Five new Progress Singapore Party (PSP) candidates were introduced today, their third batch so far.

Tan Cheng Bock, secretary general of the PSP, introduced the five candidates over Zoom, as he did with the previous two batches.

Five new candidates

1. Michael Chua, 55, former SAF Merit Scholarship holder and businessman. He has a role in the Central Executive Committee of the PSP as organising secretary.
2. Kumaran Pillai, 49, CEO of a Singapore-based venture accelerator. He advises startups and manages a portfolio of startup companies, and was formerly the publisher of The Independent News, Singapore.
3. Wendy Low, 43, Lawyer, and the head of the Intellectual Property advisory and dispute practice at Eldan Law LLP.
4. Nadarajah Loganathan, 57, former SAF Lieutenant Colonel working in the adult education sector.
5. Damien Tay Chye Seng, 51, Customer Service Manager.

Low and Tay were both introduced as having grown up in Tiong Bahru, though it was not mentioned that they would contest in Tanjong Pagar GRC, which encompasses the Tanjong Pagar-Tiong Bahru ward.

Kumaran confirmed that he will be contesting in Kebun Baru SMC, although the constituencies where the other candidates would be contesting were not revealed.

More on the candidates

1. Michael Chua

Chua graduated from the London School of Economics with a degree in Economics, on a SAF Merit Scholarship. He also attained a Masters Degree in Operations Research at the Naval Postgraduate School in California, under the Defence Technology Training Award.

"I owe it to Singapore that I make the best use of my education, and this is my opportunity to do so", Chua said.

He left active service in 2002, but continued to serve as an NSman, as a Deputy Brigade Commander, till 2016.

Chua now runs his own business, after having worked in various private sector organisations including companies linked to government-owned investment company, Temasek.

On SAF officers leaving the force

Speaking about a need for "balance and diversity" in politics, Chua pointed to the fact that the PSP candidates with military backgrounds were "not just one dimensional" as they had both military and private sector experience, as distinguished from other examples of military officers who entered politics directly.

Chua shared that his own experience as a former SAF officer stepping out into the private sector gave him the perspective that officers moving out of the SAF should "leave the wheeling and dealing to others", given that they were not the ones who had "gone through hard knocks in life" in the commercial world.

Chua was introduced as one of the first twelve members who stepped forward when Tan was forming a new political party and spoke about the history of the PSP, sharing that the discussions on starting the PSP began in 2018, way before it was officially registered in Jan. 2019.

Chua said that his role in the party’s CEC as its organising secretary was "one of the most challenging tasks that I've faced", due to obstacles he faced, including resource constraints, as well as the need to adapt to the fact that more election-related activities would be carried out online, such as over Zoom, and through webinars.

2. Kumaran Pillai

Kumaran is currently the CEO of Apple Seed, a Singapore-based venture accelerator. He also advises startups in the Southeast Asia region, and manages a portfolio of startup companies.

Kumaran shared that the burst of the dotcom bubble in 2001 affected his finances adversely, to the point that he was struggling to purchase milk for his newborn baby – an experience which changed his life and made him more determined and resilient.

He also spoke about his time in The Online Citizen, covering stories on workers' issues such as the SMRT bus drivers strike in 2012, as well as his involvement in The Independent News, where he has stepped down as publisher, to join politics.

He shared that Tan convinced him that his online advocacy was not enough.

Kumaran takes the view that a hyper-competitive economic environment can be detrimental to society, and that many Singaporeans have been left behind by government policy.

3. Wendy Low

Low is the head of the Intellectual Property advisory and dispute practice at Eldan Law LLP.

She wants to use her IP and legal skills to help local businesses go global, believing that businesses that are transformed can go on to improve lives.

She spoke about how her travels to countries such as Timor-Leste helped her understand "issues of deep inequality".

Low also hopes to leverage on technology to empower women, freelancers, and local communities to have meaningful home-based employment, which would preserve local art, culture, and heritage.

Aside from her legal work, Low has been involved in various NGOs including the Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE), Justice Without Borders, which provides legal assistance to domestic workers who have been abused or unfairly treated, as well as youth camps and NGOs that distribute food to the homeless in Singapore.

4. Nadarajah Loganathan

Loganathan served in the Singapore Armed Forces for 25 years before retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel in 2009.

A "determination to learn more and more" drove him to complete three master's degrees before the age of 50, with the first two being paid for by SAF scholarships.

He held appointments in the area of Human Resources (HR) and was involved in training in the last eight years of his military career, and explained that this led him to his current role in the adult education sector, which he manages alongside his volunteer work with the Hindu Endowment Board and the People's Association.

Loganathan recalled how his experience working with Tan started in 2003, where Tan, the MP of Ayer Rajah then, advised him on a successful fund-raising campaign to refurbish a temple.

He also spoke about how government policies had less of a focus on people in the last few decades, with the focus of the current leadership "basically looking at GDP and GDP and GDP".

Loganathan said that he would push for Singaporeans to be placed first in all job opportunities.

5. Damien Tay Chye Seng

Tay spoke about how he took an "unconventional" route in his career, which started with purchasing and commercial operations, where he has accumulated 30 years of commercial operations experience in MNCs, in the electronics, retail, and medical industries.

Tay will be championing three broad causes: better job opportunities for Singaporeans, equitable and proportionate distribution of wealth, and climate change.

Tay spoke about raising the carbon tax, using electric vehicles, and increasing the use of solar panels to generate electricity, by placing them on top of HDB flats. He acknowledged, however, that this would take time.

PSP's other candidates

Here are the other candidates introduced by the PSP:

Where is the PSP contesting?

The PSP had previously revealed that it intended to contest in eight constituencies, namely, West Coast GRC, Choa Chu Kang GRC, Hong Kah North SMC, Tanjong Pagar GRC, Pioneer SMC, and three newly carved out SMCs – Marymount, Yio Chu Kang and Kebun Baru.

However, PSP has since ceded Yio Chu Kang SMC to Reform Party (RP), after negotiations between the two parties that saw the RP withdrawing from a potential three-cornered fight in West Coast GRC.

The RP had initially made it known that they intended to contest West Coast GRC, which they challenged back in 2015. However after long talks with Tan, they have decided to not contest in the constituency.

Top image via PSP