Only one constituency – Tanjong Pagar – went uncontested in the 2011 General Election. The lack of a contest there is “a very big disadvantage” for the incumbent Members of Parliament there, says Dr Chia Shi-Lu.
The consultant orthopaedic surgeon was assured of a seat in Parliament on Nomination Day four years ago when a Singapore Democratic Alliance team intending to contest the Group Representation Constituency filed their nomination papers after the deadline.
The People’s Action Party went on to win 60.1 per cent of the votes in the 26 other constituencies islandwide, following an intensive campaign period which ultimately saw it lose a GRC for the first time in history.
This time round, the incumbents at Tanjong Pagar could have two things working against them, said Dr Chia: Not having been in the thick of the hustings, and the risk of complacency.
“This is a very big challenge, a very big disadvantage for us,” said Dr Chia, speaking to Channel NewsAsia on the sidelines of the Global Youth Leaders’ Summit, held at Bishan Park Secondary School on Thursday (Jul 30). “Because of this we actually have to work harder.”
WILL THE TEAM CHANGE?
The MP in charge of the Queenstown ward said that their preparation for the upcoming General Election, which will have to be held by early 2017 but which observers expect to take place in the near future, started even before Polling Day, 2011.
“We started working in Apr 2011. Even though we didn’t have an election at that time, we did our campaigning,” he said.
Part of the reason was to keep themselves on their toes, to ensure the PAP team remained relevant to the electorate.
“If the incumbent has been there for many years, sometimes it may not always work to their advantage because people are used to them and they keep on doing the same thing. It may have worked in the past but it may not work in the future,” he said.
Change, therefore, is a necessary constant.
In 2011, the Tanjong Pagar PAP team only had two candidates remaining from their 2006 campaign (also a walkover): Mr Lee Kuan Yew, a stalwart there since the pre-Independence 1955 Legislative Assembly General Elections, and Ms Indranee Rajah.
This time round, a rumoured possibility is that Dr Lily Neo will move over from Tanjong Pagar to neighbouring Jalan Besar GRC, where she served as MP from 2001 to 2011.
Dr Chia said of the MP of the Kreta Ayer-Kim Seng ward, which will sit in Jalan Besar GRC following recommendations from the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee: “The area she looks after hasn’t changed. In fact it has gone back to 2006 so I don’t think it’s that much of a change. I think there’s not much of a surprise there. Of course as colleagues we are sad to have her move to another GRC because we have done so many events together.”
THE LEE KUAN YEW LEGACY
One man’s shadow looms large in Tanjong Pagar – that of founding Prime Minister Lee, who passed away in March this year.
Dr Chia Shi-Lu (centre) greets members of the public who came to pay respects to the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew at Tanjong Pagar Community Club on Mar 24, 2015. (File photo: TODAY)
And Dr Chia – who was awarded the Lee Kuan Yew Postgraduate Scholarship in 2003, allowing him to pursue his doctoral degree in England – said the team there still acts with Mr Lee’s principles in mind.
“When I first joined politics and was nominated and came into Tanjong Pagar, the first thing he told me is: Whatever you do, you just do your job well and look after the residents. Do what you are here to do and look after the residents to the best of your ability,” said Dr Chia.
“It’s kind of direct and typical of his style.
“We still go according to the principles of Mr Lee – we will do what we have always been doing.
“He has always maintained that his greatest legacy is what continues after he’s gone, not when he’s around. Now that he’s not around, things should just go on; we should work as we have worked before. But when you look at what he has achieved with his team – everything should not be just maintained, but should be better than when he was here.”
Source: www.channelnewsasia.com
