Tan Jee Say, the chief of Singaporeans First (SingFirst) party announced earlier today (Jun 25), that the party has been dissolved.
This development now narrows the field of opposition parties looking to contest in the upcoming general election to 11.
In a Facebook post, Mr Tan said that the party’s central executive committee had decided to dissolve the party as it believes a strong opposition is best achieved with consolidation.
“This decision was not made lightly, but we believe that this move is in the best interests of Singapore,” he said in the statement.
“Opposition unity and cooperation have always been a guiding principle of our party. We abided by this principle by choosing to avoid 3-cornered fights, as seen in the 2015 General Election when we contested in Juron and Tanjong Pagar GRCs”.
“Since then we have worked tirelessly to continue upholding the spirit of opposition unity. We have redirected quite a few who wanted to join us to other parties. Also, some ex-members are now active in different parties”, the statement read.
The statement made reference to two former SingFirst members, Dr Ang Yong Guan, and Mr Melvyn Chiu.
Dr Ang, SingFirst’s former chairman, has joined the Progress Singapore Party (PSP) helmed by Dr Tan Cheng Bock.
Dr Ang, who previously headed the psychological medicine branch in the Singapore Armed Forces, was named as a PSP candidate for this election.
Mr Melvyn Chiu, who was also from SingFirst, has joined the Singapore People’s Party (SPP). He will be contesting Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC in the upcoming election under SPP’s umbrella.
Mr Tan’s announcement comes just days before nomination day (Jun 30), and polling day (Jul 10). /TISG