Under decades of rule by his People’s Action Party (PAP), Singapore transformed from a gritty port into one of Asia’s most advanced economies – although authorities also faced criticism for curtailing civil liberties and free speech.

Speaking to hundreds of supporters at a hotel ballroom and live on social media, the 79-year-old Tan decried what he said was a climate of fear preventing people from speaking up.

He also claimed there was an “erosion of trust” between the government and citizens due to lack of transparency, independence, and accountability.

Beneath Singapore’s gleaming skyscrapers “is an underlying tale of disquiet,” he said, adding, “we cannot allow this current style of managing the country to go unchallenged”.

“If we really get into Parliament and this period is a recession period, our top priority is to create jobs for our people,” Tan told his supporters.

“We got to put in place policies to ensure that those who are unemployed, what do we do for them?”

The PSP leader said that it was important to address Singapore’s low fertility rate. He also proposed lowering the voting age from 21 to 18.

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The party said it would review the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement between the city state and India.

The group joins a handful of other parties seeking to take on the dominant PAP, but the fractious opposition – which has just six out of 89 elected seats in parliament – is not viewed as a serious threat.

In January, 62-year-old business executive Lee, who did not attend the PSP launch, said in a Facebook post that Tan was “the leader Singapore deserves”.

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In a separate post, he wrote PAP had lost its way and was no longer the party of his father.

During a press conference last week, Tan said he may be willing to take Lee into the party formally.

Lee’s association with the party can boost Tan’s profile as “one of the ‘nice’ people to have represented the PAP during its glory days,” said Michael Barr, a Singapore politics specialist at Flinders University in Australia.

“The presence of the prime minister’s brother in, or at least on the fringes of an opposition party, is a reminder that Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is not his father … and that this family is fractured over Lee Kuan Yew’s legacy,” Barr said.

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A Lee Hsien Yang candidacy under the PSP would be a “game-changer” as it would “do immense damage to the brand of Lee Hsien Loong’s branch of the family”.

However, Singapore Management University law lecturer Eugene Tan said Lee Hsien Yang’s support for the party is a “double-edged sword” as it could overshadow the PSP’s agenda and focus attention on the family feud.

“The vision that Dr Tan may have will become a sideshow. So it is a card that needs to be played very, very carefully,” political analyst Tan said.

Additional reporting by Dewey Sim

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