return of the prodigious son

just when doom and gloom hang over martial arts in local politic scene, a spark of light appears....... JBJ jr returns to dominate RP clan. it was a suprising revelation from the SHITTYTIMES report today. JJ has jumped ship. he's now in RP clan instead of SDP. fallout with the F4?? any insider's news?

JBJ's son Kenneth joins Reform Party

Opposition party member open to contesting next GE

By Kor Kian Beng & Jeremy Au Yong


Mr Jeyaretnam, a fund manager, sees a need for a 'real economist' on the political scene. -- TNP FILE PHOTO


MR KENNETH Jeyaretnam, the elder son of late opposition leader J.B. Jeyaretnam, has joined the opposition ranks and is not ruling out contesting the next general election.

Three weeks ago, he joined the Reform Party, which was set up by his father a few months before he died last September.

The 50-year-old hedge fund manager was co-opted into the party's 13-man central executive committee (CEC) a week later.

Mr Jeyaretnam confirmed to The Straits Times yesterday that he had joined the opposition party. 'The timing was right. My father founded the party, so this is one way to honour him and to continue his legacy,' he said.

The party was set up by the late Mr Jeyaretnam - better known as JBJ - after he was discharged from bankruptcy in 2007. It was registered last July.

But he died of heart failure two months later. He was 82.

There has been speculation on the opposition scene in recent months that the younger Jeyaretnam would be entering the fray. This was in the light of speeches he made at events organised by opposition parties in memory of his father.

Mr Jeyaretnam said he had recently thought about entering politics, after Reform Party CEC member James Teo invited him to join the party. He next met Mr Ng Teck Siong, the party chairman and his father's long-time ally, and made his decision.

Married with a 12-year-old son, Mr Jeyaretnam worked in London's financial sector for several years before he returned with his family to Singapore last April.

His brother Philip, 45, is a Senior Counsel and partner at Rodyk & Davidson, and a former president of the Law Society.

The brothers graduated from Cambridge University with first-class honours degrees in economics and law respectively.

Asked if his brother would join politics too, Mr Jeyaretnam said: 'My brother is his own man. You would have to ask him.'

Mr Philip Jeyaretnam could not be reached for comment.

Mr Ng said the Reform Party plans to tap Mr Jeyaretnam's economics expertise, and might also field him at the next polls.

'As a party, we will try to get the best people to run for elections. Kenneth is a potential candidate,' he said.

Mr Jeyaretnam said he is open to standing as a candidate, and he sees a need for a 'real economist' on the political scene, to raise economic issues.

He added: 'Like the Prime Minister, I also have a double first from Cambridge.'

PM Lee Hsien Loong, 57, earned double first-class honours in mathematics at Cambridge.

Is Mr Jeyaretnam a potential successor to his father's secretary-general post in the Reform Party? 'The CEC will have to decide on that,' Mr Ng replied.

That post has been left vacant since Mr J.B. Jeyaretnam's death. Other vacant posts are those of assistant secretary-general and treasurer, added Mr Ng.

The party has recruited 20 members since October. Among them is Mr Ng E-Jay, 32, a blogger who is doing a doctorate in mathematics at the National University of Singapore.

Political observer Eugene Tan, a law lecturer at Singapore Management University, said Mr Jeyaretnam has given the Reform Party a 'tremendous boost', given his academic achievements, professional background and political pedigree.

Meanwhile, the party that the late Mr Jeyaretnam used to lead, the Workers' Party, has also seen changes in its membership, but in the form of resignations. Four members have quit in the past two weeks.

They include Mr Abdul Salim Harun, 27, and Ms Lee Wai Leng, 30, who were part of the Workers' Party team that lost to PM Lee's team in Ang Mo Kio GRC during the 2006 polls.

The party's organising secretary, Mr Yaw Shin Leong, who led the Ang Mo Kio team, said: 'In all organisations, members come and go. They have contributed to the party. We wish them well.'

is it true that wp's highly skilled disciples had been brain-washed over to join master chee?? more twist and turns waiting to be revealed. what did JJ jump ship - from SDP into RP? is there something's brewing between him and SDP or his nefarious group of the infamous F4? discord sowing taking its toll on themselves now instead??

keep an eye, ear and nose for more happening as the martial arts in local politics twists and turns......