Veteran opposition members, activists meet with M’sian MP in KL, push for opposition unity

On Sunday, August 25, People’s Voice Party (PVP) Chief Lim Tean, political exile Tan Wah Piow and activist Leong Sze Hian held a discussion in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Their discussion, ‘Will the Singapore Opposition make a breakthrough in the coming GE?’ focused on political unity.

Tan fled the country in 1976, he said, after discovering a plot by the government to have him enlist for National Service, which is compulsory for all Singaporean males 18-years of age, with intentions to do him harm once he was in the military.

He was also found guilty of a rioting incident which he said was made-up by the authorities to implicate him.

Currently living in London, where he has been since his self-exile, Tan was also accused of being the “mastermind” of a “Marxist conspiracy” to topple the Lee Kuan Yew government in 1987.

Mohamed Nassir Ismail, an International lecturer in Business Administration and member of the People’s Voice Party was part of the group as well.

Mohamed Nassir Ismail, Lim Tean and Leong Sze Hian emphasized upon the need for opposition unity.

According to a post by Tan, he wrote, “Nassir Ismail addressed the issue of how to win the support of the disenfranchised poor and the plight of the Malay community.

Sze Hian addressed the issues of the squeezed middle class, and argued why living standards could be infinitely better for all with a different set of policy.

Lim Tean, the founder of Peoples Voice believes that there are more commonality amongst the Singapore opposition than differences. He explained it was unrealistic to expect everyone to merge into one party, and argued coalition politics could be made workable based on the experiences of countries such as Israel, Germany etc”.

While in Malaysia, the group also met with Malaysian Member Of Parliament for Petaling Jaya, Ms Maria Chin Abdullah.

Ms Maria Chin Abdullah known for her role in the Bersih Movement was imprisoned by the Najib Government for organising the last Bersih protest.

“But in 2018, she was elected as an Independent in the General Elections. She is now a member of the PKR party led by Anwar Ibrahim. She is the MP for the largest constituency in the whole of Malaysia. Petaling Jaya has 140,000 voters, the size of a GRC in Singapore!” Lim Tean wrote.

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