I refer to the Straits Time Insight report on Hougang Constituency published on 24 September 2010.
Mr Eric Low said, “at every wake, he would send a blanket from the town council”. I would like to clarify that blankets and donations to families of deceased residents are given in my personal capacity as MP for Hougang to offer my condolences, not from the town council.
He was further quoted to have invited me for the meeting of HUDC cluster privatisation, to which I have replied, “too busy and didn’t want to come”. Mr Eric Low had brought this up in a conversation when we met at a lunar seventh month dinner. Never had it crossed my mind that a brief casual conversation was actually an official and important invitation to a formal dialogue session and not a grassroots meeting. In any case as I understand it, the dialogue session was organised by the People’s Association (PA) and Mr Eric Low was invited as the Guest-of-Honour. I was not informed nor invited to the meeting by the PA.
Next came the most intriguing point raised in the report, and I quote: “When the opposition lose in PAP wards, where do they go to? Do you see them in the PAP wards?”
These words and the underlying meaning behind them show exactly the kind of political system we have in Singapore.
Let me touch on the first point: “Where do they go to?”
When a PAP candidate loses the election, he is appointed or will remain as “Adviser” to the grassroots organisations. He heads the Community Club (CC) and nominates or endorses members of the Residents’ Committee (RC) whose activities are co-ordinated and routinely administered by the PA which is funded by government budget.
At the party level, he is in charge of the PAP’s branch in the constituency which is closely affiliated to the PAP Community Foundation (PCF). The PAP party office is usually located inside the premises of PCF, which is registered as a charitable organisation and runs pre-education classes for residents in the ward. The PCF premises are granted “concessionary rent” by the HDB.
To summarise, when a PAP candidate loses the election, he goes to the CC under the umbrella of the PA and to his party office under the PCF, where he can conduct meet-the-people sessions in a proper office in air-condition comfort.
Now, when a WP candidate loses the election, he has to, quite simply put it, ‘roam the streets’ if he wishes to continue extending his reach in the ward.
When the WP narrowly lost in the 1997 General Election, the former Secretary-General of the Workers’ Party, JB Jeyaretnam, wanted to continue to meet the residents of Cheng San GRC weekly to hear their concerns. This was held in a coffee shop but the coffee shop was soon branded as a place used for political purposes.
The second point: “do you see them in the ward?” makes a mockery out of our supposedly democratic political system.
We see the PAP’s presence in every ward, be it in their own or in the opposition’s.
Firstly, government initiated programs, such as Lift Upgrading Program and HUDC Estate Privatisation exercise, mandate the “Adviser” to play a central role.
The adviser is to assist in implementing privatisation of HUDC estates by endorsing the Protem Committee members and interacting with residents through dialogue sessions, house-to-house visits, etc. In the case of HDB flat Lift Upgrading, the Adviser is to announce the precinct being selected, preside over the exhibition in the ward and oversee the LUP working committee.
The elected MP has no say!
Secondly, the PA assists the grassroots organisations, which include the RCs, Constituency Sports Club, CC etc to organise social and community events and the Adviser is invited as Guest-of-Honour. This gives a great opportunity to the Adviser to be seen and heard by the people in the ward. The Adviser is also invited to other functions such as lunar seventh month dinner organised by the residents and to functions organised by schools within the constituency.
Thirdly, PCF, the charity arm of the PAP which offers nursery and kindergarten classes to residents, also invites the Adviser as the Guest-of-Honour for their graduation ceremonies. This is usually well attended by parents who live in the constituency.
Finally at the national level, the Adviser is invited to events such as National Day Parade, official ceremony of governmental events or campaigns, as well as, events such as the F1 Race.
As for WP, what options do we have? We have applied to Town Councils and CCs managed by the PAP to hold dialogue sessions and block parties for residents previously but these applications were promptly rejected.
Given such limitations, we can only try to enhance our presence in the various wards through house-to-house visits.
Unlike the PAP candidates who lost in the General Election, our candidates have to rely on our own limited resources amidst the constraints and obstacles hurled upon us.
Therefore, I am surprised to hear such sarcasm from Mr Eric Low “where do they go to?” and “do you see them in the ward?” The PAP puts in overwhelming resources to have their presence felt and is equally determined in quelling the opposition’s presence.
Singapore is supposedly at the crossroads of an era where many good things are happening in our country. We talk about the YOG competitive spirit and fairness. We talk about openness and democracy. We talk about empowering our people.
But are we truly promoting the spirit of competition? Can we truly be open with our views? Are we truly empowered?
Low Thia Khiang
Secretary-General
Worker's Party