SINGAPORE - Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) chief Chee Soon Juan began a four-day-long walk around the island on Thursday (Nov 12) morning at Hong Lim Park.

Titled Walk The Talk, the 140km-long walkabout aims to raise funds for the party as well as raise public awareness of it.

"We're trying to raise funds for the programs we'll undertake over the next four, five years until the next GE, including training our potential candidates... and this is one way of doing it. And it's something that hopefully catches the attention of the public," said Dr Chee, who is secretary-general of the SDP.

In September's general election, SDP contested 11 seats and won none but got the second highest share of votes among the opposition parties.

Dr Chee, 53, aims to cover 30km on Thursday and travel on foot from Hong Lim Park to the western part of the island.

He will then cover eastern Singapore and conclude the walk on Sunday with a rally at the Speakers' Corner. The party will be posting updates on his progress on Facebook.

At the flag-off on Thursday, he was joined by four supporters: three SDP central executive committee members and one party volunteer. They posed for a photograph before Dr Chee, dressed in a white T-shirt printed with the SDP's logo and carrying a duffel bag and sleeping bag, set off along New Bridge Road.

Dr Chee plans to sleep at nights in a lorry loaned by a party supporter and will be walking alone.

He explained that he did not call for members of the public to join him because their doing so would be a public procession under the Public Order Act, which he does not have a permit for.