Showing posts with label GE Volunteer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label GE Volunteer. Show all posts

Saturday, March 12, 2016

GE 2015: The 1st By-election


It was expected to happen anytime after GE 2015. The question was where it will happen first and it has been answered today. Bukit Batok SMC is up for a by-election. The MP who won the seat of Bukit Batok Town Council for PAP has resigned.

There were two by-elections following GE 2011. Both incumbents were from different parties and they resigned because of extra-marital affairs. The latest resignation was for the same reason and the by-election date will be announced in due course. While there are people who are interested in talking about why these marital affairs happen so often and speculating over whether there could be other MPs who are engaged in such "personal indiscretions", others are more interested in exploring the likely scenarios for the coming by-election. Who will be contesting and who will likely emerge as the winner?


This by-election presents a precious opportunity for another alternative voice to be heard in parliament and many aspiring candidates are already sitting up straight and contemplating. In GE 2015, there was a 3-way contest in Bt Batok in which the ward was won by the PAP candidate with 73.02% votes and the SDP's candidate garnered 26.38%. The independent candidate who entered a token appearance lost his election deposit with only 0.6% votes. Aspiring candidates in the upcoming by-election will need to assess their familiarity and appeal to the voters of Bukit Batok SMC before they take the plunge. It will be remiss of them to count on the intuition that by-elections tend to work against the PAP for no one can be sure of voters' behaviour on polling day.

Historically, Bt Batok SMC had been close to being an opposition ward before GE 2015. It was abolished as a single-seat ward in 1997 after PAP won it narrowly against SDP and merged twice - first with Bt Timah GRC (in 1997) and later with Jurong GRC (in 2001). It was restored as a SMC in GE 2015 only to see a by-election barely 7 months later

The voters of Bt Batok SMC will have a second chance to exercise their voting power and to present their message. How they vote will now be the focus of public discourse, as will be the likely candidates for the by-election. We wait with abated breath to see what message the voters of Bt Batok SMC will be sending to all of us.

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

I Am Not Alone

Some people think that independent candidates are working all by themselves and are short in resources and may not be able to run a town council. Conversely, they think that party candidates have more resources and are better able to run town councils. If we care to think deeper, these are merely assumptions and are not absolute truths. 


I may be an independent candidate but this does not mean that I do everything by myself. The amount of work that I have been able to do on the ground and in so many places would not have been possible without a dedicated team of supporters and their resources.

As a matter of fact, when it became known that I no longer had any party affiliation, there were immediate invitations from various political parties for me to join them. Some had even sought support to tap on the resources that my supporters have as they do not have adequate resources of their own.


A political party cannot succeed without strong supporters. With so many political parties on the scene, there is not only competition for talent but also resources. I am open to sharing the resources of my supporters with anyone who genuinely wish to serve the people and are not involved in politics for ulterior motives.

The idea of making MPs run a town council is an unfair political move that has shifted municipal duties from HDB to an MP. It not only makes the job of an MP more onerous so that he has less time in his parliamentary work but to also act as an electoral hurdle. It has been seen that even PAP town councils have their own issues. Voters, however, choose their candidate not because the candidate will be good in running a town council but because he or she can be their effective voice in parliament. Otherwise, their estate manager would be their best candidate as MP. And many may not know that I am not entirely new to town council work and was once a volunteer lawyer in the drafting of tenders and contracts for the Bukit Batok Town Council when it was first formed under the late Dr. Ong Chit Chung.


Having said so, since running a town council has been thrust upon an MP as his municipal duty, it makes sense for any new MP to continue to employ the services of the existing staff who are managing the estate. This is a step towards depoliticizing the system and ensures continuity of service with necessary improvements under the new MP. Obviously, if this continuity is not possible because there are issues of political ties, which will be truly regrettable, my plan will be to adopt a direct management approach with the help of my team of supporters which comprise people with the relevant skills and experience.

As an independent candidate, I am no different from a party candidate. In fact, I may be more equal to the task of running a town council.

