For a long time, I have refrained from posting unless necessary. Pondered long and hard about this before deciding to post this. I hope friends will help to share this reflection as there is a pertinent issue which the future young leaders of Singapore need to understand this fundamental value system and review the workings of the people under them. Only then will we see a better Singapore that we can truly belong to. These are facts with no added imagination.
A good friend’s father passed away suddenly on the late night of 26 Aug 2016, Fri. Those who have experienced the unfortunate demise of a loved one would know that it is a race against time to secure a location and inform the undertaker for the wake to proceed smoothly and immediately once the dawn breaks.
Her family stays in Serangoon Avenue 4, under Aljunied GRC management. But due to current home improvement works, showflats occupied their block’s and vicinity blocks’ void decks. Her dad’s wake cannot take place at their house void deck or immediate adjacent blocks as a result. They have no choice but to apply for the multipurpose hall opposite their flat, across a main road which is managed by Marine Parade GRC.
They called Marine Parade Town Council of that area and was told that the venue for the 4 days which her family needs (27th, 28th, 29th, 30th Aug) IS AVAILABLE, but the booking is still subject to the approval of the senior officer who can only revert the following day by 730am (27th Aug– first day of the wake), leaving the family with very little time to confirm with the undertaker where to setup.
The next morning (27th Aug), lo and behold, she was told that her request is not approved because they are “not resident of that area”!!!! (Quite frankly, if it were me, I would have sworn with the most beautiful language in that the exasperated and ridiculous situation.) Their family has no time but to scramble to look for a farther venue within Aljunied GRC.
And the most mind boggling call event took place on the third day of the wake when she received a call from the same officer who rejected her booking as he wanted to update her about the fact that the request is not approved. Upon clarification, it turns out that what he meant by “not a resident of the area” was that her HDB estate does not belong to the Marine Parade GRC because her estate is from the Aljunied GRC.
What is the point of “updating” her on the third day into the wake when people are mourning? In the family’s moment of need and bereavement, no help or compassion was offered from MPGRC. In fact, the rejection of the booking led to a lot of stress and a mad rush.
Dear friends….i try to be as objective as possible in this. But there is obviously politics in play here. Or are we reading too much in this?
The reason for not approving it is simply unacceptable especially given that the venue is available. Just because their residence belongs to the Aljunied GRC (run by Worker’s Party), they are not allowed to use PAP run facilities? Am I assuming too much political play in this? I do not think so. Are we back to the whole game of “ïf you vote for me, then you will enjoy privileges?” tactics which the old regime is so fond of using?
Why is there the biased assumption that just because their residence is in Aljunied GRC, they voted for the Workers’ Party? We are all Singaporeans. Sure, Politics is a dirty game. But there are OB markers as to where games cannot be played. A bereaving moment qualifies!
Utterly disappointed, I hope the relevant party reflect on its discriminatory practices and have some compassion.
More than 40 volunteers in six teams led by MPs Sylvia Lim, Png Eng Huat, Faisal Manap, Low Thia Khiang, Chen Show Mao and NCMP Daniel Goh knocked on doors to check on residents in 14 blocks of flats in the affected cluster in Bedok North Ave 3 and St 3. Too bad Pritam Singh, Dennis Tan and Leon Perera were overseas on work trips.
We advised residents about the symptoms and spread of the virus and collected information on vulnerable persons. We handed out flyers to inform everyone that Town Council would be conducting urgent floor-to-floor fogging of the common corridor and general area on Friday.
We gave out NEA brochures on Dengue and Zika and the 5-step Mozzie Wipeout. We didn’t have enough NEA brochures, so we made our own version to give out if we run out of the NEA version.
We could sense a strong collective spirit and appreciation of the combined efforts by government agencies, town councils, MPs, volunteers and grassroots. We will continue with the control measures and outreach efforts to fight Zika.
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.”
Four years ago during the 2011 General Elections, the Workers’ Party’s last rally in Serangoon Stadium was massive – and this year’s rally saw a similar turn-out.
The only difference is that WP could now claim Aljunied GRC as their own “home ground” after the results in 2011, since they managed to win the constituency with over 50 per cent of the votes.
In their speeches for the night, the WP showcased a wide range of issues – ranging from the many obstacles the opposition town council has faced the last four years, to municipal and national issues.
Expressing gratitude and promising diligence
Almost all the speakers’ spoke of their sense of immense pride for Aljunied GRC and how the voters have “made history” by voting their party into Parliament.
Sylvia Lim
“As I was preparing my speech for tonight, I couldn’t help but feel a rush of deep yet raw emotion, reflecting on our experience for the past 4 years, as your MPs in Aljunied GRC,” party chairman, Sylvia Lim, said.
“For the first time in Singapore’s history, a GRC fell to an opposition party,” she added, drawing loud cheers from the packed stadium in Serangoon.
Her Aljunied GRC colleague, Pritam Singh, said, “You make me so proud to be a Singaporean. I look forward to the future not with dread, but with keen anticipation, that we will become an even more united multiracial society that is marked by respect and tolerance.”
Candidate for Aljunied GRC Faisal Manap thanked the Aljunied residents for being his “inspiration and (his) teacher.”
Other than expressing gratitude, the candidates also pledged their continued hard work to “serve the residents” of their respective GRCs if they should get voted in again.
