Tan Jee Say announces 'Singaporeans First' party

SINGAPORE — Mr Tan Jee Say, former presidential candidate, has announced the formation of a new political party, Singaporeans First, which pledges to put "Singaporeans at the heart of the nation".

At a press conference today (May 25), Mr Tan announced the formation of the party and unveiled his founding man team, which include ex-grassroot leaders, architects and former members of the Young PAP.

Of his team, eight have formerly worked in government agencies, seven are scholarship holders, and three are former PAP activists, Mr Tan said.

Mr Tan said that his party is keen to form a coalition party with other opposition parties for the next General Election.

The coalition plan will not dilute the impact of the opposition vote, he said, as there are still plenty of seats and the Workers' Party (WP), which currently holds seven contested seats, will not compete in every constituency.  It depends on how we work together, he said.

"We have enough people to contest in minimally two GRCs (group representation constituencies), maybe even three or four," he said, adding that he expects more people to join his party.

Party member Dr Ang Yong Guan - formerly of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) - said that the party's logo stands for thinking with the heart, and not just the brain, which he said the PAP has been doing.

In terms of policy, the party will focus on a strong safety net and having a fair society, Mr Tan said.

One of the party's goals is to remove the Goods and Services Tax and increase social spending, a proposal which Mr Tan said could be funded through the budget surpluses.

The party will also advocate for unemployment insurance and benefits to cover at least six months, he said.

He also said that the bus contracting policies announced this week is a public admission of failure, and accused the Government of taking ideas from the opposition, as WP and SDP have previously advocated for the nationalisation of assets.

Mr Tan said that Singaporeans First aims to be different from other political parties by focusing on specifics, such as the economy. "We also have the advantage of someone like me who knows a lot more about the economy," he said.

Mr Tan said that the new party had not been registered yet, and holding the press conference first was to gesture for supporters who had asked if they were ready for the next General Election.

Papers will be submitted to the Registry of Societies after the press conference, he said, adding that he expects approval to be given within two months, after which they will begin walkabouts.

The 11 founding members of the party are:

1. Dr Ang Yong Guan, psychiatrist and ex-grassroots leader
2. Michael Chia, retired engineer and volunteer social worker
3. Fahmi Rais, communications professional, ex-Young PAP and Legislative Assistant
4. Fatimah Akthar, architect
5. Dr David Foo Ming Jin, chemist, logistics professional and ex-Young PAP
6. Jamie Lee Swee Yan, certified SAP IT professional and project manager
7. Winston Lim, architect and town planner
8. Dr Loke Pak Hoe, Director of 3 multinational educational companies
9. Tan Jee Say, financial adviser, ex-civil servant, banker and fund manager
10. David Tan LK, educationist and ex-grassroots leader
11. Tan Peng Ann, social entrepreneur, retired SAF officer and ex-PAP grassroots leader