Singapore need not be linked to any person. It needs to be for all. Anybody interested can come and join,” he said.

     

    Source: www.straitstimes.com