NSP will not contest Moulmein-Kallang GRC
The National Solidarity Party (NSP) has announced it will not contest Moulmein-Kallang group representation constituency (GRC) in the upcoming General Election.
NSP's decision to withdraw will probably see the Workers' Party (WP) contesting in the area and prevent a three-way fight which it says, will only dilute the opposition votes.
The party also revealed they will give up Yuhua single-member constituency (SMC) to the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP).
Speaking to the media on Saturday afternoon, NSP announced its decision to contest in Chua Chu Kang GRC. Their candidates who were supposed to contest in Moulmein-Kallang will be fielded there instead.
Leading the five-member Chua Chu Kang team will be party president Sebastian Teo. The other candidates are NSP's "prize catch" and star couple Hazel Poa and Tony Tan, Jeisilan Sivalingam, all 41, and Nor Lella Mardiiiah, 37, who heads the party's Malay bureau.
The decision to withdraw from contesting at the four-member Moulmein-Kallang GRC was a "painful one", said party president Sebastian Teo but he added that it was taken in interest of "opposition harmony".
Teo told Yahoo! Singapore that he and council member Tan Chee Kien met WP's chairman Sylvia Lim and her party members last month. He added that WP had expressed a "strong desire" and insisted on fielding its candidates there.
One of the reasons for backing out included WP's refusal to reveal its candidates who will be contesting in the area, leaving the NSP with uncertainties. This, Teo said, 'does not make it worth for the NSP to wait till the last minute'.
"For the benefit of the voters, for the benefit of the whole opposition, I think we have to make our decision early.
"As a responsible party, we should give our residents an informed kind of choice as early as we can," he said.
The party's decision to drop out came as a surprise considering that it has always been interested in the newly-carved out area since the electoral boundaries report was released.
However, the party were also active in Chua Chu Kang GRC in the last elections.
NSP's former secretary-general and current treasurer, Steve Chia contested in the area when it was an SMC in 2006. He lost by 20.74 per cent to incumbent anchor MP and Manpower Minister, Gan Kim Yong.
Candidate Hazel Poa said that one of the reasons to contest there is due to its close geographical proximity to Pioneer SMC and Jurong GRC, where they will be fielding candidates. This will allow them to share resources.
Besides Chua Chu Kang, the party is also said to be eyeing Marine Parade GRC with its secretary-general Goh Meng Seng confirming that they are "seriously considering" it.
Weighing on this possibility, Teo said, "We have not come to an official decision, but we are discussing about it and have serious thought on contesting."
He added that they will field quality candidates if they are to pose a challenge in the area and dismissed suggestions that they plan to test the ground.
