SINGAPORE: Red Dot United (RDU) announced yesterday (26 Apr) that it has elected a new Central Executive Council (CEC) at its inaugural Party Conference earlier this month. The new leadership has been carefully chosen to lead the opposition party into the next general election, which political observers predict may take place as soon as mid-2024.
RDU’s party conference took place at the Jayleen 1918 Hotel on April 14. Party chairman Dr David Foo noted that RDU is among the few political parties in Singapore that do not have a cadre system.
He added that the party decided against the cadre system when they started three years ago because they wanted the leadership of RDU to be more accountable and transparent to all its members, not just a select few.
In presenting his secretary-general’s report, party chief Ravi Philemon said that RDU had 122 members and volunteers as of 31 March 2023. He added that their willingness to give their time, energy, and resources to support RDU is a testament to their deep commitment to shared values and vision for a better future.
The entire CEC stood down, preparing the members to vote for a new CEC. Dr Foo said, “This new CEC will most likely be the Party leadership which will lead us into the next General Election, so do think carefully about who you would have lead you into battle.”
Dr David Foo, Mr Philemon, and Ms Liyana Dhamirah were elected unopposed for the positions of Chairman, Secretary-General, and Treasurer, respectively. Besides the Office Bearers, eight Councillors were elected and co-opted into the Party leadership.
The eight councillors are IT expert Eddy Tan, educator Emily Woo, financial services advisor Mohd Fazli Talip, senior business analyst Mohd Feroz K, MNC director Pang Heng Chuan, noted independent researcher Dr Syed Alwi Ahmad, and lecturer Thu Yain P A.
Mr Philemon said, “I am happy that among our new CEC members is a Singaporean of Myanmar descent, Thu Yain. His being in our CEC will show everyone that RDU is an inclusive political party for all Singaporeans,” he added.
The new CEC also created the position of Organising Secretary (OS) for RDU. Mr James Gomez Jovian Messiah, a lawyer, was unanimously voted in for the position. He will be an intermediary between the Divisions and Sectional Groups of the Party and deputise for the Secretary-General (SG) in the SG’s absence.
“Any organization, let alone a political party, without renewal and succession plans is destined to self-disintegrate. So, the CEC was very purposeful in selecting Mr James Gomez, a lawyer, and our youngest CEC member, for this position,” said Dr Foo.
Asserting that this new CEC will be vital in setting the direction for the party as it heads into the upcoming election, Mr Philemon said, “I believe that the next General Election will be called within the next 12 – 18 months, and in preparing for that, the new CEC will shift gears to make us relevant to voters and try to propel us into Parliament.”