Reform Party unveils first batch of six candidates

Reform Party secretary-general Kenneth Jeyaretnam (below) introduced the six candidates during a livestream on Facebook yesterday. They are (above, from left) party chairman Andy Zhu; human resources practitioner Darren Soh; Madam Noraini Yunus, who
Reform Party secretary-general Kenneth Jeyaretnam introduced the six candidates during a livestream on Facebook yesterday. They are party chairman Andy Zhu (left); human resources practitioner Darren Soh (centre); Madam Noraini Yunus (right), who works in telemarketing; assistant property manager Gurdev Singh; deputy treasurer of the party and director of an oil and gas company Mahaboob Batcha; and criminal defence lawyer Charles Yeo.
Reform Party secretary-general Kenneth Jeyaretnam (below) introduced the six candidates during a livestream on Facebook yesterday. They are (above, from left) party chairman Andy Zhu; human resources practitioner Darren Soh; Madam Noraini Yunus, who
Reform Party secretary-general Kenneth Jeyaretnam introduced the six candidates during a livestream on Facebook yesterday. They are party chairman Andy Zhu; human resources practitioner Darren Soh; Madam Noraini Yunus, who works in telemarketing; assistant property manager Gurdev Singh (left); deputy treasurer of the party and director of an oil and gas company Mahaboob Batcha (centre); and criminal defence lawyer Charles Yeo (right).

The Reform Party (RP) unveiled its first batch of candidates for the next general election yesterday - setting up a possible three-cornered fight with the People's Action Party and the Progress Singapore Party (PSP) in West Coast GRC.

During a livestream on Facebook yesterday, RP secretary-general Kenneth Jeyaretnam introduced six candidates, half of whom were part of the team that contested West Coast GRC in 2015.

They are party chairman Andy Zhu, 37, a marketing director at a real estate agency; human resources practitioner Darren Soh, 52; and Madam Noraini Yunus, 52, who works in telemarketing.

The Straits Times understands the party intends to return to the group representation constituency (GRC) it contested in 2011 and 2015, as well as field candidates in Ang Mo Kio GRC, Radin Mas single-member constituency (SMC) and Yio Chu Kang SMC.

Mr Zhu, however, said the party remains in talks with other opposition parties. The RP team led by Mr Jeyaretnam garnered 21.4 per cent of the votes in West Coast GRC in 2015. PAP won the GRC with 78.6 per cent of the votes then, led by Mr Lim Hng Kiang, then Minister for Trade and Industry. The team comprised Communications and Information Minister S. Iswaran, Ms Foo Mee Har and Mr Patrick Tay.

Last Friday, The Straits Times reported that PSP is close to finalising its candidates, who will join Dr Tan Cheng Bock's team in West Coast GRC. The team will include Ms Hazel Poa, formerly from the National Solidarity Party, and newcomers Mr Jeffrey Khoo and Mr Nadarajah Loganathan.

The final candidate is a toss-up between PSP assistant secretary-general Leong Mun Wai, former managing director of OCBC Securities, and party member Abas Kasmani, a senior trainer at a design and engineering firm.

Asked about opposition unity by a viewer of the livestream, Mr Jeyaretnam said the different parties have the same goal of wanting to see better checks and balances.

"In fact, we are pretty unified. We have been cooperating. We hope to avoid three-cornered fights."

RP is the first party to formally declare candidates. It is also one of four opposition parties that have been in talks to contest under the same banner. The party, together with Singaporeans First, Democratic Progressive Party and People's Power Party had said in January they intended to join forces. However, plans to register an alliance did not materialise and a bid to join the Singapore Democratic Alliance also fell through.

RP's unveiling of its candidates comes as the parties are in talks to have their members temporarily resign from their respective parties and join the same party for the election.

The three first-time candidates RP introduced yesterday are Mr Gurdev Singh, 55, an assistant property manager; Mr Mahaboob Batcha, 52, deputy treasurer of the party and director of an oil and gas company; and criminal defence lawyer Charles Yeo, 30.

In biodata sheets sent out by the party, Mr Gurdev said he is running because he wants to ensure the Singapore identity will not be diluted by an influx of immigrants, while Mr Mahaboob said he wants to represent concerns of Singaporeans in Parliament. Mr Mahaboob has been with the party since 2008, having first joined as a volunteer.

Meanwhile, Mr Yeo said the causes close to his heart are freedom of speech and reform of the education system.

He also said last night that the many technical glitches the party experienced during the livestream - the event began 11/2 hours late after multiple aborted attempts - were indicative of the types of challenges parties with few resources will face in the campaign.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on June 16, 2020, with the headline Reform Party unveils first batch of six candidates. Subscribe