The Progress Singapore Party (PSP) announced its final slate of candidates who will be participating in the upcoming General Election (GE) via an online press conference held on Friday (26 June).
Introducing them to the press was PSP secretary-general Dr Tan Cheng Bock, who himself will be contesting in next month’s GE in West Coast GRC.
First to be introduced was Jeffrey Khoo. Mr Khoo, 51, is a botanist who graduated from the National University of Singapore and currently serves as the chief marketing officer for a multinational corporation in the insurance sector.
His extensive experience on agriculture insurance has took him all over the region and the globe to speak at conferences. Mr Khoo’s experience with volunteering has also led him to develop underlying concern for middle aged and qualified Singaporean PMETs who are challenged by finding a suitable job that matches their skills and qualifications.
Next is another young gun, 29-year-old Terence Soon who is a pilot at Singapore Airlines. Before joining SIA, Mr Soon ran his own business in the private aviation industry. The young politician started his own business while in university, and is a firm supporter of enterprise and enabling youths to start their own ventures.
The next candidate introduced by PSP is another military officer, Kala Manickam. The 52-year-old was part of the first batch of woman officer integrated in Tri service where she trained side-by-side with her male colleagues. She stayed on in Officer Cadet School (OCS) as the Platoon Commander of the Women Wing.
After her seven year stint with the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), Mdm Manickam went into the private sector, where she helped set up an on-the-job training centre and was certified with the Institute of Technical Education (ITE). She has 26 years of experience in this field of human resource development and management.
Mdm Manickam’s three-fold political objectives are to build a foundation for the nation based on transparency, accountability, and independence; level the playing field in every aspect from education to cost of living, employability and politics; and create a fundamental shift from the dominant power to the masses to create equity and equality.
Next up was author and chartered financial consultant Lim Cher Hong. Mr Lim has experience in the financial industry as well as with working with elderly Singaporeans during his time with the Silver Generation Office where he managed a team of volunteers to help seniors navigate various assistance schemes.
Another candidate introduced was Abdul Rahman, 68. Mr Rahman started his career with the Singapore Fire Brigade back in 1975 and is not a Fellow with the Institute of Fire Engineers UK. Apart from that, he is involved in engineering and maintenance design, having worked on the IBM Towers and Marco Polo Hotel, rising to become the Divisional Manager of WH Brennan, and Regional Manager of Fabristeel Pte Ltd. He is current attached to Parsons International as the Consulting Engineering, specialising in Fire and Life Safety audit and design.
Mr Rahman is focused on assisting the 250,000 people in Singapore who live below the poverty line, especially helping disadvantaged children break out of the poverty cycle via taking a deeper look at existing policies.
The final candidate introduced by PSP for the day is the party’s assistant secretary-general, Leong Mun Wai, 60. Mr Leong is a former Managing Director of OCBC Securities, Director of Merill Lynch Hong Kong, and Investment Office of GIC.
In his 30 years of work experience, he has led multi-billion dollar financial institutions and helped hundreds of public listed companies and start-ups to raise capital and expand their business. The Chartered Financial Analyst also founded venture capital firm Timbre Capital which proides capital and business advice to local start-ups and SMEs.
Mr Leong notes that he is interested in pushing for a new economic strategy that would offer more jobs and opportunities to enterprising Singaporeans and lighten the financial burdens of all Singaporeans.
