“Party Rifts behind Spate of NSP Resignations”

Channel NewsAsia

19 June 2015

SINGAPORE: Cracks are starting to show in the ranks of the National Solidarity Party (NSP), following the news on Wednesday (Jun 17) that its secretary-general had quit after less than five months in the position.

The resignation of lawyer Tan Lam Siong – who was the party’s third secretary-general in less than two years – comes on the heels of a spate of departures involving members who had joined the party for only a short period.

Following the latest development, former members approached by the media have spoken out about the friction within the party – which was formed in 1987 – between new faces and the longer-serving members. For a party that put up the biggest slate of candidates (24) in the 2011 General Election (GE), after the People’s Action Party, there are now question marks over its preparations for the coming GE, which is due by 2017, political analysts said.

… Political observer Alan Chong, from the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, noted that a casting vote results in power being centralised in a political party. “If a president can have a casting vote, it definitely institutionalises a power imbalance in the party,” he said. “It doesn’t enhance democracy within the party, but if you have a charismatic leader, your party can still go places.”

Categories:

GPO / IDSS / Online

Last updated on 16/11/2015