Full page report dedicated to PAP mole TLS.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/ge-not-a-personal-battle/2056274.html?cid=fbsg
SINGAPORE: Lawyer Tan Lam Siong says his decision to contest for the Potong Pasir single-seat as an independent candidate in the coming General Election (GE) should not be seen as a face-off with Opposition Singapore People’s Party (SPP) chair Mrs Lina Chiam.
“I don’t think it’s a personal battle between me and Mrs Chiam,” said Mr Tan. “I’m there because I think voters in Potong Pasir are entitled to an additional choice.
“People should not think I’m running against Lina Chiam. They should see all the candidates as fighting for the voters’ favour,” added the 54-year-old former National Solidarity Party (NSP) chief.
The constituency’s incumbent Member of Parliament (MP) Sitoh Yih Pin on Monday said he will stand again as the People's Action Party candidate in the upcoming vote, widely expected to take place in mid-September.
Mr Sitoh, 51, has been the MP of the Single Member Constituency (SMC) since he wrested the seat from Ms Chiam in the 2011 General Election by just 114 votes. Mrs Chiam, who is currently a Non-Constituency Member of Parliament, has said she will return to contest for the SMC.
Mr Tan rejected the “underlying assumption” that a three-cornered fight would grant advantage to the PAP.
“It could very well turn out to be the PAP losing more votes,” he declared. “If you have a two-cornered fight where people can’t see a better alternative, then of course you know where the votes will go.
“But if you have a better candidate in a multi-cornered fight, then I don’t think it is given the PAP will garner more votes. I hope to prove this assumption wrong this time.”
AT HOME IN POTONG PASIR
Mr Tan, who lives in Tanah Merah, says he initially intended to contest for Whampoa but the SMC was absorbed in to the revived Jalan Besar Group Representation Constituency (GRC) under the new electoral boundaries released last month.
On his eventual decision to contest for Potong Pasir, Mr Tan said the ward “is quite close to Whampoa and culture-wise, it’s quite similar”.
“The people of Potong Pasir are more ready to accept me as an independent than that of any other constituency,” he said, pointing to how SPP chief Chiam See Tong served the ward for 27 years, of which three terms were as an independent.
“Having walked Potong Pasir, I realise they have their own way of thinking, they’re more forthcoming in expressing political views, they’re very open to me about how they feel about current political choices, and they would like to see me offering myself as an alternative to what is available out there now,” Mr Tan added.
STRIKING OUT
Asked why he wanted to contest as an independent instead of joining a party, Mr Tan revealed that he had declined invitations from other political parties.
“It’s too late for me to change my mind,” he said. “As time passes, I’m doing more and more ground work and getting more intimately connected with the people. I can see their aspirations and I don’t want to disappoint them.”
Mr Tan, who left the NSP six months after he was elected as secretary-general, described joining a party in Singapore as being “in the thick of internal politics and encountering a lot of personal agendas”.
“I might as well free myself from all these problems and just concentrate on what I want to do, that is to be able to spread this message about positivity, nurturing a more constructive environment and giving people hope that things can be better if we treat politics the right way,” he said.
If Mr Tan is successful in his nomination this year, he will be the first independent to contest the GE since 2001.
He says he is not daunted by the possibility of losing the S$16,000 election deposit, should he fail to get at least 12.5 percent of the votes in Potong Pasir.
“We need to look at our priorities and what’s more important,” he said. “There are some things you just have to do, even if it comes at a great cost. If it’s worth doing it, you do it.”
- CNA/ly
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/ge-not-a-personal-battle/2056274.html?cid=fbsg
SINGAPORE: Lawyer Tan Lam Siong says his decision to contest for the Potong Pasir single-seat as an independent candidate in the coming General Election (GE) should not be seen as a face-off with Opposition Singapore People’s Party (SPP) chair Mrs Lina Chiam.
“I don’t think it’s a personal battle between me and Mrs Chiam,” said Mr Tan. “I’m there because I think voters in Potong Pasir are entitled to an additional choice.
“People should not think I’m running against Lina Chiam. They should see all the candidates as fighting for the voters’ favour,” added the 54-year-old former National Solidarity Party (NSP) chief.
The constituency’s incumbent Member of Parliament (MP) Sitoh Yih Pin on Monday said he will stand again as the People's Action Party candidate in the upcoming vote, widely expected to take place in mid-September.
Mr Sitoh, 51, has been the MP of the Single Member Constituency (SMC) since he wrested the seat from Ms Chiam in the 2011 General Election by just 114 votes. Mrs Chiam, who is currently a Non-Constituency Member of Parliament, has said she will return to contest for the SMC.
Mr Tan rejected the “underlying assumption” that a three-cornered fight would grant advantage to the PAP.
“It could very well turn out to be the PAP losing more votes,” he declared. “If you have a two-cornered fight where people can’t see a better alternative, then of course you know where the votes will go.
“But if you have a better candidate in a multi-cornered fight, then I don’t think it is given the PAP will garner more votes. I hope to prove this assumption wrong this time.”
AT HOME IN POTONG PASIR
Mr Tan, who lives in Tanah Merah, says he initially intended to contest for Whampoa but the SMC was absorbed in to the revived Jalan Besar Group Representation Constituency (GRC) under the new electoral boundaries released last month.
On his eventual decision to contest for Potong Pasir, Mr Tan said the ward “is quite close to Whampoa and culture-wise, it’s quite similar”.
“The people of Potong Pasir are more ready to accept me as an independent than that of any other constituency,” he said, pointing to how SPP chief Chiam See Tong served the ward for 27 years, of which three terms were as an independent.
“Having walked Potong Pasir, I realise they have their own way of thinking, they’re more forthcoming in expressing political views, they’re very open to me about how they feel about current political choices, and they would like to see me offering myself as an alternative to what is available out there now,” Mr Tan added.
STRIKING OUT
Asked why he wanted to contest as an independent instead of joining a party, Mr Tan revealed that he had declined invitations from other political parties.
“It’s too late for me to change my mind,” he said. “As time passes, I’m doing more and more ground work and getting more intimately connected with the people. I can see their aspirations and I don’t want to disappoint them.”
Mr Tan, who left the NSP six months after he was elected as secretary-general, described joining a party in Singapore as being “in the thick of internal politics and encountering a lot of personal agendas”.
“I might as well free myself from all these problems and just concentrate on what I want to do, that is to be able to spread this message about positivity, nurturing a more constructive environment and giving people hope that things can be better if we treat politics the right way,” he said.
If Mr Tan is successful in his nomination this year, he will be the first independent to contest the GE since 2001.
He says he is not daunted by the possibility of losing the S$16,000 election deposit, should he fail to get at least 12.5 percent of the votes in Potong Pasir.
“We need to look at our priorities and what’s more important,” he said. “There are some things you just have to do, even if it comes at a great cost. If it’s worth doing it, you do it.”
- CNA/ly
