"It was founded by opposition veteran and lawyer J.B. Jeyaretnam (formerly known as Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam), notable as the former Secretary-General of the Workers' Party of Singapore and the first opposition candidate in post-independence Singapore, on 3 July 2008.Around three months after the party's foundation, founder Jeyaretnam died on 30 September, and the leadership has since taken over by his son, Kenneth Jeyaretnam.