At 83 years of age, Singaporeans might be forgiven for thinking that Dr Tan Cheng Bock would prefer a quiet life in retirement.
However, the former MP has confirmed that he will be running in the next General Election (GE).
Source: Jeffrey Khoo on Facebook
He’ll likely return to his old stomping ground in West Coast GRC.
On Saturday (22 July), Dr Tan went for a walkabout at West Coast Market Square, he said on Facebook.
Accompanied by members of his Progress Singapore Party (PSP) including Non-Constituency MP Leong Mun Wai, he was there to meet residents and distribute the party newsletter.
Source: Jeffrey Khoo on Facebook
The hawker centre is a few streets away from Ayer Rajah Food Centre, which welcomed him rapturously when he visited during campaigning for GE2020.
During the walkabout, Dr Tan also told Lianhe Zaobao the exciting news that he will follow up his GE2020 run by contesting again at the next GE.
The next GE must be held before November 2025.
By then, the PSP Chairman will be 85 years old.
Similar to GE2020, Dr Tan is expected to focus on West Coast GRC in the next GE.
Though the PSP team led by him lost to the People’s Action Party (PAP) in 2020, they cut the PAP’s vote share to just 51.69% — their lowest since the GRC was formed.
This was ostensibly due to Dr Tan’s popularity in his former ward of Ayer Rajah, which he served for 26 years.
Though Ayer Rajah was later subsumed into West Coast GRC, it’s clear that residents still hold him in high regard as they readily took photos with him on Saturday.
Source: Jeffrey Khoo on Facebook
The bullish octogenarian seemed unconcerned over how electoral boundaries might change, saying the PSP is prepared for battle “no matter how West Coast GRC is divided up”.
It doesn’t matter when the next GE will take place either, as the PSP is ready, he maintained, adding,
That’s our goal as politicians, we cannot sit still and wait.
Of course, one of the MPs of West Coast GRC happens to be Transport Minister S. Iswaran, who was recently arrested by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB).
In fact, Mr Iswaran’s West Coast ward happens to roughly overlap with Dr Tan’s former Ayer Rajah ward.
Singapore Management University (SMU) law professor Eugene Tan told Shin Min Daily News that it’s unlikely Mr Iswaran will return to West Coast GRC as the anchor minister, regardless of the result of the CPIB probe.
Hence, the battle for the GRC in the next GE might be equally or more thrilling than that of GE2020.
Another factor that comes into play might be the resignations of Speaker Tan Chuan-Jin and Tampines MP Cheng Li Hui over an extramarital affair.
Dr Tan said he believes the matter concerns accountability, transparency and trust.
It will have a long-term impact on Singapore as people’s trust in our leaders will be greatly reduced, he added.
He also called for more transparency as to the timeline of the couple’s affair as “many questions have not been answered”.
For example, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said he knew about the affair in 2020 but took three years to make it public — meaning people with substandard moral behaviour were allowed to handle state affairs, Dr Tan noted.
Besides assessing the likelihood of success in various constituencies, PSP must turn their attention to candidate selection, Dr Tan said.
GE2020 was the party’s first election, so he was just relieved that people were willing to join.
Source: Jeffrey Khoo on Facebook
The next time round, he hopes more high-quality PSP members would enter Parliament after Mr Leong and fellow NCMP Hazel Poa.
Thus, he said he will personally screen the first round of candidates.
Those who want to become an MP will have to get past him by showing him their qualifications, he added, as he wants to get a sense of their attitude and determination.
Looks like Singaporeans can look forward to the developments in West Coast GRC with great interest in the run-up to the next GE.
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Featured image adapted Jeffrey Khoo on Facebook.
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