SINGAPORE - The Progress Singapore Party (PSP) has rallied around its former secretary-general Leong Mun Wai, quashing rumours that he stepped down after a vote of no confidence.

On Feb 24, a party spokesperson said in response to queries from The Straits Times that Mr Leong resigned of his own accord – a move that came after he was issued a correction direction by the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (Pofma) Office.

The Non-Constituency MP (NCMP) remains a key member of the party and its central executive committee (CEC), added the spokesperson.

Mr Leong, 64, will contest in the next general election, said the spokesperson, adding that it is “premature to talk about which constituency when electoral boundaries have not yet been drawn”.

In the 2020 General Election, Mr Leong contested in West Coast GRC as part of a five-member PSP team that lost to the People’s Action Party (PAP).

On Feb 23, 2024, the opposition party announced that Mr Leong stepped down as its secretary-general on Feb 20 to take responsibility for the social media post he had put up that contained false information about a couple who purportedly needed financial assistance for their health problems but had been overlooked by government agencies.

Anonymous posts that surfaced on online platforms such as Reddit and Facebook on the same day suggested that Mr Leong was forced to resign and that there was infighting within the party.

When asked about these posts, the spokesperson said PSP will not respond to rumours or anonymous comments.

Following Mr Leong’s resignation, his fellow NCMP Hazel Poa, 53, was elected and assumed the secretary-general position on the same day.

Ms Poa, who was previously the party’s vice-chairwoman, said on Feb 24 that Mr Leong will continue to play a valuable role in the party and in Parliament.

“Being freed of party administration will allow him to devote even more time to his parliamentary duties and continue to push for accountability, a role that he has done admirably,” she added.

On the optics of how the PSP has had four secretaries-general, including her, since it was founded in 2019, Ms Poa said: “I believe that people’s confidence in the party, as well as party morale, is more determined by what we do as a party collectively, rather than a single factor of who is secretary-general.”

The party’s founder, Dr Tan Cheng Bock, a former lawmaker with the PAP, also weighed in.

Calling PSP an “evolving party”, Dr Tan, 83, said the CEC will continue to work together as a team towards its common objectives – regardless of who the secretary-general is.

He added: “Given earlier concerns about age, I should imagine people will be happy our secretaries-general are getting younger with each change, right?”

On Feb 24, a team of PSP members, led by CEC member Phang Yew Huat, visited Choa Chu Kang to engage residents there on the last day of the Chinese New Year.

In a post about the walkabout on its Facebook page, the party wrote: “Our groundwork to engage with residents never ceases!”

Political watchers said Mr Leong’s resignation as secretary-general would not adversely affect the PSP’s standing in a significant way.

Nevertheless, Singapore Management University associate professor of law Eugene Tan said he was “a little surprised” by the move now as Mr Leong has found himself in similar situations before.

Prof Tan noted that Mr Leong had made unsubstantiated allegations in Parliament on several occasions – necessitating his withdrawing them and apologising to the House.

In one instance in March 2023, Mr Leong withdrew an allegation over a bribery case linked to Keppel Offshore & Marine, and also apologised to then Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin.

Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam also called Mr Leong out on the same matter for acting in a “really unparliamentary and not acceptable” manner in putting out a Facebook post that contained improper and untrue statements following a parliamentary debate on the case.

Prof Tan said that while the party may be increasingly concerned about Mr Leong’s “antics”, the “dominant intent” is to showcase the party’s commitment to accountability.

He added that PSP will “almost certainly” highlight how it handled Mr Leong’s Pofma case when it goes on the campaign trail for the next general election – especially in West Coast GRC, where former transport minister and PAP MP S. Iswaran resigned after being charged with corruption.

Calling Mr Leong’s resignation a “strategic move”, Prof Tan said: “There may also be the intent for him to lie low between now and the general election so that the PSP’s branding is not under attack.”

Dr Mustafa Izzuddin, a senior international affairs analyst at Solaris Strategies Singapore, said the fact that Mr Leong is still a CEC member suggests the party will likely field him as a candidate in the next election.

But whether he will be fielded in West Coast GRC remains an open question, said Dr Mustafa.

He noted that Mr Leong has been raising issues of public interest in Parliament, crossing swords with the PAP, and becoming a recognisable figure among the domestic populace.

Thus, his decision to resign might be seen as unwarranted by some Singaporean voters in spite of the Pofma order, said Dr Mustafa.

But, as the party moves on with Ms Poa as its new secretary-general, Dr Mustafa said: “Perhaps what can be read here is that the party is seeking to rejuvenate itself and is getting someone younger, but still experienced enough, to take PSP into the next lap of its political journey as a credible opposition party in Singapore.”