On Saturday afternoon (9 November), the newest political party in the country, Progress Singapore Party (PSP), conducted its second island-wide walkabout.
Instead of opting for the conventional way of visiting and reaching out to people, the team decided to use public transportation like MRT and buses to go around the island in order to meet members of the public and introduce the party to them.
“Team PSP went underground and overground, on various forms of public transport on our 2nd island-wide walkabout conducted yesterday,” PSP said on its official Facebook page, aptly naming the outreach as “Trainabout”.
It added that its members “formed a total of 22 teams to once again, reach out to fellow Singaporeans to introduce Progress Singapore Party to the nation”.
“We received a warm reception from the ground. Thank you, Singapore!”
PSP also uploaded a video of the event on its Facebook where pictures of the members at various MRT stations and buses can be viewed.
Separately, the party’s secretary-general Tan Cheng Bock also took to his Facebook on Sunday to mention about this island-wide walkabout.
“Yesterday, Team PSP went on an islandwide walkabout. As most Singaporeans use public transport heavily on a daily basis, we too made our way around the island via MRT and buses,” he wrote.
He also noted that the teams received “many warm and wonderful encounters with Singaporeans from all walks of life” and thanked them for their kind responses.
First walkabout
Just two months ago, on 29 September, PSP conducted its first walkabout and visited residents of all 29 constituencies.
Calling the previous walkabout a “success”, the party said that nearly 300 party members and supporters walked the ground, meeting Singaporeans “from all walks of life” and listening to residents’ concerns.
Dr Tan also noted that the aim of the first walkabout “was to reach out to Singaporeans, keep them informed about our new PSP party and connect with them”.
Before the first official walkabout was conducted, PSP had informed other opposition parties regarding its plans via “a friendly courtesy noted”, said party assisted secretary-general Anthony Lee.
Mr Lee told reporters after the first walkabout that the other opposition parties had “wished them well” in response to the note.
Highlighting the prospect of working together with opposition parties in Singapore, Mr Lee said that the possibility of doing so “allows us to exercises more options, whichever will benefit people the most”
PSP is a new political party set up by Dr Tan Cheng Bock and it received formal approval from the Registry of Societies on 28 March 2019. Dr Tan had made the application to form PSP earlier this year on 16 Jan alongside “twelve likeminded Singaporeans” including “some ex-PAP cadres”. The symbol of the party which was unveiled in April is a red palm tree.
During PSP’s official launch at the Swissotel Merchant Court Hotel in early September, Dr Tan shared his thoughts on the current state of affairs in Singapore and what his party aspires to address in the future, such as rising cost of living, healthcare delivery system, fertility rate, and employment.
Dr Tan also called upon Singaporeans – young and old – to come forward and join him “in making a difference to Singapore”.