SINGAPORE - Former National Solidarity Party (NSP) secretary-general and lawyer Tan Lam Siong has declared that he will be running in Potong Pasir SMC as an independent candidate in the coming elections.
Speaking to reporters on Saturday (01/08) at the sidelines of a Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA) walkabout in Sengkang that he was there to show support for, Mr Tan said he made the decision after regular visits to Potong Pasir in recent weeks to speak with residents.
"I've been going down to Potong Pasir and Toa Payoh frequently in the last few weeks, especially after Whampoa was absorbed, and residents tell me they want a choice," he said. "I will be running there, and I won't be donning any colours this time around."
Mr Tan had previously expressed interest in running in Whampoa, where he had been working the ground and where he said he had become familiar with the residents there. But the SMC was merged with the reconstituted Jalan Besar GRC in the electoral boundaries report that was released last week.
Potong Pasir, which the People's Action Party's (PAP) Sitoh Yih Pin won over from the Singapore People's Party (SPP) in 2011 with a wafer-thin 114 votes, had already looked set to be a battleground, with the SPP and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) both having declared their interest to contest the ward.
But Mr Tan said he was unfazed by the thought of jumping into a four-cornered contest as he wanted to give voters there "real choice" and that he would "relish the fight".
"As an independent, I'm also not involved in the horsetrading talks between the different opposition parties," he said. "Let the people have all the choices, rather than preselect for them."
Opposition parties will hold their traditional pow wow session this Monday (03/08), where they are expected to divvy up the different constituencies with minimal overlap so that the opposition vote will not be split.
