• About Us
    • Fact Checking Policy
    • Ownership & funding information
    • Volunteer
  • Subscribe
  • Letter submission
    • Submissions Policy
  • Contact Us
The Online Citizen Asia
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • Comments
  • Current Affairs
    • Singapore
    • Malaysia
    • Indonesia
    • China
    • ASEAN
    • Asia
    • International
  • Finance
    • Economics
    • Labour
    • Property
    • Business
  • Community
    • Arts & Culture
    • Consumer Watch
    • NGO
    • Lifestyle
    • Travel
  • Politics
    • Civil Society
    • Parliament
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
  • Law & Order
    • Legislation
    • Court Cases
No Result
View All Result
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • Comments
  • Current Affairs
    • Singapore
    • Malaysia
    • Indonesia
    • China
    • ASEAN
    • Asia
    • International
  • Finance
    • Economics
    • Labour
    • Property
    • Business
  • Community
    • Arts & Culture
    • Consumer Watch
    • NGO
    • Lifestyle
    • Travel
  • Politics
    • Civil Society
    • Parliament
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
  • Law & Order
    • Legislation
    • Court Cases
No Result
View All Result
The Online Citizen Asia
No Result
View All Result

What next for the Singapore People’s Party?

by Terry Xu
19/10/2019
in Opinion, Politics
Reading Time: 6 mins read
0

The name, Chiam See Tong has been synonymous with Singapore politics for almost four decades, ever since he won the Potong Pasir seat at the General Elections held on 22 December 1984.
A Member of Parliament for Potong Pasir from 1984 to 2011, Mr Chiam See Tong became the Secretary-General of the Singapore Peoples Party (SPP) from December 1996 till the present day.
As he steps down as Secretary-General, handing over the reins at the party’s Ordinary Party Congress, it is perhaps timely that there is some form of reflection about the state of the SPP and also on its value proposition for Singapore politics today.
Who’s in line to take over?
If the SPP was a formidable party, there would have been a plethora of names which could have been put forward as its potential successors.
Good leadership means that leaders often spend time trying to groom its successors. Unfortunately, this is not something which the SPP has been able to do effectively, unfortunately.
Over the last 10 years, most news reports which came out of the SPP seem to be about the departure of party members.
For example, Desmond Lim who had supported Mr Chiam in the running of the Potong Pasir town council and the party’s grassroots, left in 2011, Benjamin Pwee who joined in 2011, left in January 2012 after the 2011 General Elections, and more recently, Jeannette Chong-Aruldoss also quit the party after about four years in the SPP. Others who have left include Alex Tan, Wilfred Leung and Hamim Aliyas.
News reports have indicated that Steve Chia and Jose Raymond appear to be in line as potential successors. Jose Raymond, who runs a communications firm, “Spin Worldwide” and was once Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan’s press secretary, joined the party in Oct 2017. Chia, a former non-Constituency MP from 2001 to 2006, joined the SPP about the same time Raymond joined the party.

Steve Chia and Jose Raymond
Both have not indicated in public whether they would accept the nomination when the time comes even though they have been named as potential successors to Chiam. Chia said that he was ’surprised’ that he was even in contention and Raymond put up a post to share how he would always ‘pay it forward’ for the help which Chiam See Tong gave his family when he was a teenager.
What about Lina Chiam?
While the OPC has concluded on 16 October, it is still unknown if current Chairman Lina Chiam would also be handing over the reins of the Chairmanship.
Mrs Chiam, who had served as an NCMP from 2011 to 2015, has not made it public if she would also be stepping down from the position and if she would accept a role on the newly minted Central Executive Committee of the SPP. If Mrs Chiam does decide to step down, then it won truly mark the end of an era of Singapore politics, and with some quarters saying that it was overdue.

