SINGAPORE: Singapore supporters of outspoken opposition politician Chee Soon Juan have told Bikyamasr.com that they are excited about his official entrance into running for governmental office. “It is exciting that someone who has fought against corruption and the government for so long is to start to make a difference from the inside,” said cafe owner and Chee Soon supporter Sue Kuan. Kuan told Bikyamasr.com that “if we can get him elected it will be a great time for Singapore.” That is if he wins. “I look forward to standing for elections in 2016,” Chee Soon Juan, 50, the Secretary-General of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), told media on Wednesday. Chee was declared bankrupt in 2006 after failing to pay his debts to former prime ministers Lee Kuan Yew and Goh Chok Tong. Singaporean law bans people who are bankrupt from running for parliament. He has since settled defamation awards to the two former prime ministers and is now able to run for office. The government's Insolvency and Public Trustee's Office confirmed Wednesday that Chee, a vocal critic of the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) once led by Lee and Goh, will have his bankruptcy formally annulled on Friday. Chee became ineligible to run for office in 2006 after failing to pay Sg$500,000 (around $400,000 at current rates) in damages awarded to Lee and Goh over remarks he made in the 2001 general election. In July this year, Chee offered to pay them Sg$30,000 to settle his debts, which Lee and Goh accepted. All this does not seem to bother his supporters, who are fervent in their support for the outspoken critic, saying his push for change will be a “much-needed” entrance for the government. “We are all hoping and will campaign greatly for his success. He is a symbol for us local and middle class people in Singapore and I hope he is able to bring that to Parliament,” added Brian Lee, a graphic designer in the city-state. It will likely be an uphill battle for Chee Soon, whose party failed to win a single seat in the 2011 election, which saw the PAP receive an all-time low of 60 percent of the vote, but still win 81 seats in the 87-member parliament. The opposition took the remaining six seats, despite winning 40 per cent of the vote, under a system critics see as stacked in favor of the PAP.
