PSP may vote new faces into CEC at party conference next week

SINGAPORE: The Progress Singapore Party (PSP) may fill its Central Executive Committee (CEC) with a host of new faces, at the party’s internal leadership conference next week if rumours swirling online are to be believed.

The current 12-member CEC includes chairman Tan Cheng Bock, vice-chairman Wang Swee Chuang, secretary-general Francis Yuen Kin Peng, and Non-Constituency Members of Parliament (NCMP) Leong Mun Wai and Hazel Poa.

The remaining six members of the current CEC are Peggie Chua, Ang Yong Guan, Harish Pillay, Muhammad Taufik Bin Supan, Phang Yew Huat, Wendy Low and Jess Chua.

A list with the names of proposed CEC members has been distributed to party cadres, according to a source familiar with the matter. The new list allegedly includes the chairman, secretary-general, and both NCMPs as well as Ang Yong Guan, Peggie Chua, Wendy Low, Harish Pillay, Muhammad Taufik Bin Supan, and Phang Yew Huat.

The list also includes eight new nominees: Nadarajan Loganathan, A’bas Bin Kasmani, Jeffrey Khoo, Lim Cher Hong, Kevin Chua, Jonathan Tee, Sarif Bin Johari, and Chika Tan.

Vice-chairman Wang See Chuang and head of the Youth Wing Jess Chua are missing from the list of nominees.

Concerns have remained about the potential lack of youth voices within the CEC, with most of the nominees being above 40 years old.

The majority of nominees are in their 50s, with some in their 60s. Party founder and chairman Dr Tan Cheng Bock turns 83 next month while secretary-general Francis Yuen, 73, is just ten years younger.

In 2021, Dr Tan asserted that it is a “myth” that all leaders must be young. He said: “It is a pity if we don’t use our retirees with so much experience and just push them aside to say that the young people must come out… We’re not looking for young people just to make everybody happy.”

“There is going to be leadership renewal at PSP, we’re expecting Mr Leong Mun Wai to take on a more prominent role in the party; he definitely has my support as the next SecGen,” said a senior party member.