HAZEL POA TO TAKE OVER
PSP also announced on Friday that Ms Poa will take over as PSP’s new secretary-general.
Ms Poa was previously secretary-general of the National Solidarity Party (NSP) in 2011, making her the first female secretary-general of a political party.
Although she stepped down from her role in September 2013 due to health reasons, she was later appointed as acting secretary-general in June 2015 following the resignation of Mr Tan Lam Siong as party chief.
However, in 2015, Ms Poa resigned from NSP as she “strongly disagreed” with the party’s decision to reverse its decision to withdraw from MacPherson SMC in the 2015 General Election. She was later unveiled as a PSP candidate for the 2020 General Election and named vice-chairman of the party in April 2023.
On her leadership background, Solaris Strategies Singapore’s Dr Mustafa said Ms Poa has “grown in stature” to become more of a public figure due to her position as NCMP.
In her role as NCMP, she has been speaking up in parliament on issues that matter to Singaporeans, he added.
“Her leadership role will be crucial in taking PSP into the next lap of its political development (after Dr Tan Cheng Bock),” said Dr Mustafa, referring to the PSP chairman.
Assoc Prof Chong of NUS said that although Ms Poa tends to be “quieter”, he does not see that hindering her from being an effective secretary-general.
“Whether someone is quiet or not has no bearing on the effectiveness of leadership. Successful people have different leadership styles,” he said.
Dr Koh said: “I think she will keep things on an even keel for the rest of the term, provide useful points to the important debates given her record and her background, and try her best to profile the young PSP positively for the upcoming GE.”
Noting that the party seems to be “taking a while to settle”, she added that Ms Poa has to provide a clear agenda, brand and depth to the bench if PSP wants to signal that it is “much bigger than two or three personalities.
Responding to queries from CNA, Ms Poa said: “I believe that people’s confidence in the party as well as party morale is more determined by what we do as a party collectively, rather than a single factor of who is (secretary-general).”
She added that Mr Leong will continue to play a “valuable role” in the party and in parliament.
“Being freed of party administrations will allow him to devote even more time to his parliamentary duties and continue to push for accountability, a role that he has done admirably.”
CNA has contacted 16 past and present PSP members for comments on the latest developments, with most remaining tight-lipped.
However one party member, who did not want to be named, told CNA that they had heard of a change coming, but that things within the party had been smooth to their knowledge.
“A sudden change of leadership is never good for any political party but Hazel is very experienced in politics having participated (in a) few GEs and she has Dr Tan’s guidance,” the member said.
“I do think Mun Wai has done very well as an NCMP over the years, although he had a rough start but every diamond must be polished.”