Based on the current line up of CEC members, there does not appear to be anyone else who has the calibre or the gravitas to hold any of the two top positions apart from Chia and Raymond.
What is the role of the SPP?
Since Chiam See Tong’s failure to win Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC with his bold move to move out of Potong Pasir and losing the SMC at the 2011 General Elections, it can be argued that the SPP has lost its relevance in Singapore’s current political landscape.
A glance at its website and Facebook pages show how the SPP has not been able to put forward any policy papers nor has it been able to hold a national conversation of any kind. Unlike the Workers Party and Singapore Democratic Party, the SPP has not even conducted policy discussion at the national level.
However, while it has not conducted any national-level discussions, what it has been effective at doing though is the ground offensive in Potong Pasir over the last few years.
Jose Raymond has been a familiar sight for the residents at Potong Pasir for the past few years with his walkabout at the SMC. He has also successfully helped a number of residents to resolve their problems which even the current MP was unable to do.
This achievement hasn’t been replicated in its other areas like Bishan-Toa Payoh, Mountbatten or even in Hong Kah North. In Bishan-Toa Payoh and Mountbatten, the SPP has conducted house to house visits but its status in Mountbatten is now somewhat at a loss because of Jeannette Chong’s departure from the party.
Perhaps it can also be viewed that the SPP’s focus has been to take the electoral battle right down to a municipal level, so that its candidate was able to connect with people of the district. However, it is not known how the SPP would react if Potong Pasir is wiped off the electoral boundaries. With about 16,000 registered voters, Potong Pasir falls short of the 20,000 threshold for a single member constituency.
Will SPP be part of a Tan Cheng Bock-led coalition?
As of now, it is unclear what is the SPP’s position. While Tan Cheng Bock has been since at a Workers’ Party dinner and has also entertained the Singapore Democratic Party at his home recently, it is relatively unclear what would be the strategy of the SPP in relation to its relationship with the rest of the political parties.
Recently, in a cryptic Facebook post, the SPP posted that it “the information on Singapore People’s Party not accepting Dr Tan Cheng Bock as leader of the opposition movement is unreliable.”

But a few days later, it stated in a response to a query that it was not conceding any of its areas to any political party, despite the departure of one of its potential candidates.
This is in conflict with its Facebook post as what would be the scenario if a Tan Cheng Bock-backed candidate decided to stand in Mountbatten? By not conceding the seat would be tantamount to the party not accepting Tan Cheng Bock as a leader of an opposition alliance.
Has the SPP’s time come and gone?
Like major brands or companies, the key to survival is the need to rejuvenate and to keep ahead of the curve.
Unfortunately, while the SPP may have been able to secure a good catch in its potential candidate in Potong Pasir and having a real chance at winning back the SMC for the party, the harsh reality could well be that its time is up because of its own failings over the years and its inability to attract good candidates with professional backgrounds.
With its limited resources, it does seem doubtful that the party will be able to secure much success with the wards that it has been eying on, particularly Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC with 126,462 registered voters where it only won 26.4% of the vote casted.
Strategically speaking, SPP ought to focus on winning back Potong Pasir (if it is absorbed into another GRC) and use it as a base to expand out if it has the ambition to do so just like how Workers’ Party had Hougang as a base to groom their grassroots leaders and volunteer base. Because if it fails to win back Potong Pasir and for three consecutive elections, it will definitely find itself fading into irrelevance as other political parties are moving ahead at their own speed, particularly with Progress Singapore Party’s rapid expansion of its member base and ability to contest at any wards.
While some have stated that SPP is a party that has outlived its time, but I believe with the right leadership and direction. SPP can relive its former glory and continue the legacy of Mr Chiam of fighting for the people because of his love of Singaporeans.

For just US$7.50 a month, sign up as a subscriber on The Online Citizen Asia (and enjoy ads-free experience on our site) to support our mission to transform TOC into an alternative mainstream press.