In her speech, Ms Lim once again spoke of AHPETC and admitted that the town council had some “financial issues” at first, but they have “worked hard” in the past term, and all of them have “put (their) minds and hearts to be good MPs” for the residents. As a result, the financial accounts of the town council have now turned positive and Ms Lim said the town council will do even better, going forward.
From upgrading works to new places of convenience, Ms Lim said that WP has “made improvements” despite the initial financial problems.
Moreover, Mr Singh also mentioned an article from TODAY that included interviews with several residents of Aljunied GRC that applauded WP for their “human touch” and the effort put into making the vicinity a better place to live in.
“The Town Council has completed repainting 1/3 of the blocks in the GRC, and we have proceeded with major works to re-roof flats and replace playgrounds and fitness corners,” Mr Singh said.
He also noted that the TODAY report quoted Aljunied residents saying that the MPs were “more visible on the ground than compared to the PAP MPs of the past.” Mr Singh said the “human touch” is what the residents “deserve” and can expect from WP.
“We work on your behalf, and we are privileged to be of service to you again,” he added.
Mr Muhamad Faisal Manap also expressed his thoughts about WP’s moral philosophy – that they hope to embody “humanist values” to make policies and be a “kind political party”.
The politics behind using community facilities
Another issue that was raised was how opposition wards seem to be treated differently by the government compared to other PAP wards.
Secretary-general of WP, Low Thia Khiang, speaking in Chinese, said, “After the last election, the first thing that they did was to immediately lease out certain community spaces under the previous Aljunied Town Council to the People’s Association. Examples of this include badminton courts and basketball courts.”
He said that if the Aljunied Town Council or a resident wants to use the spaces for activities, they will have to go through People’s Association and only when the PA or its grassroots organisations approve of the application will the National Environment Agency (NEA), for example, give the go-ahead.
“Some residents who wish to hold events in some HDB-owned community spaces also have to seek permission from the HDB,” Mr Low said. “They have complained to me about this before. The process of approval is very long and can take up to 2 months – because they also need to get permission from the PA. Even after I, as the MP, have written personal letters in attempts to get the events approved quicker, it still does not work.”
Ms Lim also added to the issue of unfair treatment in her rally speech.
“We had to form our own grassroots from scratch, there was no way the PA network would work with us,” she revealed.
“Residents were warned by PA representatives not to invite us to events held on those sites or they will not get future approval to use the sites. This led to some dinner organisers having to uninvite Chen Show Mao from a 7thmonth dinner at Paya Lebar. The organisers were so distraught they wrote a card apologizing to Show Mao. Why must residents be treated this way?”
Ms Lim also made another revelation of the unfair treatment from the government, particularly the People’s Association.
For example, she cited the display of bannerettes in the constituency during National Day.
These would be put up all around Singapore during the period.
From the logos on the bannerettes, it is evident that these banners were “put up by the PA, the CDC and often the Town Council of the area”.
When the WP took over Aljunied, they found out from past town council records that the PA would put up these banners with co-funding from the PAP-run Aljunied Town Council.
However, when the WP took over in 2011, the PA has refused their requests to similarly co-fund such display of bannerettes for National Day.
“According to the PA Act, one of PA’s objective is the fostering of community bonding and strengthening of social cohesion in the people of Singapore. Are they doing that in Aljunied GRC? Are they uniting or dividing?” Ms Lim asked.
She also revealed that not only did the WP had to build up its own grassroots from scratch, even the computer system (which got completely eradicated with their takeover from the previous town council) also needed to be created from scratch.
As for the town council’s financial matters, Ms Lim noted how the town council was subjected to a 10-month Auditor General’s scrutiny, a special two-day debate in Parliament on the issue, a High Court hearing, and with the case pending before the Court of Appeal.
Candidate for Hougang SMC, Mr Png Eng Huat, also highlighted how the Ministry of National development has withheld government grants to the WP town council, even though its accounts have been submitted.
Despite all these challenges, Ms Lim told residents that the WP has “fought back” and “overcome many challenges”.
“We are still here!” she said, to loud cheers from the crowd.
A vote for “stability”
Mr Low spoke of the importance of ensuring Singapore’s stability.
He used the analogy of transport – that it is precisely because one assumes that our transport system is “perfect” that one “takes it for granted”. Therefore, when the train breaks down, “the system did not prepare well enough to handle it smoothly”. Similarly, like a government system, it would always be a good thing to spend effort fostering other parties as a contingency if the ruling party does “break down” eventually.
Pritam Singh
Mr Singh equated a vote for WP to be “a vote for stability”.
He wishes for the 40 per cent of voters who are “not persuaded by the PAP” to have the “space and opportunity” to join in the prospects of Singapore and “co-creating a home in the image of all Singaporeans and not just in the image of a group of PAP leaders”.
He added that some PAP MPs had extremely little to say in Parliament, citing the examples of several PAP MPs who either did not speak up at all in Parliament the last four years, or who spoke only once or twice.
Mr Singh said that contrary to what the PAP would say, Singapore would “need more opposition MPs to make the PAP MPs attend Parliament.”
He urged for those who do not treasure and take Parliament sittings seriously to “give up” their seat to someone else who deserves it more.
Candidate for Aljunied GRC, Chen Show Mao, said the WP has an “obligation to tell (the current government) we feel you are going in the wrong direction, but we also feel that we have a responsibility to work with you to ensure safe passage for all the passengers.”
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.
