TOC understands that Mr Ng Teck Siong called an emergency meeting yesterday at 11.30am at the Reform Party’s office, where a vote of no confidence in the chairman was tabled. TOC understands the vote was passed by a majority of the CEC.
Mr Ng tendered his resignation this morning.
Speaking to TOC, Mr Ng said he has also tendered to resign from the party completely.
Below is the press release from the party:
The Reform Party
18A Smith Street Singapore 058932 Tel: 6534 9641
The Reform Party is delighted to announce that following a meeting of its Central Executive Committee on Sunday April 26th the following resolutions were passed.
– A vote of no confidence in Ng Teck Siong as Chairperson of the party was passed by a majority vote of the CEC
– Mr Kenneth Jeyaretnam was appointed to the position of Secretary General of The Reform Party by a majority vote of the CEC
– Mr Edmund Ng was appointed to the post of chairperson of the Reform Party (interim) by a majority vote of the CEC
– Mr Teo Kian Chye was appointed to the post of Treasurer of the Reform Party ( interim) by a majority vote of the CEC
Edmund Ng, formerly Organising Secretary of the Reform Party said, “I’m honoured to have been selected for this role and to be working with the new senior officers of the CEC. Our new SG brings a breath of fresh air to politics in Singapore and a balanced and qualified voice to the opposition. Since joining the RP Kenneth has worked tirelessly on behalf of the Party bringing energy, direction and cohesion. His professional background, his academic qualifications and his immersion in the political issues of Singapore from a very young age enable him to bring to the Party a depth of knowledge and experience not often seen in opposition in Singapore. “
Teo Kian Chye, also stated that he felt honoured in the trust shown in him by the CEC on appointing him to the role of Treasurer. About his new SG he said, “We must remember that Kenneth has rejected a potentially lucrative career path in order to serve the people of Singapore. He had many options and we are delighted that he chose to join the Reform Party. He has been an example to all of us and I hope that many others will follow the path he has chosen.”
Kenneth Jeyaretnam said how pleased he was to have been appointed to the role of SG. “After choosing to go into politics various offers were put to me but the stated philosophy of the Reform Party,( ‘ that every member of the society is born with fundamental rights and that it is the paramount duty of the society to promote the human dignity of every single member’ ) most closely matched my own philosophy. I was touched by the public response to the announcement in the Press when I joined the Reform Party and the outpouring of support shown to me since. We have a lot of work going forward and it is humbling that so many people have demonstrated this level of confidence in me. I look forward to serving them. “
On Monday April 27th 2009 Mr Ng Teck Siong tendered his resignation as Chairperson to the new SG, Mr Kenneth Jeyaretnam. Under Article 5 (vii) of the Party constitution this resignation will only become effective upon the acknowledgement in writing of the resignation by the Secretary-General of the Party.
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