Technical issues force Reform Party to unveil its GE candidates under World of Warcraft game stream

It was a rocky start for the Reform Party (RP) last night (June 15) in their first-ever online “Meet-the-People” session. Though the stream on Facebook Live kicked off promptly at 7pm, it was stopped multiple times due to technical issues — viewers were not able to hear what the opposition party’s secretary-general Kenneth Jeyaretnam was saying on-screen. 

When it eventually started up again (via an Nvidia GeForce Experience live stream labelled 'World of Warcraft - Classic', no less), the party chief introduced six candidates — some old, some new — who will be contesting in the next General Election. 

Candidates back to contest again:

• RP chairman Andy Zhu, 37, real estate marketing director
• Darren Soh, 52, Human Resources practitioner and former People’s Action Party grassroots volunteer
• RP treasurer Noraini Yunos, 52, works in telemarketing

The new candidates:

• Gurdev Singh, 55, assistant property manager
• Mahabook Batcha, 52, director of an oil and gas company
• Charles Yeo, 30, criminal defence lawyer

While it remains unclear where each of these candidates will be deployed, it’s been reported that RP intends to return to the constituencies it had contested back in 2011 and 2015, including Ang Mo Kio GRC, Radin Mas SMC and West Coast GRC. 

If RP indeed decides to return to stake their place in West Coast GRC, it’d be a three-cornered fight with the incumbent People's Action Party (PAP) and the Progress Singapore Party (PSP), which will be led by former presidential candidate Dr Tan Cheng Bock. 

Lasting a little over an hour, RP fielded questions on Facebook during their live stream last night, offering insights on the issues they’ll fight for in the coming general election. 

Jeyaretnam stated that he will continue campaigning the issues of transparency and accountability regarding the state reserves. When asked by a viewer about opposition unity, he noted that all the parties taking on PAP want to see “better checks and balances” and accountability on government spending. 

When asked what they would do if they win, Noraini wanted to improve the livelihoods and welfare of ad-hoc workers, including food delivery riders. 

On his end, Yeo stated an issue that’s close to his heart is the entry of foreign citizens in local educational institutions. “Local places need to be for our local students,” he asserted. 

ilyas@asiaone.com