A potential new Opposition candidate at the coming General Election said he will give up his corporate career, which sees him shuttling in and out of China, to be a full-time MP if elected.
Mr Chia Ser Lin, 46, was introduced by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) during a Bishan-Toa Payoh walkabout on Tuesday evening (Aug 11). He runs a chain of F&B companies in China, where he is based, and returns to Singapore once a month to his wife and two kids in Toa Payoh, where he said he has lived all his life.
“He is one of the anchor persons in our team to compete in Bishan-Toa Payoh and run the town council if we win,” said DPP secretary-general Benjamin Pwee, who described Mr Chia as someone who “feels for and understands local municipal issues in Toa Payoh very keenly”.
Mr Chia gave the example of what he said were dirty monsoon drains and possible mosquito breeding grounds – a dengue fever threat – in the neighbourhood were not attended to by the Town Council, which he said deflected queries to the National Environment Agency instead.
“There have been persistent issues like this over the last five years. You write to MPs and you don’t really get a response from them,” he said, calling it “a disconnect on the ground”.
In a separate, earlier interview with Channel NewsAsia, Mr Pwee said the DPP “has been with Bishan-Toa Payoh residents since the last GE till now, and knows the issues on the ground … that have not been dealt with by the current team”.
THE CHINESE CHALLENGE
The Bishan-Toa Payoh Group Representation Constituency is held by the People’s Action Party, which on Wednesday announced the retirement of three MPs from the current GRC Team, including former Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng. The PAP also unveiled their replacements.
This new-look PAP team will square off at the coming General Election against an Opposition partnership made up of DPP and Singapore People’s Party members in Bishan-Toa Payoh.
With DPP not laying claim to any Single Member Constituency, Mr Chia, Mr Pwee and party chairman Hamim Aliyas are in the running for this joint team, whose final five-man lineup will be jointly decided by SPP and DPP leaders by the end of the week.
When asked why he wanted to run in the GE, Mr Chia said “it felt important to stand up, take a stand and support Ben against the idea of one-party rule”.
“It’s important there are certain checks and balances in the system,” he added.
A former schoolmate and fellow scout with Mr Pwee at Raffles Institution, Mr Chia said issues such as overcrowding and the job market concerned him. Also close to heart for the China-based executive was the issue of Singapore’s prospects over the next five to 10 years, in the face of competition from the “more aggressive” China market.
“We are all too protected in many ways. I’ve worked in China for so many years, I know what they’re up to and I’m very worried,” said Mr Chia, who has managed the China-based operations of multi-national corporations including Coca-Cola, OSIM and Asia Pacific Breweries for nearly two decades.
Asked if being based overseas would prove a problem during his campaign, Mr Chia said: “If Ben decides I should join him, if he wins the GRC, then it should be a full-time thing. I don’t believe in part-time MPs drawing allowance and having a full-time job and holding meet-the-people sessions once a month. I think that’s not the way.”
Soure: www.channelnewsasia.com
