DPP aiming to have a go in five constituencies
Democratic Progressive Party Secretary-General Benjamin Pwee poses for a photo on July 30, 2015. Photo: Jason Quah/TODAY
SINGAPORE — Just two years after he revived the dormant Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Mr Benjamin Pwee, 46, has keen ambitions for the coming elections, saying he has corralled enough potential candidates to gun for five constituencies.
While the secretary-general did not divulge the identities of his entire slate of 15, Mr Pwee said the teams he intends to field are made up of, across the board, professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs) in their mid-30s to late-40s. He added that they hold middle to senior management positions and have “experience in government, private sector and non-profit civic organisations”, citing architect Juliana Juwahir as one of the DPP’s potential candidates.
Mr Pwee explained that the make-up of his stable of potential candidates is so because their profiles mirror that of the majority of swing voters in many constituencies, by his estimates.
In an interview with TODAY, Mr Pwee, who contested in the 2011 elections on a Singapore People’s Party (SPP) ticket, contends that many PMETs in the sandwiched class are still saddled with a bag of issues and bear “a lot of political unhappiness”.
“The mid- to lower-class PMETs are the sandwiched class ever since the previous General Election, facing rising living costs, but slower rising wages. There is a lot of political unhappiness in this group, asking for political changes,” he said. “We have been speaking on key issues that matter to these PMETs, such as wages and jobs, education and promotions, Central Provident Fund and cost of living.”
His party is calling for “a more equitable distribution of national wealth to the bottom half of the pyramid, through more sustainable policies, rather than short-term handouts”.
He also described these PMETs as “discerning voters who will vote with their heads and not their hearts”.
Adding that the DPP wants to demonstrate that the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) is no longer the only party capable of attracting white-collar talent, he argued that government policies should be formulated with input from all political parties, civic groups and key stakeholders.
“The PAP no longer has a monopoly on talent, there is also a lot of talent in the private sector and civic groups that has not been tapped. We should consult them in developing policies in the best interest of Singapore,” said Mr Pwee. “We do not want to take a combative stand against the PAP, we just want to be constructive.”
Last weekend, the DPP, which last contested in 2006 under the Singapore Democratic Alliance banner, announced it is eyeing the single seats of Potong Pasir, Fengshan and Hong Kah North, as well as Bishan-Toa Payoh and Tanjong Pagar Group Representation Constituencies (GRCs). But Mr Pwee conceded that, out of these constituencies, he rates his party’s chances in Potong Pasir and Bishan-Toa Payoh — both were contested by his former party in the last elections.
“We have been walking the ground monthly, and we know the residents and they know and support us,” he said. Since January, party members have also been doing door-to-door visits in the two constituencies, he added.
On the DPP’s prospects in the remaining three constituencies, he was less sanguine: “Tanjong Pagar is very big, geographically speaking, while Dr Amy Khor has done a good job in Hong Kah North, in all honesty. Fengshan is just very new to us.”
While contesting in Potong Pasir would mean a head-on clash with his former mentor Chiam See Tong — earlier this week, SPP chairman Lina Chiam said the party would not budge from contesting the ward, even in a multi-cornered fight — Mr Pwee downplayed any potential tensions.
“Fielding a top-quality candidate in Potong Pasir is about winning it from the PAP, and putting one more credible opposition MP into Parliament,” he said — the ward was held by Mr Chiam for 27 years until PAP wrested it in 2011. “We have reached out a number of times to talk to Mrs Chiam, to jointly discuss and coordinate a common strategy to partner and together compete in the coming GE ... We have full respect for Mr Chiam and what he has done for Potong Pasir, and given his age and physical frailty, the opposition parties need to put the best man forward, to win Potong Pasir back from the PAP into fellow opposition hands.”
