SINGAPORE, June 20 — Red Dot United (RDU), which was registered as a political party just earlier this week, plans to contest in Jurong Group Representation Constituency (GRC) at the next General Election (GE) if it is unchallenged, it said in a statement yesterday.

The five-member GRC, which was contested by Singaporeans First in GE2015, was chosen as none of the other opposition parties had indicated that they will be contesting there, it said.

RDU added that it has “open lines of dialogue” with other opposition parties. 

“If this constituency remains unchallenged, RDU will represent the opposition to the best of our ability. We believe the residents of Jurong GRC would wish to exercise their rights as citizens and participate actively in our democratic process,” RDU said.

Hours after the announcement, however, People’s Voice (PV) chief Lim Tean said that his party will be contesting Jurong GRC in the coming GE.

“PV has been in active talks with our friends from the other Opposition parties and after much consultation, we have decided that PV will be sending a very strong team of five candidates to contest in that GRC for the coming GE,” he wrote in a Facebook post that was published at about 8pm.

RDU is a breakaway group from the Progress Singapore Party (PSP) helmed by the party’s former vice-chairman Michelle Lee, 43, and member Ravi Philemon, 52, who announced their intention to form the new party on May 29. 

Their announcement came days after PSP secretary-general Tan Cheng Bock said that there have been people with “big egos” who joined PSP out of self-interest and that he would “not feel sorry” if these people left the party.

Lee and Philemon had earlier said that they were not certain if the party would be officially registered in time for the next GE as the process usually takes two months. 

Registration was approved on June 15. Philemon said he had written to the Ministry of Home Affairs’ Registry of Societies asking for the process to be expedited.

In response to TODAY’s queries on Wednesday, MHA confirmed that the party has been officially registered but did not comment on whether the formation of the party was expedited, or the basis of it being expedited.

In its statement yesterday, RDU reiterated its gratitude to the registry for its speedy acknowledgement and approval of the party’s application which was sent in on May 26.

In its statement, RDU also revealed its mission statement, which it called “Politics with principles, vision with values”.

“RDU believes that for the benefit of a country and its people, politics must be founded on principles that are unchanging, despite any challenges and uncertainties the future brings.

“Principles and values that we hold dear include fairness, accountability, integrity, transparency, happiness, hope and heart (compassion and empathy). We will hold each of our members and our policies true to these values and principles,” it said. 

Its party logo is a stylised symbol of a compass, rendered in the national colours of red and white.

RDU said it chose a compass as it represents safety, since those on a journey “rely upon its ability to point them in the right direction, navigating tumultuous seas and unfamiliar ground”.

Next, the party intends to introduce its members, especially the candidates it will be fielding, Philemon told TODAY.

RDU also intends to reach out to voters and get them familiar with its policy ideas on ways it can improve the lives of Singaporeans, he added. — TODAY