By Tessa Wong
REFORM Party (RP) chief Kenneth Jeyaretnam has dismissed
speculation that his party lacks candidates to contest in
constituencies it has earmarked for the next general election.
He told The Straits Times on Monday that the party is, in fact,
also thinking of contesting in an additional ward - Yuhua.
Last month, after new electoral boundaries were drawn up, the RP
announced that it would contest the single-seat wards of Hong Kah
North, Pioneer and Radin Mas; and in two five-member group
representation constituencies - West Coast and Chua Chu Kang.
This meant it has to field at least 13 candidates.
However, talk that the RP is short of candidates has circulated
since last month when at least 20 members - including more than
half its nine-member central executive committee and a number of
potential candidates - quit the party.
Four former RP members - Tony Tan, Hazel Poa, Jeisilan
Sivalingam and Jeannette Chong-Aruldoss - have since joined the
National Solidarity Party (NSP) and were unveiled as potential
candidates earlier this month.
The RP has announced its candidates for only two wards: Mr
Jeyaretnam in Pioneer, and central executive committee member Alec
Tok in Radin Mas.
Its pre-election activities and walkabouts have also been
largely confined to these two areas.