Peoples Voice party chief Lim Tean said yesterday that voters in Jalan Besar GRC should treat the election as a referendum on Manpower Minister Josephine Teo.
During a walkabout at Golden Mile Food Centre yesterday with his fellow candidates for the group representation constituency, Mr Lim accused Mrs Teo of being responsible for the Covid-19 outbreak in the foreign worker dormitories and described her as "one of the greatest failures in the 4G leadership".
He added that there is no basis to "absolve her of the failure" of the Covid-19 outbreak in dormitories, noting that she has had "a lot of time" to prepare for it since the first foreign worker was infected in February.
"She was either careless, or she didn't care, or she was complacent in recognising the dangers," said Mr Lim, 55, whose running mates are blogger and financial adviser Leong Sze Hian, 66, medical administrator Michael Fang Amin, 43, and business owner Nor Azlan Sulaiman, 48.
Mrs Teo, 51, is leading the People's Action Party's (PAP) Jalan Besar GRC team which includes Senior Minister of State Heng Chee How, 58, Ms Denise Phua, 60, and PAP new face Wan Rizal Wan Zakariah, 42.
"We feel confident that on the 10th of July, Jalan Besarians will reject Josephine Teo," said Mr Lim.
Jalan Besar is one of the oldest names on the electoral map.
Mr Lim, who was the former secretary-general of the National Solidarity Party (NSP), was previously part of an NSP team which failed in its bid for Tampines GRC in the 2015 election.
In the same election, the PAP team led by Professor Yaacob Ibrahim took home 67.7 per cent of the votes in Jalan Besar GRC.
Peoples Voice has now finished unveiling its new candidates.
On Thursday night, it put up introduction videos for Mr Fang and business financial manager Prabu Ramachandran, 32.
New faces
PRABU RAMACHANDRAN, 32
Business financial manager
Mr Prabu said he joined the Peoples Voice, as he believes the party is for the man in the street.
If elected to Parliament, Mr Prabu said he and his party will fight to "put people first".
The party will advocate for Singaporeans to take control of their Central Provident Fund monies when they turn 55, and "not have the government of the day make that decision for them".
In his introductory video, Mr Prabu also said that the party will push for Singaporeans to have "First World wages, to keep up with a First World cost of living".
"Singapore will be a more accountable and balanced place... with more alternative voices in Parliament," added Mr Prabu.
MICHAEL FANG, 43
Medical administrator and entrepreneur
Mr Fang said he has legally changed his Chinese name to "Ai Min", which loosely translates to "love the people", to reflect his dedication to the nation.
He got involved in politics last year, joining the Progress Singapore Party's policy team. He then moved to help the Red Dot United team, before settling into the Peoples Voice party a month ago.
He added that it does not matter which party he is in, as he is a "true believer in democracy" and is willing to share his ideas with any party.
The bachelor said he will fight to address the inequality gap in Singapore, propose alternative economic growth policies and look into improving the well-being of Singaporeans. He holds a medical degree, but does not practise.
