SINGAPORE: The redrawn electoral boundaries for the upcoming general election (GE) have got many people talking online, including former Workers’ Party Member of Parliament Leon Perera, who riffed on a popular saying by writing, “Give progress a chance.”
The substantial changes recommended by the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee (EBRC) will see 22 of the current constituencies transformed and only nine unchanged.
According to Mr Perera, these changes “make it much harder to rework the boundaries in our Parliament and politics, even slightly”. He underlined how they are set to make things difficult for the opposition.
“Geographic zones that alternative parties have been working in have become diluted, mixed up, sliced, and diced in perhaps the most far-reaching set of boundary changes in a generation,” he added.
These changes would be all right if Singaporeans want to “maintain one dominant voice and one dominant narrative in our country,” Mr Perera wrote. However, he appealed to those who “see a value in alternative voices and political balance in our democratic society,” to “please consider giving whatever you can give towards that endangered cause”.
Mr Perera also shared a Facebook post from the Progress Singapore Party (PSP), calling on voters to “support the future you believe in”.
The electoral boundary changes in the western part of Singapore have affected the PSP, which currently has two Non-constituency MPs after it narrowly lost to the PAP in the West Coast GRC in the 2020 general election. Following the changes, the PSP said it faced a harder task getting into Parliament. Therefore, it appealed to Singaporeans for financial support for printing campaign materials “to help level the playing field”.
The post contained a QR code that links to an online form where donors can fill in details, as PSP said it needs to collect donors’ National Registration Identity Cards (NRICs) to comply with Government requirements.
“For the progress of our nation, Singapore needs more alternative voices, not fewer. PSP can only be as strong as your support makes us,” the party added.
Mr Perera stepped down as an MP and resigned from the Workers’ Party in July 2023 following a scandal due to an extramarital affair with former WP Youth Wing president Nicole Seah. Subsequently, he maintained an almost invisible online presence for many months. However, he was seen at the PSP’s National Day Dinner, leading to speculation that he might join the party and return to the political arena. In January, he announced in a LinkedIn post that he was moving to New York due to work. /TISG
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