PSP's Jeffrey Khoo thinks the party could lose its NCMP seats, but still has a 'pretty good' chance of a breakthrough

When Progress Singapore Party (PSP) candidate Jeffrey Khoo was asked whether there is a chance the party could suffer the setback of losing the Non-Constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) seats it had previously held this GE, he replied:

"We definitely think there's a chance. That's why we are putting all our backs into this, and sweat into this."

Khoo, together with PSP's Stephanie Tan, was speaking at a NUSS X The Mothership Podcast on Apr. 28, 2025, about the stakes of this GE for the PSP.

Khoo had been talking about the importance of "having a voice in Parliament" for the PSP, and highlighted the contributions made by former NCMPs Hazel Poa and Leong Mun Wai since 2020:

"Both of them literally gave away their salary, and then they are still working at it day and night, for the last few years."

If less than twelve opposition Members are returned at GE, then the “best losers” from among the opposition candidates will be declared elected as NCMPs to bring the total number of opposition Members to twelve.

To be declared an NCMP, the candidate needs to have obtained not less than 15 per cent of the total number of votes in his constituency, and polled the highest percentage of votes among losers at the GE.

So, if more than twelve opposition Members are returned from other parties, or if PSP's candidates do not manage to poll high enough, they might lose their NCMP seats.

Khoo, however, sounded an optimistic note about the party's prospects going into GE2025, going off of the "energy" brought on by new faces such as Tan joining the party:

"It gives us, I would say, a new energy this time round, with a lot of fresh faces. So, I think our opportunity to get into Parliament is still pretty good."

Both Tan and Khoo have been fielded in SMCs this GE.

Tan will be contesting in Pioneer SMC, and will be facing the People's Action Party's (PAP) Patrick Tay, while Khoo will be contesting Marymount SMC and facing Minister of State for Education and Manpower Gan Siow Huang.

Nervous going into roundtable: Stephanie Tan

On Apr. 27, Tan appeared on a live roundtable hosted by Mediacorp.

Mediacorp had invited participants from five political parties: the People's Action Party (PAP), the Workers' Party (WP), the Progress Singapore Party (PSP), Red Dot United (RDU) and the People's Alliance for Reform (PAR).

The memory of the debate fresh in her mind, Tan candidly shared her feelings about going on live television for the roundtable.

She said that she was initially hesitant about it:

"To be honest, I was a bit hesitant at the start, because I prefer to do things that I am definitely confident about. And when it comes to things like this... you never know what's going to happen."

Tan, however, did see it as a valuable opportunity, and so agreed to it.

"I did think that it would be a little fun for me to take up, not just for myself, for my career, but also the opportunity for me to bring across PSP's messages to the entire Singapore to notice," she said.

In the run up to the debate, Tan shared that PSP had discussed possible topics that might come up, and what messages to convey based on their manifesto. Tan noted that the manifesto gave her a "very good base" to work with for the roundtable.

Tan admitted that she was nervous at the outset, but shared that the participants were actually given the questions before they went live.

Khoo chimed in, and said that Tan "performed really well".

"She did impress the audience, and I do hope that will translate to some extra support," he added.

Top photo by Loh Hui Si.