PSP’s Kebun Baru and Marymount candidates pledge community initiatives, minimum wage
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PSP's Kebun Baru candidate Tony Tan (left) and party chairman Tan Cheng Bock greeting residents during a walkabout at Mayflower Market and Food Centre on April 27.
ST PHOTO: TARYN NG
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SINGAPORE – If elected to Parliament, PSP’s candidate for Kebun Baru SMC, Mr Tony Tan, said he will be a “full-time MP”.
These were among the campaign promises that Mr Tan made as he spoke to the media during a walkabout at Mayflower Market and Food Centre on April 27.
“The first thing that I want to pledge (to do) is that if given this opportunity to serve, I will be doing this full time,” said Mr Tan, co-founder of a private education and gaming firm.
His opponent in the single seat, incumbent PAP MP Henry Kwek, runs an investment firm.
Mr Tan is a former Singapore Armed Forces scholarship holder with a background in engineering. He is married to Ms Hazel Poa, who is the party’s first vice-chairperson.
As part of his manifesto for Kebun Baru, Mr Tan also proposed several initiatives for the area, including a programme in the morning for elderly residents that involves home visits, especially for those living alone, and activities in the evening to foster community spirit, such as table tennis sessions.
While walking the ground, Mr Tan said, he has noticed that more can be done in terms of cleanliness, taking note of Block 115 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4 – in the Kebun Baru ward – which houses assisted living facilities, in particular.
“I would like to know when was the last time (Mr Kwek) visited Block 115... Has he actually interacted with the residents there, and has he checked the cleanliness of 115?” asked Mr Tan.
Mr Tan also repeated the PSP’s call to debate policies with opponents, adding that he hoped to at least get a reply from Mr Kwek on the proposed debate and discussion on policies.
Accompanying him on the walkabout was PSP founder and chairman Tan Cheng Bock, who will be contesting the redrawn West Coast-Jurong West GRC
Dr Tan also spent the earlier part of the morning walking the ground with PSP candidate for Marymount Jeffrey Khoo.
Mr Khoo, chief executive of a regional risk consulting firm, was part of the PSP A-team that was fielded in the 2020 polls in West Coast GRC.
The PSP team then lost with 48.32 per cent of the vote against the PAP team’s 51.68 per cent – making it the narrowest win for the ruling party in the 2020 election.
Addressing the media at a walkabout at Shunfu Mart wet market and hawker centre in Marymount SMC, Dr Tan took aim at the Government’s foreign talent policy, adding that more needed to be done to put the interests of Singaporeans first.
On April 26, Mr Khoo’s opponent, the PAP’s incumbent MP Gan Siow Huang, had said that the PSP’s call for “Singaporean-first policies” failed to take into account factors like the country’s size and lack of natural resources. She had also criticised the PSP proposal for a $2,250 minimum monthly wage, calling it “the easy way out”.
Mr Khoo said: “To be very clear, PSP is not against foreign talent, but the key word must be talent. We definitely need some to come in. But no matter what happens, we have to take care of our own first.”
If elected, Mr Khoo said he plans to hold regular town hall meetings to give residents more platforms for feedback.
He also proposed mentorship programmes to link younger people with senior residents.
Elisha Tushara is a correspondent at The Straits Times specialising in Singapore’s education landscape.
