<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD class=msgleft rowSpan=4 width="1%"></TD><TD class=wintiny noWrap align=right>48417.1 </TD></TR><TR><TD height=8></TD></TR><TR><TD id=msgtxt_1 class=msgtxt>http://sg.news.yahoo.com/blogs/singaporescene/rejuvenated-sdp-emerging-chee-soon-juan-212449655.html
A rejuvenated SDP emerging: Chee Soon Juan
<CITE class="byline vcard">By Faris Mokhtar | SingaporeScene – <ABBR title=2011-04-22T21:24:49Z>Sat, Apr 23, 2011 5:24 AM SGT</ABBR></CITE>
Dr Chee pointed out that the public image of the SDP is now different as how it was viewed in the past.
Secretary-general of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) Chee Soon Juan said that a rejuvenated SDP is emerging and with a new public image as compared to in the past.
"I think you're seeing a very rejuvenated SDP emerging and as you can see from the candidates, the ideas are there, the platform is there and now we've got the candidates to back everything up, so we are very hopeful," he said.
He also pointed out that the party's public image is now different as how it was viewed in the past as some would associate it with confrontational politics and civil disobedience.
He alluded this change in perspective to the rise in new media which allows the party to projects its true image. "Now with the internet, you're seeing a very different ball game and that is translating into a very different kind of situation for us in the SDP," he said.
Dr Chee was speaking to reporters after the party's second batch of five candidates were introduced at a press conference on Friday afternoon.
They are business development manager Mohd Isa Abdul Aziz, 53; Dr Ang Yong Guan, 56, a psychiatrist; 58-year-old former teacher and now a businessman Sadasivan Veriyah; 45-year old marketing manager Gerald Sng; and Tan Jee Say, 57, investment advisor and former principal private secretary to Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong.
Only Mr Isa and Mr Sng has electoral experience under their belt, both having contested in Sembawang GRC in the last election.
With this new unveiling, the party will be fielding a total of eleven candidates. On Thursday, the party had announced its first six candidates.
It has been confirmed that the SDP will be contesting in the single-member constituencies (SMCs) of Yuhua and Bukit Panjang as well as the group-representation constituencies (GRCs) of Holland-Bukit Timah and Sembawang.
The SDP also unveiled its second batch of five candidates on Friday. (Yahoo! Photo).
Commenting on the party's slate of candidates for the coming election, Dr Chee said that they will be more than able to bring SDP forward.
"I think we are looking at a very exciting future for the party and we certainly will be pushing them forward and making sure that our party's objectives are achieved."
Among its newly-introduced candidates are two of the party's "prize-catch" who are also former senior government officials, Mr Tan and Dr Ang.
For Mr Tan, joining the opposition was not an easy choice, partly because being a former government scholar and official, he has often been associated with members of the ruling People's Action Party (PAP).
In fact he only made the decision to contest as a SDP candidate just two days ago. He also said that he had never discussed about this decision with any of his family members except for his wife, whom had been very supportive of his candidacy.
Apart from being the former principal private secretary to Mr Goh Chok Tong from 1985 to 1990, Mr Tan revealed that he also shared cordial relationships with some of the ministers including Mr Mah Bow Tan and Mr George Yeo.
"It's not easy because to people it's like you are biting the hand that feeds the mouth.
"I came from a poor family and without a government scholarship I would never make it to university and much less to Oxford. I'm grateful to them."
While he has a deep sense of gratitude towards the government and its leaders for allowing him to further his studies through a government scholarship, he stressed that "gratitude is not servitude".
"It is not blind loyalty; it does not mean giving up the sense of what is right and what is wrong, what is good and what is bad," said Mr Tan, adding that the government has lost both its way and moral compass.
Addressing the country's economic policies, he highlighted that one of the flaws lies in the country's emphasis on the manufacturing industry which has resulted in the dependence of foreign workers, leading to other problems.
"The emphasis on manufacturing as the prime mover of the economy has resulted in the dependence of workers, especially cheap workers and that has caused a lot of problems, depressing the wages and social problems."
