GE2025: Leong Mun Wai re-elected as Progress Singapore Party chief, will lead party into next General Election

SINGAPORE: Former Progress Singapore Party (PSP) chief Leong Mun Wai was re-elected to the party's top position on Wednesday night (Mar 26), and will lead his team into the upcoming General Election.

He takes over the secretary-general post from Ms Hazel Poa, who will be vice chairperson of the party. 

The leadership changes follow internal elections held on Mar 20, where about 100 PSP cadres voted in 12 members – including Mr Leong, Ms Poa and PSP founder Dr Tan Cheng Bock – to form the new central executive committee (CEC), the party's top decision-making body. 

Mr Leong previously held the secretary-general role from April 2023 until February 2024. He stepped down after receiving a correction direction under the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) for a social media post. 

"I’m honoured the CEC asked me to take back the position of the sec-gen to lead the party into the election so that we can scale greater heights," Mr Leong told reporters. 

"RELAY TEAM"

He said Ms Poa has done a "tremendous job" organising the party's structure for the past year, while he concentrated on ground operations.

"There's little change. Hazel and myself have always worked very closely together, so this change is like a relay team," he said. 

"That is how we do things in PSP, as a family."

Dr Tan was the party’s first secretary-general, handing the reins to Mr Francis Yuen in 2021, who subsequently passed the role to Mr Leong in 2023. Following Mr Leong's resignation, Ms Poa assumed the position until the latest reshuffle. 

Ms Poa said she was happy with the new arrangement.

"Mun Wai is ready to resume the duties of the sec-gen again and I personally have some new responsibilities coming up as a foster parent, which will take up quite a bit of my time," she told reporters.

"This arrangement suits us well," she said.

Dr Tan said there was "no contest" for the post of secretary-general.

"It is just that Hazel wanted to pass the baton back to Mun Wai," he said, describing PSP as a group that makes decisions in a collective way.

He pointed out that Ms Poa and another CEC member Mr S Nallakaruppan are taking on positions they have held before, as vice chairperson and treasurer.

"If you notice, there's not much change. There's no contest, so it's a smooth changeover. And main concern now, of course, is the General Elections," he said.

Dr Tan said this line-up is "of course" the best one for the party, adding that PSP brought in younger people to the CEC to show them how an election should be conducted and managed.

He also said Mr Leong had to own up to his mistake when he was issued a POFMA order.

"That's the spirit of our leaders, if you do something that's not proper, you step down, but (you) will come back again. That is the way good politicians should conduct themselves," he said.

Mr Leong echoed Dr Tan's sentiment, saying that politicians should take responsibility for their mistakes, but should step back up when the situation calls for it.

"That's what I'm going to do."

Both Mr Leong and Ms Poa currently hold the party’s two Non-Constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) seats. In the 2020 General Election, the PSP team secured 48.31 per cent of the vote in West Coast GRC against a People's Action Party team led by former transport minister S Iswaran. It was the narrowest margin in that election, earning PSP the two NCMP seats.

The new CEC members and their positions are as follows:

• Tan Cheng Bock, chairman
• Hazel Poa, first vice chairperson
• A'bas bin Kasmani, second vice chairperson
• Leong Mun Wai, secretary-general
• S Nallakaruppan, treasurer
• Jonathan Tee, assistant treasurer
• Phang Yew Huat, organising secretary
• Soh Zheng Long, deputy organising secretary (logistics)
• Wendy Low, head of women's wing
• Samuel Lim, head of youth wing
• Anthony Neo, head of membership
• Joseph Wong, head of special projects