date, Secretary-General of Reform Party Kenneth Jeyaretnam said
exploratory talks to form a coalition have so far been
inconclusive.
Saifulbahri Ismail reports :
Several meetings between the Reform Party and the
SDA have already been held.
One option discussed is for the Reform party to join the
SDA.
To date, no progress has been made and Mr Jeyaretnam didn't give
any indication if further talks are on the cards.
The 50 year-old was also tight lipped when asked if there were any
issues that were hindering such a collaboration.
However, the Reform Party chief did stress that the party's
relationship with the other opposition groups remained
good.
Speaking to the media at the party’s first anniversary dinner this
evening, Mr Jeyaretnam revealed there are now a total of 30
members, one-third of whom are youths.
The party wants to triple membership in a year's time.
Mr Jeyaretnam explains how the party intends to reach out to the
public :
"We've created a distinctive brand identity. We are probably the
most accessible of the major parties. We have open house twice a
week. We've started walkabouts. Most recently we were in Geylang
Serai to greet Muslims on the eve of Hari Raya. We will shortly
start selling our newsletter, so as to be able to take our message
to the heartlanders and those people who are not on the
internet."
Seven members of the Central Executive Committee were also
introduced to the media.
They include young professionals like 39 year-old Tan Lay Thiam,
the Chief Executive Officer of a private education
centre.
This evening’s dinner was also to commemorate the anniversary of
the passing of late opposition leader J B Jeyaretnam.
For the first time, the Reform Party's manifesto was also
released.
--938Live