Although he reiterated the stand that the party is not against foreign workers, Mr Tan also took issue with the number and speed of foreign workers coming into the country.
A different public image?
Weighing on this issue, Mr Tan said that while SDP used to have a public image problem, there is no more of that.
"It got a softer image to the credit of Dr Chee. He has changed, he has improved, he has learnt his lessons and we are moving forward. But I'm sure it's all for the better of Singapore."
He also pointed out that Dr Chee "is not the kind of demon that he was made out to be".
"He (Dr Chee) is quite an amenable, flexible person and that shows in the organization of the party is very well organized.
He has been able to attract very passionate people to work for him and for no pay, no salary, no material gain but just a belief that they have to do soemthing for the country," said Mr Tan.
Adding on, Dr Ang also said that the public perception of the opposition as a whole is changing.
"I think it's changing now. It's a symbolic meaning that we are trying to create and hopefully remove the fear of getting involved in opposition politics so that more will come forward," he said.
"As I said, to join the opposition must be as easy as joining the PAP politics, then indeed we would have arrived."
Having joined the SDP only just recently, Dr Ang who has been involved in the grassroots for more than 15 years also said that it is very difficult to initiate change from within the PAP because it is "overpowering and domineering".
"That's why I feel that the best is to work from outside and not from within. When you work from outside you can apply pressure and keep them on their toes and things move faster," he said.
This coming election will also see a number of former government scholars contesting under the opposition banner. They include husband and wife team Hazel Poa and Tony Tan of the National Solidarity Party (NSP) as well as Benjamin Pwee and Jimmy Lee of the Singapore People's Party (SPP) among others.
Commenting on this issue, Mr Tan says that it is a "good sign" that former government scholars are coming out and taking their stand in politics, despite the risks that it carries especially by joining the opposition.
"It is good that these people come out. There is no conspiracy or plan to rise in opposition to the Government but they do give encouragement to others and I'm, sure it rubs off subconsciously.
"There are enormous risks for anyone coming into opposition politics, we put risks to our career, family members and yet we are prepared to come out," he said.
Follow Yahoo! News on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.
This article is published by Yahoo! Southeast Asia Pte. Ltd., 60 Anson Road #13-01 Mapletree Anson, Singapore, 079914.
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A rejuvenated SDP emerging: Chee Soon Juan
<CITE class="byline vcard">By Faris Mokhtar | SingaporeScene – <ABBR title=2011-04-22T21:24:49Z>Sat, Apr 23, 2011 5:24 AM SGT</ABBR></CITE>
Dr Chee pointed out that the public image of the SDP is now different as how it was viewed in the past.Secretary-general of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) Chee Soon Juan said that a rejuvenated SDP is emerging and with a new public image as compared to in the past.
"I think you're seeing a very rejuvenated SDP emerging and as you can see from the candidates, the ideas are there, the platform is there and now we've got the candidates to back everything up, so we are very hopeful," he said.
He also pointed out that the party's public image is now different as how it was viewed in the past as some would associate it with confrontational politics and civil disobedience.
He alluded this change in perspective to the rise in new media which allows the party to projects its true image. "Now with the internet, you're seeing a very different ball game and that is translating into a very different kind of situation for us in the SDP," he said.
Dr Chee was speaking to reporters after the party's second batch of five candidates were introduced at a press conference on Friday afternoon.
They are business development manager Mohd Isa Abdul Aziz, 53; Dr Ang Yong Guan, 56, a psychiatrist; 58-year-old former teacher and now a businessman Sadasivan Veriyah; 45-year old marketing manager Gerald Sng; and Tan Jee Say, 57, investment advisor and former principal private secretary to Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong.
Only Mr Isa and Mr Sng has electoral experience under their belt, both having contested in Sembawang GRC in the last election.
With this new unveiling, the party will be fielding a total of eleven candidates. On Thursday, the party had announced its first six candidates.
It has been confirmed that the SDP will be contesting in the single-member constituencies (SMCs) of Yuhua and Bukit Panjang as well as the group-representation constituencies (GRCs) of Holland-Bukit Timah and Sembawang.
