The Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) has introduced five more candidates for the General Election today among which are high fliers Mr Tan Jee Say and Dr Ang Yong Guan. Mr Tan Jee Say was a former principal private secretary to Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong from 1985 to 1990. Dr Ang Yong Guan is the former head of SAF psychological medicine unit. The announcement of Mr Tan’s and Dr Ang’s candidacies on a SDP ticket has sent shockwaves throughout the establishment in Singapore. Not since 1988 did the opposition manage to attract a former high-ranking government official into its ranks and even then there was only Francis Seow, a former Solicitor-General. Besides Mr Tan and Dr Ang, the opposition boasts of several highly qualified professionals and former government scholars such as Mr Benjamin Pwee and Mr Jeffrey Lee from the Singapore People’s Party and Mr Tony Tan and Ms Hazel Poa from the National Solidarity Party. With public anger against its policies at an all-time high, the ruling PAP is likely to face its toughest election to date against a resurgent opposition which now appears credible enough (at least on paper) to take over the government.
