SINGAPORE: The upcoming general election will likely be Progress Singapore Party (PSP) founder and chairman Tan Cheng Bock’s last, and if voted in, he will play a mentor role to a younger team who will look after the constituency.
“If we get elected, there will be this young team that will take care, and we have already put in place what to do, for example, starting the town council… all these have been identified,” he told CNA on Sunday (Apr 20).
“I will probably have to manage slightly differently, but I guess it won’t be a problem. As I always say, I want to mentor as many young people as possible,” he added.
Dr Tan, who turns 85 on Saturday, was speaking on the sidelines of his party’s walkabout at Taman Jurong Market and Food Centre.
He will lead a five-man team to contest West Coast-Jurong West Group Representation Constituency (GRC) consisting party secretary-general Leong Mun Wai, vice-chairperson Hazel Poa, and new faces Sani Ismail and Sumarleki Amjah.
Asked what has driven him to keep going in a political career spanning almost 45 years, Dr Tan answered without hesitation: “I think (it’s) the love for your country.”
“Because I also want to make sure… I want my grandchildren, my children, all of you young people, to have a good life,” he said.
He noted it is “not that the life now is bad”, but there are issues such as stress and the low birth rate that keep him “very worried”.
Speaking to the media on Sunday, Mr Leong said it would likely be Dr Tan's last election.
"We continue to need (Dr Tan) to be with us in parliament, to guide us to be outstanding MPs like him, always having the interest and welfare of residents at heart,” he said.
(Front, left to right) Progress Singapore Party (PSP) secretary-general Leong Mun Wai, chairman Tan Cheng Bock and first vice-chairperson Hazel Poa at Taman Jurong Market and Food Centre with PSP new faces (back, left to right) Sani Ismail, Stephanie Tan and Sumarleki Amjah on Apr 20, 2025. (Photo: CNA/Ili Mansor)
Dr Tan was first elected into parliament under the People’s Action Party (PAP) banner in 1980 for what was then Ayer Rajah Single Member Constituency (SMC). He served at the constituency for 26 years before stepping down in 2006.
He then ran for the 2011 Presidential Election, but narrowly lost to former Deputy Prime Minister Tony Tan.
He declared his intention to run for the presidency again in 2016, but the eligibility criteria for the election was revised that year to ensure it was a “reserved election” for a Malay candidate, preventing him from contesting.
He launched PSP in 2019 and competed under the party for West Coast GRC in the 2020 General Election but lost. It was the closest contest of that election, with the PSP garnering 48.32 per cent of the vote.
Looking back at his time in politics, Dr Tan told CNA that it has been a rewarding one.
“It was a rewarding journey for me, rewarding in the sense that at every general election, you learn new things, you learn new ways of managing things, meeting people, new people… it’s a very enriching experience,” he said.
He added that he has never regretted any decisions he made regarding PSP, but said that “a lot more can be done” with how the party is managed.
“I’m getting people who join us from different walks of life, different ideas, different ways of doing things, so as a leader, I got to understand… it’s a lot of management,” he said.
He added that he is also looking at renewal, not just starting from Mr Leong and Ms Poa, but from others who are with the party but have not yet put their names out in public.
“They are staying at the back, learning, and I told them, at the end of the day, when you come into the political arena, the conviction factor is very strong,” he said.
“You must be fully convinced that you’re coming here to serve, not to gain titles or accolades here and there.”
On Sunday, Mr Leong highlighted the party’s general plans for the west of Singapore.
One is to improve the facilities in the west, such as with public transport, so that the value of the properties in the west can “rise faster”.
Mr Leong also wants to bring more jobs to the west.
“We can expand our one-north cluster of high-tech industries, some of them can actually be moved further into the west of Singapore,” he added.
Lastly, to develop “a nice living environment” in the west, given that there is more land in the west compared to the east of Singapore, he said.
Asked about plans recently announced by the government to improve the west, such as new rail lines being studied, and the West Coast Extension, Mr Leong said that to put up plans to develop the community is “always the job of the government”.
“We want a stronger opposition to nudge the government, so that they are on time with their plan, and we debate them in parliament, to make sure that our plans are even better for the residents,” he said.
Reflecting on the last five years in parliament, Mr Leong said the top issues that he and Ms Poa have debated are bread-and-butter issues, such as the issue of jobs, housing prices and the cost of living.
None of the policies the PSP had recommended in parliament are “extremist policies”, said Mr Leong.
“They are all implementable… we have debated them in parliament, the government avoided a detailed debate, but we have stated our case very clearly,” he said.
He added that all the policies take into account the availability of fiscal resources the nation has.
“Fiscal prudence is also a principle of the PSP,” he said.
Mr Leong and Ms Poa’s time in parliament has also had a hand in attracting higher-calibre candidates for this election, the pair said. This includes the likes of former secretary-general of the Singapore Manufacturing Federation Lawrence Pek, who was unveiled as a candidate for Chua Chu Kang SMC on Saturday.
Ms Poa said that the visibility of the party had been raised with their presence in parliament, and has “made people more familiar with our policies, our thinking to various issues, so that they feel more comfortable joining us”.
Mr Leong said: “We hope now Singaporean residents and voters will know better what PSP stands for.”
