Tan Cheng Bock’s Progress Singapore Party opens new headquarters

SINGAPORE — Dr Tan Cheng Bock’s fledgling Progress Singapore Party (PSP) on Monday (Jan 27) officially opened its new headquarters in Bukit Timah Shopping Centre, where he said it will be based “for the long haul”.

Dr Tan, the party’s 79-year-old secretary-general, said: “It tells Singaporeans… we are not just here for the moment, we are here for a long, long time.”

The new headquarters, located on the 14th floor of the shopping mall, will enable the party to host its own events.

Speaking to around 40 party members and the media, Dr Tan said: “We will no longer be pushed from hotel to hotel, or from establishment to establishment.”

The PSP’s launch event slated for last June at the Singapore Expo was postponed and eventually held at the Swissotel Merchant Court hotel in August, as the party said then that it had not received the necessary permits.

But the police subsequently clarified that the authorities were proactively engaging the party with the intent of facilitating the permits before the planned date. However, the party postponed the event of their own accord, the police said.

In a press conference after his speech on Monday, Dr Tan said it had been “really difficult” to source for places to hold the party’s various events, including seminars and meet-the-people sessions.

He added that he had looked at several locations before deciding on Bukit Timah Shopping Centre.

When asked if the location is indicative of where the PSP will contest, Dr Tan did not give a straight answer, stating that the location is important as it is “a central point for me to move all over the island” — including Ang Mo Kio, he said.

He did not reveal the cost of the premises.

Dr Tan officiated the launch with a ribbon-cutting ceremony, followed by a performance by a lion dance troupe in the sparsely furnished office.

The property will be used for a range of party events.

“Apart from being the central location for PSP meetings, the PSP’s new headquarters will also hold other member events such as talks and seminars,” the party said in a statement.