Singapore — The Progress Singapore Party (PSP) held its first virtual fund-raising concert on Sunday evening (Dec 20) and brought in more than S$100,000 that, as one of the hosts said, will go toward its efforts to build “a more just and compassionate society”.
The star of the show was, without question, party founder and secretary-general Dr Tan Cheng Bock. Among the two songs he performed was Glen Campbell’s Try A Little Kindness.
Dr Tan told the people tuning in from their homes: “I think this song carried a lot of meaning for me because over the past two years, when I was trying to start this political party, I had so many kind souls coming to me and helping me. And in times when I was really down, they were there for me.”
He dedicated the song to them, as well as to all Singaporeans.
“If you like this song, please join us,” Dr Tan said.
For his second song later in the evening, the PSP head smilingly said: “Now they want me to sing a Mandarin song. And they all know I can’t speak Mandarin. I’m a Hokkien speaker. But since you all have chosen this song, I will try. And I hope my back-up singers will help me a lot.” And Dr Tan gave a heart-felt rendition of the beautiful Yue Liang Dai Biao Wo De Xin (The Moon Represents My Heart).
The party’s assistant secretary-general, Mr Francis Yuen, delivered a rousing and timely rendition of Feliz Navidad, followed by an original song, to round off the concert.
He said: “We stand for hope, transparency, openness, compassion, and accountability.”
More than 1,000 people joined PSP’s online fund-raiser, which was broadcast over its Facebook and YouTube accounts from 7.30 pm to 9.30 pm on Sunday. (If you missed it, and would still like to see Dr Tan, Mr Yuen and others in action, you may do so here.
Those who might still want to donate to the party’s cause, may also do so via PSP’s website.
A grateful Dr Tan said: “We’d like to thank our donors for their generous support and donations towards our cause. The support that we have received from our party members and supporters is heartwarming and I like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.”
Mr Yuen added: “We work hard and play hard and it is the time of the year for us to let our hair down and have fun. Kudos to Michael Chua and his team for putting this virtual concert together.”
PSP has hinted that this is but a taste of things to come, as it hopes to do a live concert when the Covid-19 pandemic is over. /TISG
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