4 NSP ex-council members resign, hope to join SPP

SINGAPORE — In the latest of a string of high-profile departures to hit the National Solidarity Party (NSP) since the 2011 polls, its former secretary-general Jeannette Chong-Aruldoss has resigned, taking three of the party’s ex-council members with her to the doors of opposition veteran Chiam See Tong’s Singapore People’s Party (SPP).

Joining him and his wife, Non-Constituency Member of Parliament Lina Chiam, at a walkabout yesterday morning at Bishan Street 24, the 51-year-old lawyer said she has applied to join the SPP, together with Mr Ravi Philemon, 46, Mr Bryan Long, 37, and Mr Osman Sulaiman, 39.

Their en masse resignations came after they lost their positions at the NSP’s latest central executive committee election, and followed several departures from the party since it put up the largest slate of candidates (24), after the People’s Action Party, at the previous General Election.

Those who have left include former chief Goh Meng Seng, his successor Hazel Poa and her husband Tony Tan, as well as Ms Nicole Seah.

Yesterday, Ms Chong-Aruldoss, who became NSP chief in October 2013, but was replaced by lawyer Tan Lam Siong last month, said she left the party because “I wanted to introduce some innovative ways of reaching out to people, but the comfort level was not there”.

On why she chose the SPP, she said: “The opposition parties are all closely connected and it is easy to talk to one another. There are no major ideological differences among the various parties ... but Mrs Chiam is someone I respect a lot. And I would like to help her in whatever areas she needs help with.”

Mr Osman, a human resource executive, said he followed Ms Chong-Aruldoss and Mr Philemon as he believed in their leadership. This would be his third move, after he left the Reform Party to join the NSP last year.

Mrs Chiam told TODAY the four resigned from their party before applying for membership to the SPP.

Political analysts said that while switching among parties was not surprising, the latest development could take some shine off the NSP.

Former Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) Siew Kum Hong said: “For better or for worse, it’s pretty common in Singapore’s opposition politics, where people switch parties.”

But Singapore Management University law lecturer Eugene Tan noted: “One could make the case that the departures would take away some shine from them because they would be losing two members who had contested in the last General Election.”

However, NSP president Sebastian Teo was unfazed by the departures. “We have enough members ... and we have some new, experienced members looking to join us — some of them have gone through previous elections,” he said.

But he conceded the party may have to reduce its slate in the next election, which has to be called by January 2017.

Although the SPP stands to gain by having these new members who already have electoral experience, the impact on its prospects at the polls remains to be seen, given that it has also lost several people, including former Civil Service high-flier Benjamin Pwee, said analysts.

Former NMP Zulkifli Baharudin added that consolidation among the various opposition parties will probably continue, with members coming and going because of the “lax” admission criteria that the parties have.