Friday, August 14, 2015

Outreach In Potong Pasir SMC


We knocked at every door. From floor to floor and block to block, we walked. From Toa Payoh Lorong 8 to Potong Pasir and back and forth, we walked. I can't remember how many times we did this and we met and spoke with so many people.


From stall to stall, coffeeshop to coffeeshop, table to table, shop to shop, street to street, we walked.  There were people who recognised me, called out my name, waved to me, embraced me, wiped my sweat and asked to take pictures with me.


The people in Potong Pasir SMC make me feel so much at home and I feel more and more connected to this ward with each visit. They invited me into their homes, talked to me about their experiences and encouraged me to come visit them more often. This ward has so much character and the residents are so approachable and direct that you can't help liking them. 


I enjoy doing my walkabouts in this ward and meeting the residents. It's such a joy each time I walk here. And my team feels it too.

Sunday, August 2, 2015

Food Distribution in Potong Pasir


The distribution of rations at Potong Pasir with Project Awareness and Happy People took place today. Coincidentally, Mr. Sitoh Yi Ping, the current MP of Potong Pasir SMC, was in the vicinity. We shook hands and had a photograph taken together. I invited him to join our volunteers for the distribution but he was unable to make it.




There were volunteers who were themselves residents of Potong Pasir. Our volunteers visited a few blocks and met many elderly residents. They were happy to see our concern for them and shared with us the issues that bothered them. A number of them were disturbed by the construction works and spoke about how their peaceful living environment has been disrupted. The cleanliness of the estate has suffered and their homes are dusty. 


We were invited into their homes to look at wall cracks, leaking pipes and creaking doors. These problems have led some of them to fork out extra money to pay for rectification work. There was a resident who renovated her flat after being tired of waiting for the upgrading works to begin and went ahead to renovate her flat. However, after her renovation was completed, the upgrading works began and caused repeated damage to her flat.

Residents spoke fondly of Mr. Chiam and how they miss his personal touch. There were requests for help during our visits and even after the distribution, there were telephone calls from residents for us to visit them again. We moved on to King George's for lunch and bought some more rations to distribute to the lonely elderly residents that we met.

Those in need will not be forgotten and we will continue to reach out to as many of them as we can.

Friday, July 24, 2015

Whampoa SMC No More and Moulmein-Kallang GRC Gone

On 14 July 2015, I announced my intention to contest in Whampoa SMC. Ten days later, it was announced that Whampoa SMC will not exist in the next GE. Needless to say, I am disappointed.


The Electoral Boundaries Review Committee report was released on 24 July 2015. Together with Whampoa SMC, both Joo Chiat SMC and Moulmein-Kallang GRC ("MK GRC") will also be dissolved in the next GE. Amidst all the instant cries of gerry-meandering about Joo Chiat SMC, I can only ask: Why Whampoa SMC? Why MK GRC?


I have always considered Whampoa SMC and MK GRC as deserving attention, amongst others, because I have visited many troubled places that fall within this SMC and GRC. Suddenly, they will no longer be around for political contest in the coming GE. Is there a good explanation for this sudden change?


When I first began studying the political demography in Singapore in consultation with some political observers, we saw something that was happening here that was akin to a development in ancient China close to 2,000 years ago. If you are familiar with the story of the Three Kingdoms 三国演义 (AD 220–280), it was a time when China was divided into the states of Wei (), Shu (), and Wu (). 


The political struggle between People's Action Party (PAP) and the Workers' Party (WP) is reaching a point when a 3rd force is set to arise to serve as a counterbalance. This 3rd force is anticipated to come from the constituencies in the south. MK GRC, Potong Pasir SMC, Mountbatten SMC and Whampoa SMC are the potential springboards for the rise of the 3rd force but now only Potong Pasir SMC and Mountbatten SMC are left on the slate. It was as if someone saw the same thing that we had seen and was trying to prevent it from happening.


The Chinese believe that a tripod represents firmness and stability. I entertain the notion that our political arena cannot continue to see a contest between two forces as this will only lead to more instability and disruption. A 3rd mediatory force in our political arena is necessary to assuage and balance the diversity in opinions and to secure the future success of Singapore. I am now left to think about where I could go as an independent candidate now that Whampoa is no more.