Former Reform Party Key Members Form Another Opposition Party Called SUP

#GE2020 might be over but as someone smart has always said, there’s no rest for the weary.

And the key former members from the Reform Party aren’t any different.

Here’s what they’ve been up to since the dramatic general elections last year.

Former Reform Party Key Members Form Another Opposition Party Called SUP

Andy Zhu was the former chairman of the Reform Party (RP) for nine years.

He was forcibly removed from RP’s Central Executive Committee (CEC) in August 2020, together with RP treasurer, Ms Noraini Yunus, by a “unanimous vote”, and both were also banned from holding an office within the party.

A few RP members said that they were removed for not following the proper procedures when handling the party’s bank account.

There was reportedly no misappropriation of funds.

Then, Zhu had taken to Facebook to call the move an “undemocratic” one.

On 2 Jan 2021, it was reported that Zhu is part of eight ex-RP members of a new political party, the Singapore United Party (SUP).

Several of them were former RP CEC members.

The Members

Other than Noraini and Zhu, the other former RP members include Darren Soh Guan Soon, who contested in Ang Mo Kio GRC in GE2020, and former RP CEC members, Mohd Ali Kamal Batcha and Mohammed Affendy Abdul Rahim.

Other non-former-RP members include former Singapore Democratic Party member Joyce Tan and Choo Zin Chye, Andy Zhu’s father.

“Not A Splinter Group”

Zhu, who is leading the new opposition party as its secretary-general, says that the SUP isn’t a splinter group of RP, but merely a group of like-minded individuals.

“It is not that (the former RP members) left the party to join me. It was not a plot or anything. It is just that they left (RP), we went out for coffee, and it just happened

“We are just a group of like-minded people coming together to serve residents.”

It was added that he wish RP all the best.

The group took about two months to solidify the plans for the new party and registered it officially on 27 Oct 2020.

Zhu said that the party would provide “an alternative platform for like-minded people”.

Tan also said that their representation topics will be “slightly different” compared to other opposition parties.

Other than bread-and-butter issues, the party will also focus on women’s rights.

RP to Respond on 5 Jan 2021

The seasoned opposition political party says they’ll issue a statement on 5 Jan 2021, and the chairman, Charles Yeo (yes, that Charles Yeo), accuses Zhu of “factionalism” at RP in a series of Instagram stories.

Factionalism means “a situation in which a group forms within a larger group, especially one with slightly different ideas from the main group.”

As for whether SUP is able to stand its own ground in an already-crowded political landscape, I guess time will only tell.

Featured Image: RP / Twitter