‘I didn’t change, the PAP did’: Singapore opposition politician Tan Cheng Bock pledges to ask government tough questions
- Speaking at a press conference ahead of the launch of his Progress Singapore Party, the 79-year-old said he was open to working with everyone
- He even invited Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s estranged brother Lee Hsien Yang to join – a prospect that has set political tongues wagging
Speaking at a press conference ahead of the launch of his Progress Singapore Party (PSP) on August 3, the 79-year-old Tan said he was open to working with the country’s other opposition parties – and even invited the prime minister’s estranged brother Lee Hsien Yang to join.
“I believe the processes of good governance have gone astray,” Tan said, flanked by six other core members of the new party. “Specifically there is an erosion of transparency, independence and accountability.”
Asked if his party was just another PAP, Tan said: “My simple answer to that is I didn’t change, the PAP changed."
Known for voting with his conscience rather than as the PAP leadership wanted him to during his stint as an MP from 1980 to 2006, Tan said he had no choice but to become an opposition figure because his former party, in power since 1959, was now increasingly taking care of its own interests rather than those of the city state.
He said a number of Singaporeans had approached him to urge him “not to go quietly into the night”. “They asked me to step up again and rally those who want to serve Singapore for the country and people,” he said.