Tan Cheng Bock or Lee Hsien Yang – is someone eyeing Tanjong Pagar?

Progress Singapore Party (PSP) seems to keep hitting headlines. First with the bombshell of Lee Hsien Yang, estranged brother of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, joining PSP on Wednesday (24 June), and now, the indication that Dr Tan Cheng Bock, chief of PSP, may drop West Coast group representation constituency (GRC) to contest in Tanjong Pagar GRC instead. 

Hosting a Facebook Live titled “Homecoming: Stories of Tanjong Pagar” on Saturday (27 June) at 8pm, Dr Tan and his fellow members will be recounting their fondest memories of Tanjong Pagar. 

“In many ways, Tanjong Pagar is a microcosm of Singapore due to the diversity of Singaporeans who live in the area. It was also a place central to Singapore’s development and many of our members grew up in the area, including Dr Tan Cheng Bock. Come join them as they share what the Tanjong Pagar of old means to them,’ reads the description of the event. 

Naturally, speculation erupted. With Hsien Yang joining the PSP, is Dr Tan going to team up with him to put forth a formidable fight for Tanjong Pagar GRC, seeing how Hsien Yang is strengthening their political standing? The significance of Tanjong Pagar associated with Hsien Yang is of course that it was the GRC where his father, the late Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, was a Member of Parliament all the way till his passing.

It is also interesting that Dr Tan chose Tiong Bahru Market, located in Tanjong Pagar GRC, to hold the membership presentation ceremony to Hsien Yang. He has not revealed if he will be contesting. During the Facebook Live, some unexpected announcements may be made. 

Perhaps that is why the People’s Action Party (PAP) has not announced their candidates for Tanjong Pagar GRC yet. They might also be playing the waiting game with PSP. It is currently held by Minister Chan Chun Sing of the PAP, who dipped in public approval when he called Singaporeans “idiots” and “disgraceful” at a private dialogue in February.

A Dr Tan-Hsien Yang team may cause an upset in this highly-publicized GRC. And if they do, what PSP would have gained is symbolism, because Hsien Yang took his father’s GRC away from his brother; and in politics, symbolism chips away slowly and goes a long way.