RP unveils slate for West Coast GRC, Radin Mas

SINGAPORE — Reform Party (RP) chief   will be leading a team to battle for West Coast GRC again in the coming General Election, which will include election rookie Darren Soh, who had spent two decades in People’s Action Party (PAP) grassroots work.

Introduced at a press conference held at a hawker centre at Block 79 Telok Blangah Drive today (Aug 27), the other members of the four-man team are RP chairman Andy Zhu and Ms Noraini Yunus, while Mr Kumar Appavoo will represent the party to contest in the single-seat ward of Radin Mas.

Both Ms Yunus and RP’s candidate for Radin Mas SMC Mr Kumar Appavoo are journeymen in opposition politics who have contested in past elections under different banners.

Ms Noraini, 47, was part of the National Solidarity Party that contested Jurong GRC in 2011, and until two weeks ago she was a member of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), and was named by DPP chief Benjamin Pwee as one of its potential candidates for the Bishan-Toa Payoh team. Mr Kumar, 46, meanwhile, was a member of the Singapore People’s Party’s Central Executive Committee until last week.

Commenting on her move to RP, Ms Noraini said it was “last minute” and happened on Tuesday after the Writ of election was issued. “If you see me moving from one party to another, it’s because I believe serving (the residents) does not limit me to one party. Anywhere I go and get accepted, I will go there,” she said. Her brother has schizophrenia, and as such, mental health is among the issues she wants to raise if elected, as well as challenges facing the Malay community, she added.

Mr Soh, 45, was an active member of the PAP’s grassroots in Yew Tee, but came to feel that the ruling party was not doing enough to help Singaporeans. He crossed the political divide and joined RP because the late J B Jeyaretnam — Mr Kenneth Jeyaretnam’s father — who founded the party represented to him a politician who dared to speak up for rights of the common man. The property agent said he hopes to speak up for the low-income and elderly if elected into Parliament.

RP took 33.43 per cent of the vote in West Coast in 2011. Other wards it plans to contest this time are Ang Mo Kio GRC, where it took 30.67 per cent of the vote in 2011.

During the press conference, Mr Jeyaretnam maintained that RP will not enter a three-cornered fight at Pioneer single member constituency, but “is interested” to find out whom the NSP will field there. RP had a day earlier expressed interest in standing in Pioneer, should NSP withdraw.

“We haven’t heard anything from NSP, I understand they are still interested to contest there. A lot of things have changed since the meeting (with other opposition parties). We had agreed to give way to Steve Chia (who) performed strongly there in 2011,” said Mr Jeyaretnam.

Mr Chia, on the other hand, had planned to stand in MacPherson, before announcing his withdrawal from the upcoming polls on Sunday, following an online smear campaign against him.

RP will unveil its candidates for Ang Mo Kio GRC this afternoon (Aug 28). Names that have been bandied around for the six-man team include blogger Roy Ngerng, his former lawyer M Ravi and social activist Gilbert Goh.