GE2025: PSP confirms it will contest Marymount, Kebun Baru, Pioneer SMCs again
[SINGAPORE] The opposition Progress Singapore Party (PSP) will be returning to contest the Marymount, Kebun Baru and Pioneer SMCs in the upcoming general election, with party leaders saying they would confirm their candidates closer to Nomination Day.
Party leaders were spotted on walkabouts in the various constituencies with potential candidates on the morning of Saturday (Apr 12).
Marymount
PSP secretary-general Leong Mun Wai told reporters on the sidelines of a walkabout at Bishan North Shopping Mall that the party has not decided on the candidate it will field in Marymount.
This will be made public before or on Nomination Day, said Leong, who was joined by former PSP central executive committee member Jeffrey Khoo on the walkabout.
Leong said: “We think that Marymount residents have indicated to us in the last round that they would consider PSP as a credible alternative in Marymount.
“So I look forward to a breakthrough this round.”
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Asked if Khoo’s presence at the walkabout indicates that he will likely be PSP’s candidate in Marymount, Leong said the party is still looking at its best line-up.
Khoo said PSP has been doing walkabouts in the constituency and that “it is a place that is close to our hearts”.
“We do hope that the Marymount residents will give us an opportunity for us to serve them in Parliament,” he added.
Marymount SMC was carved out of Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC before the 2020 General Election.
The PSP’s candidate, Dr Ang Yong Guan, contested the constituency against Gan Siow Huang from the People’s Action Party and lost with 44.96 per cent of the vote.
PSP’s return to Marymount sets the stage for a multi-cornered fight in the SMC.
In a Facebook post on Mar 11, Lim Tean, the secretary-general of opposition coalition People’s Alliance for Reform (PAR), indicated that it will be contesting in two group representation constituencies and eight single-member constituencies, including Marymount.
Leong said PSP has not spoken to PAR yet, but will do so after Saturday.
In March, Gan, who is minister of state for education and manpower, told The Straits Times that she hopes to contest Marymount SMC again.
Gan, who was also at Bishan North Shopping Mall on Saturday, said it is good that residents will “have a choice” at Marymount, and her team will stay focused on helping residents, improving the town and preparing for the election.
She told ST: “I expect a fierce fight. But this time around, we have built a much stronger team. We have a team of diverse people who are residents here as well, and know the local issues, know the neighbours. So I feel confident and we are ready.”
Kebun Baru
At the party’s walkabout at Kebun Baru’s Mayflower Market, PSP first vice-chairperson Hazel Poa also did not confirm who PSP would field in that constituency.
Poa was joined by her husband, Tony Tan – who she described as “one of the potential candidates”.
She told reporters that the party is “keeping (its) options open”, adding that the party could decide to field her or Leong in a SMC.
The duo previously contested in West Coast GRC in the 2020 General Election.
Besides the three SMCs, the PSP has so far said it intends to field teams in the West Coast-Jurong West and Chua Chu Kang GRCs.
Asked how many constituencies it would contest, Poa said the party would release more information when it was ready.
Speaking to reporters, Tan said: “I think the high cost of living and the economic uncertainty is going to weigh heavily on our society, stretching our social fabric. There will be Singaporeans who feel left behind, or are left behind, and I think we as a country can do more for them.”
PSP contested Kebun Baru SMC in GE2020. The party’s Kumaran Pillai lost to PAP’s Henry Kwek, who won with a vote share of 62.92 per cent.
On Saturday, Poa and her PSP team bumped into Kwek who was also meeting residents at the Mayflower Market.
The duo shook hands as residents looked on. Later, Kwek wrote on Facebook that he noticed media reports stating that PSP’s Tan might be standing as a candidate in the constituency.
“Kebun Baru is a close-knit community that values sincerity, service, and action. I trust that all who step forward do so with the best intentions for our people,” he said.
Pioneer
Speaking to the media at 652 Jurong West Street 61, PSP founder and chairman Tan Cheng Bock said on Saturday that the party will be contesting the Pioneer SMC, but will decide who to field closer to Nomination Day.
He was joined by former PSP candidate Lim Cher Hong – who contested the SMC in GE2020 – and the party’s new face Stephanie Tan.
Stephanie Tan, who is turning 38 in 2025, is a full-time homemaker with a law degree from the National University of Singapore. She has two young children.
Lim, who is turning 47 in 2025, is a businessman who owns a risk management consultancy firm. He garnered 35.22 per cent of the vote in a three-cornered fight for Pioneer in GE2020, losing to PAP’s Patrick Tay. The third candidate then, Cheang Peng Wah, ran as an independent and received 2.78 per cent of the vote.
Dr Tan said on Saturday that PSP’s candidates will have to get a feel of the constituency.
“They have to learn. Every constituency has its new things for the new candidates to learn,” he said.
He pointed out that while the party intends to contest the three SMCs, it was not ruling out fielding candidates in other areas.
“But we have to be realistic, we work within our means and also our capabilities,” he added.
The party fielded 24 candidates in GE2020 – the biggest opposition slate then.
Meanwhile, Tan said she is concerned about issues that affect children, including education and mental health.
“When we do our education policies well, we can directly create a happy and healthy childhood for our kids,” she said. THE STRAITS TIMES
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