When Dr Tan Cheng Bock founded the Progress Singapore Party (PSP) in 2019, it ignited the local political scene abuzz. For here is a former MP from the ruling Party doing an about-turn, jumping ship to join the opposition. His words, “I worry because I see the foundations of good governance eroding”, held gravitas.
In the five years that followed, good governance remained the bedrock of the PAP. However, that initial excitement surrounding the new kid on the block has all but evaporated. Fragmented and disintegrating on the inside, cracks in the PSP began as early as 2020. Months before the General Election (GE), members Ravi Philemon and Michelle Lee sensationally quit the PSP to form their own Party – Red Dot United. Political pundits brushed it off as growing pains. Yet in hindsight, it was clearly a classic case of a power struggle gone awry.
Since then, the infighting within the PSP has continued. Remember the team who ran in Nee Soon GRC? Nobody does. And that is because most of them have since washed their hands off politics. There was vaccine sceptic and serial party hopper Brad Bowyer, who resigned before he could be sacked. Next is Kala Manickam, whose membership was terminated for getting into an online spat with Bowyer. She was last reported to be suing the PSP. Finally, there was former treasurer S Nallakaruppan who was unceremoniously left out of the new CEC (ouch). Just like that, the motley crew broke up before they could even begin.
When cracks turn into fissures
Following a revolving door of members and quitters, news that NCMP Leong Mun Wai, once the rising star of PSP, has been ousted as Secretary-General is hardly a surprise in the grand scheme of things. After a series of embarrassing faux pas, enough is enough for even the most ardent Party members.
An ultimatum was said to have been ultimately issued – quit as Secretary General (Sec-Gen) or face a vote of no-confidence. What choice does Mr Leong have? Short of quitting and starting his own Party, there was little room for manoeuvre. In the end, Mr Leong opted for the lesser of the two evils. Resign on some imaginary concerns and hope that Singaporeans would forget about the fiasco.
But will we? After all, it has barely been a year since Mr Leong took over as Sec-Gen to great fanfare. Riding on the coat tails of Dr Tan, who no doubt played a role in securing that appointment, Mr Leong announced with gusto that he would “bring PSP to greater heights and realise a progressive, compassionate and inclusive Singapore”.
Aside from the fact that his promise sounds like a paraphrase right out of the Forward Singapore playbook, Mr Leong has done the exact opposite of what he pledged to do. Throughout his time as NCMP, Mr Leong has relished being a divisive and controversial figure. Snide remarks to the Speaker that resulted in a grovelling apology. The citation of Telegram gossip as a legitimate source without any fact-checking. Admitting to making a potentially racist statement when he spoke about Indians and the CECA agreement. Not to mention a history of dubious motions ranging from abolishing the GRCs to changing the Constitution so as to raid the reserves. Through it all, hardcore Opposition supporters cannot help but see Mr Leong as an underdog fighting their corner. To his credit, Mr Leong maintained that façade of a common man, or at least until he let slip by accident the elitist within in a Facebook comment. In his words, Singaporeans are “condemned to living in an HDB flat”.
Let’s be clear, blunders and gaffes are inevitable, especially when one is a novice politician. But after three years as a parliamentarian, Mr Leong could no longer claim to be wet around the ears. From the PSP’s perspective, the latest POFMA issued to Mr Leong was probably the tipping point. This is because in all honesty, who wants to be led by a leader who makes Kenneth Jeyaretnam sound like a sage by contrast?
As the drama unfolds, the entire episode also brings about flashbacks of another political strife 30 years ago.
Different Party, similar problems
Before the onset of reality TV, the saga of Chee Soon Juan vs Chiam See Tong was a gripping tale of power, loyalty and betrayal. Now, we are going back decades. But back then, the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) was a very different Party. After winning an unprecedented three seats in the 1991 GE, the SDP, led by Mr Chiam See Tong, was a force to be reckoned with. This golden era saw Chiam recruit Mr Chee Soon Juan into the Party. Highly educated, eloquent and a university lecturer to boot, Chee was perfect on paper.
But like a tale concocted by the Brothers Grimm, it all went downhill from there.
To cut the long story short, Chee, who became emboldened by his status as Chiam’s prized protégé, embarked on increasingly outrageous behaviour, which included a hunger strike. As Sec-Gen, Chiam wanted to censure Chee for his actions. But with the motion blocked by CEC members, Chiam quit the Party in anger, and the rest is history. Chiam went on to join the Singapore People’s Party (SPP) and remained as MP for Potong Pasir while Chee took over as Sec-Gen for SDP. Since then, the reputation of the SDP has taken a nosedive. Having lost the trust of Singaporeans, it never recovered its credibility, losing all its seats in the 1997 GE. Today, it languishes in the fringes of our political landscape as a Party better known for opening cafes rather than speaking up for Singaporeans.
There could have been a different ending if ego had not gotten in the way. But conceit, arrogance, and a tussle for power between Chee and Chiam have led the SDP down a rabbit hole of irrevocable decline. Currently, we are seeing a similar pattern within the PSP where an erratic Sec-Gen is making the founding leader nervous. In the strange case of Dr Tan and Mr Leong, it would seem that supporters for the former have emerged triumphant for successfully kicking Mr Leong off the throne.
What is next for the PSP?
Here we are, decades later, for history to repeat itself. Truth is, as much as the PSP would like to downplay their current shambles and push the blame on Mr Leong as an incorrigible troublemaker, the issue is much deeper than that.
What we are seeing here is a pattern of self-destructive behaviour in our opposition. A boiling mess of discord that threatens to erupt every so often. Why couldn’t members of the PSP work together as a team? To have four Sec-Gens installed within five years is surely a record. That’s more than the number of Sec-Gens in the PAP in 70 years! A theory could be that teamwork is reserved for those with a common goal to serve and do good. Meanwhile, those who enter politics for selfish reasons will always find themselves wrangling with others for control and power.
What then is next for a Party synonymous with Leong Mun Wai? Will PSP follow the trajectory of the SDP and fade into obscurity? More importantly, how can Singaporeans trust a Party to represent their interests when they cannot keep their house in order? Finally, as a side note, what exactly has Mr Leong done to trigger the spat of venom directed against him? Arrogance? Incompetence? Whatever the reason, it says a lot if PSP members loath him enough to destroy what could have been their trump card. And if he had quit to avoid a vote of confidence, it would indicate that Mr Leong (known to be rather chummy with fugitive Lee Hsien Yang), knew he had lost the trust of most of his Party.
As for Dr Tan’s future, it remains up in the air. While he has indicated making a comeback, we do hope he is not taking inspiration and following the footsteps of another infamous power-crazed doctor up north – Dr Mahathir Mohamad. While Dr M might embody Active Ageing with his return to politics from retirement, messing up the country and finally getting thrown out by his own constituency can hardly be seen as a glorified comeback.
All said, like a dying star, the allure of PSP is fading by the second. Ironically, Dr Tan’s ominous warnings about good governance gone astray have turned out to be a prophecy of his Party.