The Reform Party (RP) introduced its candidates for West Coast GRC and Radin Mas SMC this morning at the Telok Blangah Food Centre.
Kumar Appavoo, who previously stood for election as part of the West Coast team, will be fielded in Radin Mas SMC. Secretary-General Kenneth Jeyaretnam, chairman Andy Zhu, property agent Darren Soh and customer service executive Noraini Yunus will form RP’s West Coast GRC team.
Jeyaretnam told the assembled press that RP’s goal is to bring more transparency to governance in Singapore, so that there are proper checks and balances within the system.
Jeyaretnam: Goh Chok Tong said @PAPSingapore could be their own check and balance. We disagree. #GE2015 #rp2015
— TOC News (@tocsg) August 27, 2015
Zhu said that RP was continuing to stand for elections in West Coast GRC as the residents of the constituency were in favour of the party contesting in their ward.
Zhu: We have spoken to the residents and they are in favour of us contesting which is why we are here today. #rp2015 #GE2015
— TOC News (@tocsg) August 27, 2015
Mr Appavoo, who is a director in an oil and gas company, assured voters that RP would be capable of running a town council, and said that if RP were to win in both constituencies, West Coast and Radin Mas town councils would merge to allow the party to run a town council in a “cost-effective way”.
Appavoo: Beside the other parties we also have the capabilities to run a town council in a way that is cost effective. #rp2015 #GE2015
— TOC News (@tocsg) August 27, 2015
Darren Soh drew on his own humble beginning as a resident of a poor neighbourhood in Bukit Ho Swee to emphasis his ability to connect with the ground and understand the concerns of lower-income Singaporeans. If elected, he promised that he would be a full-time Member of Parliament, so as always to be available to tend to his constituents’ needs.
Soh: The lower-income people are very dissatisfied with PAP government. We need a strong opposition who love their country. #GE2015 #rp2015
— TOC News (@tocsg) August 27, 2015
Noraini Yunus said that she would focus on issues facing the Malay community in West Coast GRC. She cited her family’s history of involvement in politics, saying that she had gone on walkabouts with her father when he was a member of Barisan Sosialis.
Noraini: It's a chance that is too good to miss if I can serve the people. #GE2015 #rp2015
— TOC News (@tocsg) August 27, 2015
Although RP yesterday publicly declared its interest in contesting Pioneer SMC after National Solidarity Party (NSP) member Steve Chia said he would no longer be standing for election in 2015, Jeyaretnam said that they had still not yet heard from NSP.
Jeyaretnam spoke about a seven-point pledge that the party has made to Singaporeans. These promises include returning Singaporeans their CPF at the age of 55, introducing child benefit, setting a minimum wage for all workers as well as controlling the number of foreign workers by introducing an auction system with a cap on the number of visas given out annually.
Jeyaretnam: We want to cut number of foreign workers and introduce an auction system so workers pay for right to work here. #rp2015 #GE2015
— TOC News (@tocsg) August 27, 2015
Jeyaretnam: Foreign worker wages can always be reduced with the levy, still makes foreign workers cheaper. #rp2015 #GE2015
— TOC News (@tocsg) August 27, 2015
The details for RP’s suggested auction system has yet to be worked out, although Jeyaretnam later told TOC that it would be something like the COE system for cars currently implemented in Singapore, where employers will be able to bid over a set number of visa slots to hire a foreign worker.
When TOC pressed Jeyaretnam for more details on whether there would be protections that would prevent the cost of such a bidding process from being passed on to the foreign worker – as low-wage migrant workers already pay high recruitment fees for work in Singapore – Jeyaretnam said that he was more concerned with speaking in the interests of Singaporeans and “not really with the plight of migrant workers.”
Noraini later told TOC that she would want to represent marginalised groups – such as the LGBT community or migrant workers – as “they are also part of us, they built us up, so it’s only fair that they have a chance for further help themselves.”
“To be able to share – not just the cake or the pie – the space with them, I think is a very beneficial thing to do. …Because if you displace anybody, chances are there’s a backlash. So any group feeling [left out], feeling abused, should be represented. So if I have a case to fight for, I will do so.”