Too old-fashioned: Goh Meng Seng steps down as People’s Power Party chief, says Singaporeans have changed

SINGAPORE: People’s Power Party (PPP) founder Goh Meng Seng announced via a social media post on Monday (July 6) that the PPP’s leadership transformation had been concluded and that he has stepped down as party chief.

Additionally, Derrick Sim has also stepped down as PPP chairman.

Mr Goh explained that while he and Mr Sim had made their decisions immediately after the conclusion of last year’s General Election, they “held back and allowed the party to reorganise and determine its new leadership and direction before we officially stepped down.”

His post contained what may be construed as a lament over how much Singapore has changed, while Mr Goh himself has clung to old ways and values.

“Singapore voters have transformed, but I still lived in the past of values,” he wrote.

The former Secretary-General said he was taking full responsibility for PPP’s showing in GE 2025, adding that his “Old Fashion (sic) Values” resulted in his “error in strategic judgement.”

He wrote that he believes he put too much trust in others to act according to principles that Mr Goh values, and that he wrongly assumed opposition parties would prioritise preventing uncontested PAP victories, or walkovers, by coordinating candidates, as he believes had been the norm in previous elections. 

He also wrote that he had misjudged Singaporean voters, wrongly assuming that they would hold to what he deemed to be “Family Values, Integrity” and would value those who he claimed spoke “Truth rather than words of sophistry.”

Instead, he claimed that branding, image, emotional appeal, and media influence now play a larger role in electoral success in Singapore.

Perhaps contradicting his earlier assertion of taking responsibility for PPP’s loss, he seemed to blame Singaporeans for “no longer put(ting) any focus on Truth, Integrity and Accountability.”

Nevertheless, he expressed the hope for a good outcome for Singapore’s future and said he will continue to support the PPP and its new leadership. Moreover, he and Mr Sim will continue to speak up on social media “to provide Political Education on policy matters.”

He ended his post by thanking his supporters for putting their trust in him and in the party. On July 6, William Lim wrote his first social media post as the new Secretary-General of PPP.

“Following our recent re-election of the Central Executive Committee, the party has formed a refreshed leadership team made up largely of young, dedicated, and caring Singaporeans who are deeply committed to the future of our country,” he wrote.

Mr Lim had been fielded by the PPP in GE2025 at Ang Mo Kio GRC, where the team won 10.2% of the vote. He is also the founder of the popular Singapore Taxi Driver Facebook group. /TISG

Read also: Singaporeans push back against PPP chief Goh Meng Seng’s condemnation of Pritam Singh