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“If we get elected, there will be this young team that will take care, and we have already put in place what to do, for example, starting the town council… all these have been identified,” he told CNA on Sunday (Apr 20).
“I will probably have to manage slightly differently, but I guess it won’t be a problem. As I always say, I want to mentor as many young people as possible,” he added.
Dr Tan, who turns 85 on Saturday, was speaking on the sidelines of his party’s walkabout at Taman Jurong Market and Food Centre.
He will lead a five-man team to contest West Coast-Jurong West Group Representation Constituency (GRC) consisting party secretary-general Leong Mun Wai, vice-chairperson Hazel Poa, and new faces Sani Ismail and Sumarleki Amjah.
Asked what has driven him to keep going in a political career spanning almost 45 years, Dr Tan answered without hesitation: “I think (it’s) the love for your country.”
“Because I also want to make sure… I want my grandchildren, my children, all of you young people, to have a good life,” he said.
He noted it is “not that the life now is bad”, but there are issues such as stress and the low birth rate that keep him “very worried”.
Speaking to the media on Sunday, Mr Leong said it would likely be Dr Tan's last election.
"We continue to need (Dr Tan) to be with us in parliament, to guide us to be outstanding MPs like him, always having the interest and welfare of residents at heart,” he said.
(Front, left to right) Progress Singapore Party (PSP) secretary-general Leong Mun Wai, chairman Tan Cheng Bock and first vice-chairperson Hazel Poa at Taman Jurong Market and Food Centre with PSP new faces (back, left to right) Sani Ismail, Stephanie Tan and Sumarleki Amjah on Apr 20, 2025. (Photo: CNA/Ili Mansor)
45 YEARS ON BOTH SIDES OF THE AISLE
Dr Tan was first elected into parliament under the People’s Action Party (PAP) banner in 1980 for what was then Ayer Rajah Single Member Constituency (SMC). He served at the constituency for 26 years before stepping down in 2006.
He then ran for the 2011 Presidential Election, but narrowly lost to former Deputy Prime Minister Tony Tan.
He declared his intention to run for the presidency again in 2016, but the eligibility criteria for the election was revised that year to ensure it was a “reserved election” for a Malay candidate, preventing him from contesting.
He launched PSP in 2019 and competed under the party for West Coast GRC in the 2020 General Election but lost. It was the closest contest of that election, with the PSP garnering 48.32 per cent of the vote.
Looking back at his time in politics, Dr Tan told CNA that it has been a rewarding one.
“It was a rewarding journey for me, rewarding in the sense that at every general election, you learn new things, you learn new ways of managing things, meeting people, new people… it’s a very enriching experience,” he said.
He added that he has never regretted any decisions he made regarding PSP, but said that “a lot more can be done” with how the party is managed.
“I’m getting people who join us from different walks of life, different ideas, different ways of doing things, so as a leader, I got to understand… it’s a lot of management,” he said.
He added that he is also looking at renewal, not just starting from Mr Leong and Ms Poa, but from others who are with the party but have not yet put their names out in public.
“They are staying at the back, learning, and I told them, at the end of the day, when you come into the political arena, the conviction factor is very strong,” he said.
“You must be fully convinced that you’re coming here to serve, not to gain titles or accolades here and there.”
Related:
PSP’S PLANS FOR THE WEST
On Sunday, Mr Leong highlighted the party’s general plans for the west of Singapore.
One is to improve the facilities in the west, such as with public transport, so that the value of the properties in the west can “rise faster”.
Mr Leong also wants to bring more jobs to the west.
“We can expand our one-north cluster of high-tech industries, some of them can actually be moved further into the west of Singapore,” he added.
Lastly, to develop “a nice living environment” in the west, given that there is more land in the west compared to the east of Singapore, he said.
Asked about plans recently announced by the government to improve the west, such as new rail lines being studied, and the West Coast Extension, Mr Leong said that to put up plans to develop the community is “always the job of the government”.
“We want a stronger opposition to nudge the government, so that they are on time with their plan, and we debate them in parliament, to make sure that our plans are even better for the residents,” he said.
LOOKING BACK ON POLICIES RAISED
Reflecting on the last five years in parliament, Mr Leong said the top issues that he and Ms Poa have debated are bread-and-butter issues, such as the issue of jobs, housing prices and the cost of living.
None of the policies the PSP had recommended in parliament are “extremist policies”, said Mr Leong.
“They are all implementable… we have debated them in parliament, the government avoided a detailed debate, but we have stated our case very clearly,” he said.
He added that all the policies take into account the availability of fiscal resources the nation has.
“Fiscal prudence is also a principle of the PSP,” he said.
Mr Leong and Ms Poa’s time in parliament has also had a hand in attracting higher-calibre candidates for this election, the pair said. This includes the likes of former secretary-general of the Singapore Manufacturing Federation Lawrence Pek, who was unveiled as a candidate for Chua Chu Kang SMC on Saturday.
Ms Poa said that the visibility of the party had been raised with their presence in parliament, and has “made people more familiar with our policies, our thinking to various issues, so that they feel more comfortable joining us”.
Mr Leong said: “We hope now Singaporean residents and voters will know better what PSP stands for.”
Continue reading...