SINGAPORE: Progress Singapore Party marked its fifth birthday over the weekend, posting several photos of members who had gathered together on social media and a message from the party’s newly minted secretary-general, Non-constituency Member of Parliament Hazel Poa.
“As we celebrate PSP’s 5th anniversary, on behalf of the CEC, I wish to thank all members and volunteers for your tireless efforts over the past 5 years. It has not been an easy journey. There were bumps along the way. But such is the path of opposition politics. Thank you for persevering and sticking it out till now,” wrote Ms Poa.
Her fellow NCMP Leong Mun Wai, who had been the PSP chief but stepped down after a correction direction under the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) was issued against him on Feb 15, 2024, shared the PSP’s anniversary post.
PSP chairman Tan Cheng Bock, who turns 84 next month, and Mr Jeffrey Khoo, a member of the PSP’s Central Executive Committee, attended the gathering.
In a Facebook post, Mr Khoo wrote that the members’ “time of sharing and bonding” had been “wonderful” and praised Ms Poa’s speech as inspiring.
He echoed the PSP chief in writing, “The road ahead will be tough, but if we band together as a team, we can achieve the impossible.”
As for Dr Tan, Mr Khoo wrote that the veteran political leader “shared his joy to see the party grow from strength to strength.”
Interestingly, Mr Khoo noted that “there are more youths within our ranks which will add more vigour and energy to our activities moving forward”, adding, “PSP is here to stay and ready to work for a better future for all Singaporeans!”
PSP’s beginnings
In early 2019, Dr Tan announced that he and 11 other Singaporeans had filed an application with the Registry of Societies for a new political party named the Progress Singapore Party.
In a Facebook post, he said he had the opportunity to speak to Singaporeans “from all walks of life.”
Hearing their concerns and fears and feeling their pains, he wrote that he “felt a sense of duty to come forward and represent them in Parliament,” hence the choice to form the Progress Singapore Party “to add another voice in Parliament” and “an alternative voice in Parliament.”
Dr Tan became PSP’s first Secretary-General, a position he held until 2021. Previously, he served as a Member of Parliament under the governing People’s Action Party at Ayer Rajah for 26 years but left the PAP when he mounted a presidential bid.
PSP was officially registered in Singapore on March 28, 2019, after the Registry granted approval. /TISG
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