Shortly after the General Election in 2011, Benjamin Pwee left the Singapore People’s Party (SPP) in a less than amicable manner. He cited irreconcilable differences with the leadership of the Chiams as one of the reasons for his departure from the party under which banner he contested the seat of Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC.
Standing alongside Mr Chiam See Tong, SPP’s team at Bishan Toa Payoh garnered a commendable 43% of the votes.
Mr Pwee now heads the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
Speaking to the media after last evening’s All Party Meeting (APM), Mr Pwee announced that the SPP and the DPP will be sending a joint team to contest the seat of Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC in the upcoming elections.
It is still unclear which party’s banner the joint team will contest under.
The DPP has also pulled out of the contest in Potong Pasir, which Mr Chiam had held for 27 years as MP, and which Mrs Chiam contested in 2011 and lost by a mere 114 votes.
The DPP had said it was eyeing the ward, while Mrs Chiam said last week that she would not budge from the contest.
Nonetheless, although the DPP has pulled out of the contest, a possible three-cornered fight in Potong Pasir still remains – with the former secretary general of the National Solidarity Party, Tan Lam Siong, insisting that he will indeed contest the SMC.
In a Facebook post on Thursday night, Mr Pwee shared that he has since reconciled with the Chiams and he is looking forward to working with the SPP again.
For the record, Mrs Chiam and I have reconciled our past differences, and have agreed to bury the hatchet. Time heals, and also mellows a person. And true friendships always give each other another chance. Mr Chiam introduced me into politics, and will always be my mentor and idol.
Thank you, Mrs Chiam, for welcoming us back to Bishan Toa Payoh, and to SPP. We at DPP are committed to partner strongly with SPP, and support you in your bid for Potong Pasir too!
For all of you out there, politics is a hard game, but there should always be time and space for forgiveness, acceptance, reconciliation,and rebuilding. And what better time for this to happen than in SG50 year!
SPP CEC member, Williiamson Lee, said last night that they will be revealing more concrete details about the team for Bishan Toa Payoh at a later date.
