Post-GE Visit to Potong Pasir SMC

They were surprised that I was back. At the same time, they were utterly pleased that I did.

GE 2015 is over and life is back to normal for the residents in Potong Pasir SMC. I have returned to visit this special town where the residents have extended to me their warmth and friendship during my walkabouts and home visits.

They were smiling and calling out my name even before I reached them to shake their hands. From the playgrounds to void decks, supermarket to coffeeshops, I was given a feeling of nostalgia and it was like home-coming.

We have identified a few under-privileged families here and, for some time now, they are already receiving care and support from Project Awareness and Happy People. One mother said to me that she has been wondering when she will see me again and had been waiting for me to come.

They tell me that Potong Pasir Town Council is merging with Jalan Besar GRC Town Council and there may not be a Potong Pasir SMC in the next GE. That does not matter for politics to me is just a means to do more good and help create a better society. In fact, with the merger, which may well be a prelude to the disappearance of PP SMC in the next GE, I hope the residents in Potong Pasir SMC will benefit from the economies of scale.

As for me and my supporters, nothing has changed. We will continue with our mission to walk and share with everyone in Singapore and make smiles wherever we go. So, do continue to join me in this wonderful life journey and help spread the message of kindness and compassion.

SOCIAL: Haze - Protection is better than cure

The haze problem seems set to continue for some years before it can be resolved. Meanwhile, hazy days are becoming seasonal and it is disturbing to see that most people outdoors are not wearing their N95 masks even when the haze reaches very unhealthy levels. Maybe it is troublesome and inconvenient to wear masks or even "not cool" to do so, but we need to understand the long term implications of not taking such a simple step, especially on the health of our young people.

Haze particles can affect the heart and lungs, especially in people who already have chronic heart or lung disease e.g. asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), or heart failure. There may be up to 1-3 days of time between exposure to haze and health effects/ symptoms (Click HERE). But for those who may not already have chronic heart or lung disease, they are the ones who should think about how to prevent themselves from contracting these diseases as a result of the haze.

The haze contains various air pollutants which include particulate matter, sulphur dioxide, ozone, nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide. Short term exposure (i.e. continuous exposure to unhealthy daily average PSI levels over a period of a few days) to these air pollutants can cause respiratory symptoms and aggravate existing heart or lung disease. Long term exposure over several years may have a higher risk of (i) cardiovascular effects, such as heart attacks, (ii) reduced lung development, as well as (iii) the development of chronic respiratory diseases, such as asthma, in children (Click HERE).

It is heartwarming to see television footages of our Ministers and MPs distributing and even helping our elderly folks to wear masks but it is just as important to educate our young on the need to protect themselves from haze particles. Whether our exposures to unhealthy haze levels are to be classified as long or short term, this is an opportune time to educate our children not to take their health for granted. Just last friday, schools were closed because the 3-hour PSI reading crossed the 300 mark for the first time. Although MOE has a set of haze management plans to minimise outdoor activities and exempt students with pre-existing lung or heart conditions or are unwell from all physical exercise, there is little or no emphasis on the need for students to wear masks when they are outdoors in the haze. It is quite a common sight to see children walking to school and leaving school in the haze, without their masks.

Besides parental advice, MOE should take the initiative to implement mandatory wearing of masks in schools when there is a need to do so. The lesson to teach our children is that protection is better than cure. When everyone in school is wearing a mask, the children will not shy away from doing so because they think their friends will laugh at them. And certainly this will go a long way to ensure that our children, who will become the future pillars of our society, will remain as healthy as possible.

GRCs - The Filler Effect

No democratic country in the world has an electoral system where Members of Parliament may be elected in teams except in Singapore where we have the Group Representative Constituencies (GRCs) system.

Before the implementation of the GRC system, there was only the Single Member Constituencies (SMC) system where individual candidates compete with each other and stand or fall on their own merits. The candidate with the highest votes gets elected. 

With the GRC system, a few candidates band together to contest as a team against other teams. The team with the highest votes gets elected. This GRC system allows candidates who would not otherwise have made it on their own account to be elected into parliament by riding on the coat-tails of other members in their team who are more credible. Such a system has the potential to dilute the quality of the representatives elected into parliament. And it is beginning to show.

In the current general elections, there are a total of 13 SMCs and 16 GRCs. Depending on which GRC they are contesting in, the teams will need to have between 3 and 6 candidates. Looking at all the teams, one begins to form the view that in almost every team, there are at least one or more candidates whose suitability and ability are clearly questionable. How can this happen? Don't all parties screen their candidates and select only those of calibre to stand for election?

The fact is that good candidates are hard to come by in Singapore politics and with the requirement of a minimum number of candidates in a GRC team, there is a filler effect for teams to make up the numbers. Unsuitable candidates are slotted into the teams to satisfy the minimum number and in this way, they affect the overall quality of the team. The situation is made worse by the requirement of a minority candidate in a GRC team. And good minority candidates are even harder to find.

The filler effect of the GRC system paves the way for opportunists and other undesirable characters to make their way into our legislative body where important matters such as our legislations and national policies are decided. When voters are swayed by the strongest and most credible candidate in a GRC team, they may not pay heed to the fact that the others in the team are undeserving of their vote. The consequence is that more and more weak candidates will make their way into parliament. Is that not something of grave concern to the nation?