SINGAPORE - The Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) marked National Day 2023 with walkabouts in various areas across the island, talking to residents and handing out flags in constituencies it had contested in past elections.
Speaking to The Straits Times following a visit to Kampung Admiralty Hawker Centre, which is located in Sembawang GRC, on Wednesday, SDP chairman Paul Tambyah said the party was laying the groundwork for the next general election (GE) early.
About 30 SDP members and volunteers – including party secretary-general Chee Soon Juan and vice-chairman Bryan Lim – met residents at six locations, including Yuhua Village Market and Food Centre and Ghim Moh Market and Food Centre, to wish them a happy National Day and discuss their concerns.
Said Professor Tambyah: “The last GE, the SDP launched its campaign more than a year ahead of the election, and that’s likely what we’re going to be doing again.”
Since the last general election in 2020, the party has been reaching out to residents in the areas it had contested, he added.
That year, the SDP fielded candidates in Marsiling-Yew Tee and Holland-Bukit Timah GRCs, as well as Bukit Batok, Bukit Panjang and Yuhua SMCs.
The party did not win any seats then. Its best showing was in Bukit Panjang, where Prof Tambyah garnered 46.26 per cent of the vote.
Prof Tambyah added that the party is planning to move into its new headquarters in the coming months before formally launching its election campaign.
In a Facebook post in April, Dr Chee said that the party had moved out of its previous premises in Ang Mo Kio and was looking at office spaces in western Singapore to be closer to the constituencies it had been working in.
Singapore’s next general election must be held by 2025.
On Wednesday, at Kampung Admiralty Hawker Centre, the SDP team ran into a People’s Action Party (PAP) team headed by Sembawang GRC MP Mariam Jaafar, who were also on a walkabout.
It was a “friendly interaction”, Prof Tambyah said, with members of the two parties shaking hands and taking photos together.
“Basically we’re all working together for the good of Singapore – we just have a different way of getting there,” he said.
The SDP announced in 2022 that it intended to contest Sembawang GRC in the next election. The party last ran in Sembawang during the 2011 General Election, when it lost to a five-member PAP team led by then National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan.
The GRC was contested by the National Solidarity Party (NSP) during the elections in 2015 and 2020. The NSP lost on both occasions to the incumbent PAP.
Prof Tambyah, however, said the SDP does not anticipate a three-cornered fight in Sembawang in the next election, adding he was optimistic about his party’s chances in the GRC, as well as in other constituencies.
“We have a very strong team. We’ve established good contact with the residents, and we’ve had a good response (from them),” he said.
Prof Tambyah also spoke of the recent death of the party’s assistant treasurer, Mr Manimaran Ashukumar, calling it a “real tragedy” as he noted that the 33-year-old had a young child.
Mr Manimaran – who was a member of SDP’s central executive committee and one of the leaders of the party’s youth wing – died on July 29 after suffering a heart attack while playing football.
Prof Tambyah said that Mr Manimaran, who had been identified as a potential candidate in the next general election, showed a concern for Singapore’s future and exemplified “dedication and commitment to democracy” – the kind of qualities the party was looking for in young candidates.
“He’ll be difficult to replace, but we’ve had many young volunteers coming forward,” he said.
