Posted on Jan 11, 2013 11:41 PMUpdated: Jan
12, 2013 8:53 AM
The Singapore Democratic Party raised eyebrows on Friday when it
called a press conference to propose a unique joint venture with
the Workers’ Party (WP).
But the Reform Party said it made a similar offer earlier.
RP chief Kenneth Jeyaretnam was on a walkabout in Punggol East when
he heard the news of the offer made by the SDP.
He said: “We’ve
already proposed something very similar to them (WP) ... given WP’s
experience running town councils.” He said the offer was made last
week but declined to reveal further details.
The plan put forward by the SDP suggests that the party and WP work
together on a single campaign, supporting a single SDP candidate.
In return, if the SDP candidate won the election, SDP would let WP
run Punggol East Town Council.
On Friday, Mr
Mohamad Affendy Abdul Rahim, 56, a founding member of RP alongside
Mr Jeyaretnam’s father, the late JB Jeyaretnam, also said that the
party had suggested loaning the RP chief to the WP as a candidate:
“It's always good to cooperate with other parties. We don't want
friction. We're willing to loan our best man to
WP.”
He added: “WP has all their best men in Parliament already. They
should let the son of JBJ in Parliament.”
http://www.singapolitics.sg/news/joint-campaign-rp-says-it-made-similar-proposal
Posted on Jan 12, 2013 9:37 AMUpdated: Jan
12, 2013 9:37 AM
The Workers' Party (WP) said on Saturday it will stick to its
own plans to contest in Punggol East, in response to a proposal
from the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) to field a “unity
candidate” for the by-election.
“The Workers' Party has noted SDP's proposal. Our focus continues
to be fulfilling our promise to offer a choice to voters in Punggol
East,” said WP media team chair Mr Gerald Giam in a short
e-mailed answer to The Straits Times early Saturday morning.
The party was responding to a proposal tabled by SDP on Friday to
conduct a joint campaign where a SDP candidate would be
fielded.
If elected, he would push SDP policies in Parliament and chair the
town council, while the WP would run the council's daily
operations.
This is the second time WP has rebuffed SDP's advances.
Earlier in the week, the SDP had asked to meet the WP to discuss
how to avoid a three-cornered fight, to which WP chairman Sylvia
Lim said her party would contest in the election.
The SDP's
proposal drew flak from netizens yesterday, who left comments on
the SDP's website and Facebook pages criticising the idea as
unfairly benefitting SDP.
“If elected, the SDP MP gets a seat and the WP does the work.
Please educate me as to how this is a 'compromise',” said one
netizen called UncleJames Lee on SDP's Facebook page.
The SDP defended its proposal last night in a comment on its
website, saying it would add another party's voice to
Parliament.
“The reason why we proposed such an arrangement is that WP already
has MPs in Parliament. An MP from the SDP would add another party's
voice to the debate.
“That said, this is a proposal. We would be happy to discuss
alternative arrangements. The important point is that SDP and WP
should talk and work things out in the spirit of compromise and
cooperation to avoid a three-corner fight,” it said.
The WP could reveal its candidate for Punggol
East as early as Saturday. Party insiders have tipped Mr Giam, its
Non-Constituency MP, as the front
runner.
http://www.singapolitics.sg/news/wp-rebuffs-sdps-joint-campaign-proposal