Related Posts

Family of student killed in accident involving retired police officer, calls for transparency from Indonesian police
Indonesia

Family of student killed in accident involving retired police officer, calls for transparency from Indonesian police

04/02/2023
【财政预算案2021】2020年预算赤字达649亿元 占国内生产总值13.9%
AFP

China’s mega-rich move their wealth, and partying, to Singapore

04/02/2023
2024 Olympic torch relay to start in Marseille
AFP

2024 Olympic torch relay to start in Marseille

03/02/2023
India’s Adani shares plunge again after stock sale cancelled
AFP

India’s Adani denies rise due to Modi as shares fall again

03/02/2023
TotalEnergies says Adani exposure ‘limited’ at US$3.1 bn
AFP

TotalEnergies says Adani exposure ‘limited’ at US$3.1 bn

03/02/2023
India’s finance minister says markets ‘well regulated’ after Adani storm
AFP

India’s finance minister says markets ‘well regulated’ after Adani storm

03/02/2023
Subscribe
Connect withD
Login
I allow to create an account
When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
DisagreeAgree
Notify of
Connect withD
I allow to create an account
When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
DisagreeAgree
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Latest posts

Family of student killed in accident involving retired police officer, calls for transparency from Indonesian police

Family of student killed in accident involving retired police officer, calls for transparency from Indonesian police

04/02/2023
【财政预算案2021】2020年预算赤字达649亿元 占国内生产总值13.9%

China’s mega-rich move their wealth, and partying, to Singapore

04/02/2023
2024 Olympic torch relay to start in Marseille

2024 Olympic torch relay to start in Marseille

03/02/2023
India’s Adani shares plunge again after stock sale cancelled

India’s Adani denies rise due to Modi as shares fall again

03/02/2023
TotalEnergies says Adani exposure ‘limited’ at US$3.1 bn

TotalEnergies says Adani exposure ‘limited’ at US$3.1 bn

03/02/2023
India’s finance minister says markets ‘well regulated’ after Adani storm

India’s finance minister says markets ‘well regulated’ after Adani storm

03/02/2023
A man can be sentenced to death by a testimony of another, but CPIB finds it hard to prosecute with mountain of evidence and self-confession?

A man can be sentenced to death by a testimony of another, but CPIB finds it hard to prosecute with mountain of evidence and self-confession?

03/02/2023

Myanmar junta imposes tough new measures on resistance strongholds

03/02/2023

Trending posts

Former Singaporean shares change of life in Australia with annual pay of S$80,000 as a plumber

Former Singaporean shares change of life in Australia with annual pay of S$80,000 as a plumber

by Yee Loon
30/01/2023
25

...

They have done a fine job of confusing us about the jobs situation

They have done a fine job of confusing us about the jobs situation

by Augustine Low
01/02/2023
47

...

Adani’s brother runs SG company and registers as director with local ID

Adani’s brother runs SG company and registers as director with local ID

by Correspondent
03/02/2023
18

...

Singapore warns slower economic growth in 2023

Less than 1 in 10 jobs created in first three quarters of 2022 went to Singaporeans?

by Leong Szehian
28/01/2023
69

...

Earning only S$400 a month, delivery-rider turned hawker threw in the towel after two years of running a rojak stall

Earning only S$400 a month, delivery-rider turned hawker threw in the towel after two years of running a rojak stall

by Yee Loon
26/01/2023
24

...

Excessively charging for an essential need, and calling it affordable because people still can pay for it?

by Terry Xu
31/01/2023
40

...

October 2019
M T W T F S S
 123456
78910111213
14151617181920
21222324252627
28293031  
« Sep   Nov »

The Online Citizen is a regional online publication based in Taiwan and formerly Singapore’s longest-running independent online media platform.

Navigation

  • Editorial
  • Commentaries
  • Opinion
  • Politics
  • Community

Support

  • Contact Us
  • Letter submission
  • Membership subscription

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • Fact Checking Policy
  • Privacy Policy

© 2022 - 2023 The Online Citizen Asia

No Result
View All Result
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Commentaries
    • Comments
  • Current Affairs
    • Malaysia
    • Indonesia
    • China
    • ASEAN
    • Asia
    • International
  • Finance
    • Economics
    • Labour
    • Property
    • Business
  • Community
    • Civil Society
    • Arts & Culture
    • Consumer Watch
    • NGO
  • Politics
    • Parliament
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
  • Law & Order
    • Legislation
    • Court Cases
  • Lifestyle
    • Travel
  • Subscribers login

© 2022 - 2023 The Online Citizen Asia

wpDiscuz