Many residents in Aljunied Group Representation Constituency (GRC) seem to be unable to decide which party to vote for in the upcoming election, said Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, who urged voters in the Opposition-held ward to consider their own interests when casting their vote.
“My sense of the ground is that many are caught in a dilemma. They told us quite openly they want to support the People’s Action Party (PAP), but at the same time, they are afraid that if they vote for the PAP, then the Workers’ Party (WP) may be out. And therefore, there’ll be no Opposition party headed by Mr Low Thia Khiang and Ms Sylvia Lim in Parliament,” he said after a visit to Bedok North and Hougang Central, his second visit to the GRC in three weeks.
To solve their problem, Mr Goh advised residents to consider their own interests as voters.
“Because when you vote for somebody, you must vote for candidates whose values you appreciate — values like humility, sincerity, hard work, integrity, honesty,” he said.
Apart from that, residents should also vote for their own as well as their children’s future, he added. “Who can help you better in the future? If you rationalise and look at these two (criteria), then you can come to a decision.”
Mr Goh, who is contesting in the neighbouring Marine Parade GRC, likened the choice between the PAP and the WP to one of choosing which cruise ship to take.
“If you go with the PAP, you’re actually embarking on a cruise ship with a definite destination. You know the destination, you know the journey, the path taken by the cruise ship. You know the captain, the crew members, you know the quality,” he said.
“The other choice you’re given is, ‘Take my cruise ship (that is) going nowhere’ … These are gambling ships (with) casinos, very exciting. They say, ‘Take my ship, you can gamble, but we go nowhere, just go round and round,’” he added.
Mr Goh said: “If you’re a gambler, then of course, you take the casino ship. But if you’re not a gambler and you worry about your children’s future, you’ll take the other ship.”
On voters’ concern that the Opposition would lose its presence in Parliament if residents voted for the PAP, Mr Goh said the WP can “have their cake and eat it”, referring to the Non-Constituency Member of Parliament scheme, which gives the top Opposition losers seats in Parliament. If the WP loses the election, it will still have a strong voice in Parliament, but not have to run a town council.
The WP’s management of Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council’s finances has been the subject of a series of heated exchanges between the PAP and the WP during the hustings.
“They would be more free to write more great speeches, to make more great rhetoric in Parliament,” Mr Goh said.
The PAP’s team in its contest for Aljunied GRC consists of Mr Yeo Guat Kwang, who is a four-term Member of Parliament, as well as four newcomers — lawyer Muralidharan Pillai; Mr Victor Lye, chief executive of an insurance firm; Mr Chua Eng Leong, a private banker; and Mr Shamsul Kamar, a former head of department at a school.
They will face WP chief Low Thia Khiang, party chairperson Sylvia Lim, Mr Pritam Singh, Mr Chen Show Mao and Mr Faisal Manap, who are incumbents.
Mr Goh’s visit comes a day after Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong visited the Opposition-held ward.
Asked if his and Mr Lee’s visits could sway residents to vote for the PAP, Mr Goh said that for the people whom they have met, it would. But he added that those who were not present at their visits were the ones whom the party needed to reach out to.
“We can’t take things for granted. It is still very much an uphill task for the team over here. It’s not easy … They’ve got to work for every vote,” he said.
Source: www.todayonline.com
