PSP to contest West Coast-Jurong West and Chua Chu Kang

Party will field fewer candidates in GE2025, cites cost of living as most pressing issue

- Chin Hui Shan and Ng Wei Kai

The opposition Progress Singapore Party on April 6 said it will field fewer candidates this general election, and confirmed that it will contest West Coast-Jurong West and Chua Chu Kang GRCs.

Party chief Leong Mun Wai did not provide details on how many candidates the party will put forward in the 2025 General Election.

The party fielded 24 candidates in GE2020, the biggest opposition slate then.

Mr Leong, who is also a Non-Constituency MP, added that PSP is still working out its plans to contest other constituencies.

Asked the reason for reducing the PSP slate, Mr Leong said that contesting a general election is a "very complicated affair", citing problems like having dedicated manpower to canvass the ground.

"Our conclusion from the last election is that we need to focus a bit more," he added.

He made the announcement at the launch event for PSP's manifesto, which focuses on bread-and-butter issues such as cost of living and jobs.

The press conference was fronted by Mr Leong, the party's first vice-chairperson Hazel Poa and party chairman Tan Cheng Bock.

PSP's manifesto sets out over 60 policy ideas centred on several themes: the cost of living, housing, jobs and wages, social safety nets, education and governance.

Mr Leong said: "Most of the policies have already been proposed in Parliament. Among the new policies, many are aimed at strengthening protections for workers to secure livelihoods and improve work-life balance for workers."

Mr Leong and Ms Poa, who is also an NCMP, have raised some of these issues in Parliament, including the need to reduce statutory working hours to 40 hours a week, down from the current 44 hours, and increasing annual leave entitlement from seven to 14 days.