Former lawyer M Ravi was spotted at a walkabout with opposition party Red Dot United (RDU) on Friday (March 21) evening in the new Jalan Kayu single-seat ward.

Donning a lanyard identifying him as a volunteer, the 55-year-old was seen chatting with residents and distributing flyers near Fernvale LRT station and at the hawker centre in Fernvale Community Club.

When asked if he is contesting in the coming general election, Ravi told the media after the hour-long walkabout that he has "pledged his support" to RDU as a "strong alternative voice in Parliament".

While not a member, Ravi said he is attracted to party due to its "sustainable policies".

"I live here, and I was born in Jalan Kayu, and so this place is very special to me, he said. "I also know that RDU is contesting in Nee Soon GRC, where I spent my teenage years."

Ravi was part of the Reform Party slate that challenged for the six-member Ang Mo Kio GRC against the People's Action Party(PAP) during the 2015 General Election.

The PAP, led by then-Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, won with 78.6 per cent of the votes.

Ravi has ruled out contesting with the Reform Party.

"Given my work commitments and limitation of time, I would like to support RDU and focus on the constituency I'm in," he said.

In May last year, Ravi, who has more than 25 years' experience as a lawyer, was struck off the rolls after he was previously found guilty on more than 10 occasions of improper conduct.

These included making "false and unwarranted attacks" in his Facebook pages against then President Halimah Yacob, as well as then Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and former PM Goh Chok Tong.

And in August 2024, Ravi was sentenced to 14 weeks' jail and fined $5,500 for a string of crimes, including pushing or injuring strangers and acquaintances.

Former PSP member also at RDU's Jalan Kayu SMC walkabout

Meanwhile, former Progress Singapore Party (PSP) member Kala Manickam was also seen at the RDU walkabout in the Fernvale area on Friday. 

The 57-year-old adult educator and former army officer is being ear-marked by RDU to contest in Jalan Kayu single-member constituency (SMC).

Kala is no stranger to elections. She was part of the PSP slate that challenged for the five-member Nee Soon GRC against the incumbent PAP during the 2020 General Election

The PAP, led by Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam, won 61.9 per cent of the vote share.

"We all agree that experience plays a part, right? So I definitely want to say thankful that I had an opportunity to contest with PSP," said Kala on Friday (March 21). "And that opportunity, with the experience I gained on the ground, was even more amazing because I was in Chong Pang against our Minister Shanmugam." 

In November 2021, Kala sued the PSP over her termination, who said was "wrongful and invalid". She also sought a $10,000 refund in election expenses.

Countering the lawsuit, the PSP cited a petition filed by 17 party members which called for her removal, adding that she was expelled "after efforts to reconcile her with the party were unsuccessful".

Fellow former Nee Soon GRC candidates Taufik Supan and Damien Tay claimed in an affidavit that Kala did not join the team for morning meetings at coffee shops and walkabouts and demanded that things be done her way.

PSP founder Tan Cheng Bok, meanwhile, said that he and other Central Executive Committee members had met with Kala to reconciliate their differences, but added that she was confrontational "as if she was raring for a fight".

She told AsiaOne that she has since settled her dispute with PSP out of the court.

"We have gone (about) in an amicable manner, and I have nothing against the PSP, even in the past or in the present," she said, while declining to share further details, citing "the need to respect the confidentiality of both parties". "I wish all the best to Dr Tan to win the election and get a set in Parliament."

Multi-cornered fight 'not in anyone's interest': RDU Sec-Gen

The new Jalan Kayu SMC was formed after the EBRC proposed carving out a piece of Ang Mo Kio GRC.

Besides a portion of HDB flats in Fernvale, the single-seat ward - with 29,565 electors - also includes the private estates along Jalan Kayu Road and Seletar Aerospace Park.

Other than RDU, opposition parties People's Alliance for Reform and People's Power Party have also staked their claim on the same day that the EBRC report was released.

As for the ruling PAP, secretary-general of the National Trades Union Congress Ng Chee Meng was seen with Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong at a community event in Fernvale on March 16.

He has so far yet to confirm if he is standing as a candidate in Ang Mo Kio GRC or Jalan Kayu SMC.

RDU Secretary-General Ravi Philemon pointed out that it is premature to say if his party will be up against Ng in Jalan Kayu SMC.

"But regardless, we are ready for whoever the PAP fields," said the veteran media practitioner, adding that "eight or nine out of 10 residents here" told his party that they “need better checks and balances".

"And that is what a serious political party like Red Dot United has come to offer the Single Member Constituency in Jalan Kayu, and we will work very hard to win the trust and support of the constituents here."

On the possibility of a multi-cornered fight for Jalan Kayu SMC, Philemon was asked if he has engaged with other opposition parties on the matter.

"There's a lot of friendship and goodwill among many of us," he said. "A multi-cornered fight is not in anyone’s interest, especially not in any of the opposition party’s interest, and for RDU, we do understand the importance of opposition unity, and ... we’ll do our part towards that.”

chingshijie@asiaone.com

For more original AsiaOne articles, visit here.