PSP ready to contest in three-cornered fights 'if we need to': Tan Cheng Bock

SINGAPORE — Progress Singapore Party is ready for three-cornered fights in the upcoming General Election (GE), secretary-general Tan Cheng Bock said on Friday (June 19), adding that such fights may be difficult to avoid as new parties like his come up against those that ran in past GEs and want to return to the wards they previously contested.

Speaking to members of the media at Mayflower Market and Food Centre, Dr Tan said: “We don’t want to have three-cornered fights, but if we need to, what can we do? It is not our choice... I’m looking forward to a mature electorate, who can discern who is a good candidate and who is not a good candidate, which party is worthy to represent them in Parliament.” 

Dr Tan was having breakfast at the market with four other potential candidates of the party: Chartered accountant Kayla Low, psychiatrist Ang Yong Guan, former publisher of sociopolitical website The Independent Singapore Kumaran Pillai and central executive committee member Michael Chua. 

He did not reveal if any of them would be running as a candidate at Kebun Baru, a Single Member Constituency (SMC) where the meeting took place, and one that PSP has said it plans to contest in. 

The SMC was first formed in 1980 and in 1991 was absorbed into the Ang Mo Kio Group Representation Constituency (GRC) and redrawn into Nee Soon GRC in 2015. It will return as an SMC during the upcoming GE. 

Dr Tan said that avoiding three-cornered fights will be difficult, as PSP is a new party that has never contested in past GEs. 

“Some of the wards have been fought before by other political parties,” said Dr Tan. “But I think you cannot ‘chope’ a place.”

His comments come a day after People’s Power Party secretary-general Goh Meng Seng said in a Facebook post that his party might “go into a big clash with PSP”, as talks between them to avoid contesting in the same wards have not been successful. 

“Offers and proposals have been made by both sides but there is a great gap in between the basic understanding of the strategic directions,” Mr Goh had said. 

On Friday, Dr Tan said that he had spoken with members of other political parties over video conferencing, but did not elaborate on the outcome of these meetings. 

“At the end of the day, how they are going to contest is their own parties’ choice.” 

Besides Kebun Baru, PSP has indicated its interest in contesting in 14 other constituencies: West Coast GRC, Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, Marymount SMC, Chua Chu Kang GRC, Tanjong Pagar GRC, Yuhua SMC, Sembawang GRC, Jalan Besar GRC, Pioneer SMC, Nee Soon GRC, Hong Kah North SMC, Yio Chu Kang SMC, Jurong GRC and Radin Mas SMC.

When Dr Tan was a member of the People's Action Party, he had been the Member of Parliament for the former Ayer Rajah SMC — which was absorbed into West Coast GRC in 2006 — for six consecutive terms. 

When asked whether PSP planned to run in West Coast GRC, Dr Tan declined to comment. Neither did he reveal how many candidates the party plans to field in total in the upcoming GE, which has to be held by April 2021. 

The party has so far revealed six candidates and said there will be more to come.