M Ravi and SingFirst withdraw bids to contest Ang Mo Kio GRC
M Ravi and Amos Yee joined in the Reform Party walkabout Monday at Ang Mo Kio GRC (Photo: Kyle Malinda-White)
By: Kyle Malinda-White
Former lawyer M Ravi has withdrawn his campaign to run as an independent candidate in Ang Mo Kio GRC in the next General Elections, Yahoo Singapore has learned.
Ravi confirmed this at a walkabout by the Reform Party Monday afternoon (10 Aug) at the Ang Mo Kio ward, saying that he was present at the walkabout to “volunteer support” to the party.
“I have (a) friendship with (Reform Party secretary-general) Kenneth Jeyaretnam over the years and I’ve worked closely with J B Jeyaretnam in the past when I was doing cases,” said Ravi to Yahoo Singapore.
Ravi explained that he did not want to have a three-cornered fight in the area and has since resolved his differences with Jeyaretnam’s party.
“I’m considering joining the Reform Party but I haven’t made up my decision yet. I’m keeping my options open,” said Ravi when asked by Yahoo Singapore if he had already filed an application to join the party.
In response, Jeyaretnam said to Yahoo Singapore that he welcomed Ravi volunteering under the party, noting that he had started doing so “in the last few days”.
The Singaporeans First (SingFirst) party has also given up its bid to contest the Ang Mo Kio ward, said the party’s secretary-general Tan Jee Say in a statement issued Monday.
Tan said the decision was made as the party wanted to avoid a three-cornered fight. The recent withdrawals now allow the Reform Party to contest the ward in a direct fight against the incumbent.
In the all-hands Opposition talks last Thursday at the National Solidarity Party headquarters, the Reform Party and SingFirst party were still locked in a tussle over the Ang Mo Kio seat, which is currently occupied by the incumbent People’s Action Party. The ward has been led by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong since 1991.
Jeyaretnam thanked SingFirst on his Facebook page for letting the Reform Party contest the Ang Mo Kio seat, hoping for an alliance to be formed by several opposition parties “in our common objective of taking at least a third of the seats in this election”.
Now that the stage has been cleared, Jeyaretnam hopes to win the hearts and minds of Ang Mo Kio voters, as well as introduce transparency and “basic levels of welfare” for citizens in the government.
“We hope to operate the town council efficiently and cost-effectively,” said Jeyaretnam, noting that he had the support of people who had ran the Workers’ Party town council in Hougang.
He clarified that these people are not part of the party, and are instead helping to add expertise and know-how in town council management. Jeyaretnam believes his experience in financial management will ensure the town council will run “without any hiccups”.
If elected into the government, Jeyaretnam said to Yahoo Singapore that he hopes to introduce accountability and transparency, as well as to distribute assets of wealth to Singaporeans. He was adamant that safety nets need to be strengthened to protect residents.
Also present in the walkabout were blogger Amos Yee and People’s Power Party’s Goh Meng Seng. Yahoo Singapore understands both of them were present in their personal capacity.
