SINGAPORE — Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) secretary-general Chee Soon Juan called on his supporters to leave behind the politics of old, which were based on “personal hatred, vindictiveness and destruction”.

Instead of engaging in “verbal abuse” of the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) candidates, which he said would be counter-productive, Dr Chee urged them to rise to the challenge of building a public discourse that is “worthy of the nation”.

This was the tone he set in his new book, Never on Bended Knees, in which he related some of his experiences from the campaign trail during the Bukit Batok by-election in 2016. It was launched on Saturday (Jan 26) at the SDP’s headquarters in Ang Mo Kio.

Dr Chee was then running as the opposition candidate in the by-election, which was called after Member of Parliament David Ong suddenly resigned.

He said he was the target of vitriol during the campaign, with PAP members of parliament (MPs) chiding him for not holding a steady job and poking fun of his use of Hokkien.

While social media allowed him to fight back, this does not mean “returning like for like”, he said.

“Using smear tactics, by whichever side of the political divide, to ruin our opponents is detrimental to Singapore’s future,” he said.

“It turns people off politics and discourages capable citizens from stepping forward as candidates,” he said.

Instead, he said, politicians should focus on the problems Singaporeans are concerned with and offer alternative ideas.

His strategy, he added, is to give voters “a reason to vote for the SDP, not just against the PAP”.

“The truth is that not everyone in the ruling party are out only for wealth and power, there are those who genuinely care about Singapore,” he said.

The crowd at Dr Chee's book launch on Saturday. Photo: Wong Pei Ting/TODAY

In the book, Dr Chee also writes about his desire to reconcile with SDP founder Chiam See Tong – now secretary-general of the Singapore People’s Party – after a fall-out in 1996, revealing that he had tried to do so “in recent times”.

The SDP has been actively making preparations for the next general election – due by April 2021 – since April last year, TODAY understands.

Last July, the SDP gathered six other opposition parties to discuss the possibility of forming a coalition to contest in the next General Election with former PAP MP Tan Cheng Bock at the helm.

Dr Chee said he still continues to look to Dr Tan to take the lead in forming the coalition.

Dr Tan recently applied to form his own political party, to be named Progress Singapore Party.

“We are still months away, and I think things may still develop. Things may still change. And we are just hopeful as we continue to consolidate our gains – all with that single-minded purpose of making sure that we are successful at the next elections and to bring some semblance of democracy and diversity in Parliament.”