Aljunied residents had rewritten history in the General Election four years ago and this time, they can again help to advance the nation’s democratic progress and send a signal to the ruling party, Workers’ Party (WP) leaders said yesterday.
Making the pitch at the party’s second-last rally, which was held in its home ground of Aljunied Group Representation Constituency (GRC), the WP leaders urged voters to continue the momentum of entrenching the Opposition in Parliament.
Said WP chief Low Thia Khiang: “Aljunied residents made a brave move (in 2011) to vote WP candidates into Parliament.” However, they cannot stop here, as the policies implemented by the People’s Action Party (PAP) Government over the past four years have not yet effectively solved issues such as the rising cost of living and job insecurity, he said.
WP Aljunied GRC candidate Chen Show Mao said residents are voting not only for their own interests, but also for those of other Singaporeans.
He referred to Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong’s comments on Sunday during a visit to Aljunied GRC that residents should look after their own interests when they cast their vote. Mr Chen agreed, but added: “Each of us, we have multiple different interests at any one time, and I would like to remind (voters) that we should also look to our long-term interests.”
He said: “Our fundamental interests are often intertwined with those of many other Singaporeans.”
Mr Chen again brought up Mr Goh’s analogy — which has been played on by other WP candidates — that the PAP is a cruise ship moving in a definite direction, while the Opposition is a gambling ship that goes nowhere.
“While we understand that you are the captain during your term of appointment, with the right to form a government to steer the ship, we have an obligation to tell you that we feel you are going in the wrong direction,” said Mr Chen, referring to the PAP. “We also have the responsibility to work with you to ensure safe passage for all passengers.”
Mr Chen said the WP’s alternative proposal for population growth, which calls for the building of a larger Singaporean core and slightly lower economic growth, was proof that different voices are necessary in Parliament.
Mr Low said the PAP does not respect Aljunied’s residents. For instance, temples that wish to hold community events at sites in the constituency require a supporting letter from the People’s Association’s (PA) grassroots organisations.
“A letter written by me as the Member of Parliament (MP) in support of a temple’s event will not work … the MP is not even as qualified as the grassroots leader,” Mr Low said.
WP chairperson Sylvia Lim also recounted how the Housing and Development Board had “secretly” moved 26 amphitheatres and basketball courts from under the town council’s watch and placed them under the PA.
She said residents were “warned by the PA” not to invite WP MPs to these sites during events or risk not getting an approval in future.
For example, Mr Chen could not be invited to a Hungry Ghost Festival dinner. “One of the PA’s objectives is to foster community bonding and strengthen social cohesion … Are they doing that in Aljunied GRC? Are they uniting or dividing?” Ms Lim questioned.
She criticised the PAP Government of not being interested in “full and true debate” in Parliament in its attacks on the WP MPs.
She cited the final sitting of the 12th Parliament last month, where the PAP “launched a curveball attack that had nothing to do with the main question filed”. She was referring to how the Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council’s financial lapses were brought up in the House by Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam in his response to a supplementary parliamentary question on lapses found in the accounts of the PA and the National Parks Board.
Showing her confidence that the WP will retain Aljunied GRC, Ms Lim said: “My friends, today, there is a lot of haze. But look beyond the haze — the blue sky is already above Aljunied.”
Source: www.todayonline.com
