SINGAPORE — Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) chief Chee Soon Juan on Sunday (Aug 4) continued to call for opposition parties here — including the Workers’ Party (WP) — to form an alliance with Dr Tan Cheng Bock at the helm, lest a “disparate” opposition proves costly in the next General Election (GE).

“As long as the opposition remains disparate and remotely bunched, we are not going to win the confidence of voters,” the 57-year-old said to the media on the sidelines of a walkabout at the Yuhua Village Market and Food Centre in Jurong East.

“We continue to ask (Dr Tan) to make sure that discussions are facilitated and that we iron out all the differences going into the next GE so we come out looking coordinated, looking that the right hand knows what the left hand is doing,” he added.

Dr Chee’s comments came about a week after Dr Tan hinted that the formerly proposed coalition among seven opposition parties, with him taking the lead, was dead in the water.

During a press conference last month, Dr Tan said he had no interest in disrupting the organisational structure that is already entrenched in each political party.

“Let them run. Sometimes if you want to push your way in and take over control of all these parties, it is not nice…” he said then.

The WP had been known for its aversion to coalition politics. In 2013, then WP chief Low Thia Khiang called the idea of uniting all opposition parties an “unworkable concept”. This stance appears to stay although Mr Pritam Singh had taken over the reins.

Dr Chee acknowledged that there are differences among parties, but he said: “Those differences are minuscule when you compare it to the common goal that we must have in providing Singaporean voters with an alternative that they can have confidence in.”

This is especially as Singapore had “deteriorated” under the leadership of the ruling PAP, Dr Chee said, stating his agreement with what Dr Tan had said at a press conference last month that there is an erosion of the foundations of good governance.

He claimed that Singaporeans have “lost a lot of confidence” in Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s leadership. “That’s why people are feeling a lot more anxious. They are a lot more concerned about what’s going to happen over the next few years,” Dr Chee said.

Even with Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat set to succeed Mr Lee, Dr Chee said there remains “groupthink” within the PAP.

“We’re just having more of the same. That, for the sake of Singapore’s future, cannot continue,” he added.