The SDP also unveiled its second batch of five candidates on Friday. (Yahoo! Photo).Commenting on the party's slate of candidates for the coming election, Dr Chee said that they will be more than able to bring SDP forward.
"I think we are looking at a very exciting future for the party and we certainly will be pushing them forward and making sure that our party's objectives are achieved."
Among its newly-introduced candidates are two of the party's "prize-catch" who are also former senior government officials, Mr Tan and Dr Ang.
For Mr Tan, joining the opposition was not an easy choice, partly because being a former government scholar and official, he has often been associated with members of the ruling People's Action Party (PAP).
In fact he only made the decision to contest as a SDP candidate just two days ago. He also said that he had never discussed about this decision with any of his family members except for his wife, whom had been very supportive of his candidacy.
Apart from being the former principal private secretary to Mr Goh Chok Tong from 1985 to 1990, Mr Tan revealed that he also shared cordial relationships with some of the ministers including Mr Mah Bow Tan and Mr George Yeo.
"It's not easy because to people it's like you are biting the hand that feeds the mouth.
"I came from a poor family and without a government scholarship I would never make it to university and much less to Oxford. I'm grateful to them."
While he has a deep sense of gratitude towards the government and its leaders for allowing him to further his studies through a government scholarship, he stressed that "gratitude is not servitude".
"It is not blind loyalty; it does not mean giving up the sense of what is right and what is wrong, what is good and what is bad," said Mr Tan, adding that the government has lost both its way and moral compass.
Addressing the country's economic policies, he highlighted that one of the flaws lies in the country's emphasis on the manufacturing industry which has resulted in the dependence of foreign workers, leading to other problems.
"The emphasis on manufacturing as the prime mover of the economy has resulted in the dependence of workers, especially cheap workers and that has caused a lot of problems, depressing the wages and social problems."
Although he reiterated the stand that the party is not against foreign workers, Mr Tan also took issue with the number and speed of foreign workers coming into the country.
A different public image?
Weighing on this issue, Mr Tan said that while SDP used to have a public image problem, there is no more of that.
"It got a softer image to the credit of Dr Chee. He has changed, he has improved, he has learnt his lessons and we are moving forward. But I'm sure it's all for the better of Singapore."
He also pointed out that Dr Chee "is not the kind of demon that he was made out to be".
"He (Dr Chee) is quite an amenable, flexible person and that shows in the organization of the party is very well organized.
He has been able to attract very passionate people to work for him and for no pay, no salary, no material gain but just a belief that they have to do soemthing for the country," said Mr Tan.
Adding on, Dr Ang also said that the public perception of the opposition as a whole is changing.
"I think it's changing now. It's a symbolic meaning that we are trying to create and hopefully remove the fear of getting involved in opposition politics so that more will come forward," he said.
"As I said, to join the opposition must be as easy as joining the PAP politics, then indeed we would have arrived."
Having joined the SDP only just recently, Dr Ang who has been involved in the grassroots for more than 15 years also said that it is very difficult to initiate change from within the PAP because it is "overpowering and domineering".
"That's why I feel that the best is to work from outside and not from within. When you work from outside you can apply pressure and keep them on their toes and things move faster," he said.
This coming election will also see a number of former government scholars contesting under the opposition banner. They include husband and wife team Hazel Poa and Tony Tan of the National Solidarity Party (NSP) as well as Benjamin Pwee and Jimmy Lee of the Singapore People's Party (SPP) among others.
Commenting on this issue, Mr Tan says that it is a "good sign" that former government scholars are coming out and taking their stand in politics, despite the risks that it carries especially by joining the opposition.
"It is good that these people come out. There is no conspiracy or plan to rise in opposition to the Government but they do give encouragement to others and I'm, sure it rubs off subconsciously.
"There are enormous risks for anyone coming into opposition politics, we put risks to our career, family members and yet we are prepared to come out," he said.
Follow Yahoo! News on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.
This article is published by Yahoo! Southeast Asia Pte. Ltd., 60 Anson Road #13-01 Mapletree Anson, Singapore, 079914.
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