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SINGAPORE – Former Reform Party (PR) chairman Andy Zhu, along with seven other former PR members, including former treasurer Noraini Yunus, formed a new political party.
The Singapore United Party (SUP), which now has 11 members, registered as a society on December 24, according to a notice in the Government Gazette.
The move revived rumors of internal conflict within the party, which is led by Kenneth Jeyaretnam. In August last year, Zhu and Noraini were not re-elected to the central executive committee (CEC) following unspecified allegations, including Jeyaretnam’s that Zhu had made changes to the party’s payment methods without official approval.
Mr. Zhu said at the time that his dismissal before the charges against him were resolved was unfair. It also refuted Mr. Jeyaretnam’s claim that the entire CEC had been unanimous in its suspension and that of Ms. Noraini.
However, 38-year-old Zhu, who had been the party’s chairman for nine years before being ousted, told The Straits Times on Sunday (January 3) that all parties involved had left the episode behind and that SUP had not it is a separatist faction of RP. .
“It’s common for people to go away and join (political parties) … Since I’ve been in PR for so many years, the people I know are mostly PR, so it’s reasonable that many of the SUP members it has ties to RP, “said Zhu, who will lead SUP as its general secretary.
“We are not a party that has split from RP; we are just a group of like-minded people coming together.”
An overwhelming majority of the party’s members are former members of the Republican Party, including two of Zhu’s running mates in Ang Mo Kio GRC, Darren Soh and Noraini. The PR team won 28.09 percent of the vote against the People’s Action Party team led by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
The only three members with no prior ties to the Republican Party are Joyce Tan, a former member of the Singapore Democratic Party; Mr. Choo Zin Chye, who is Mr. Zhu’s father; and Mr. Kenneth Zhang.
Zhu, who owns a food and beverage business, said the party hopes to address core issues, among other things, although it is still in the process of developing its manifesto.
“Some of our areas of focus would include the Central Provident Fund system, housing, education and health care benefits … From my past experiences walking the grounds in Ang Mo Kio and the West Coast, residents are much more concerned for those kinds of bread and butter issues, and I hope to better understand the residents’ needs, represent them, and get their voices forward, “said Mr. Zhu, who ran West Coast GRC in 2011 and 2015 as a candidate for RP, as well as Ang Mo Kio GRC in the 2020 general election.
Ms Tan, who is the president of SUP, said that SUP hopes to offer alternative policy proposals. “My biggest concern is that SUP is (seen as) credible in the public eye,” said the 35-year-old, who works in communications.
Criminal defense attorney Charles Yeo, who challenged Ang Mo Kio GRC along with Zhu and replaced him as party chairman in August, declined to comment when contacted and said the party will release a statement on the matter soon.
The Straits Times has reached out to Jeyaretnam for comment.
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