SINGAPORE: In a recent social media post, Singapore Democratic Party leaders Chee Soon Juan and Paul Tambyah wrote about an encounter where three Members of Parliament from the ruling People’s Action Party were present at the same time their team was there.
Dr Chee and Dr Tambyah were with vice-chair Bryan Lim, and others, at the Chong Pang Food Centre at Nee Soon GRC on Oct 10 (Saturday), selling The New Democrat, the party’s paper.
Dr Tambyah wrote in a Facebook post, “We had a good time interacting with the residents, many of whom were warm and encouraging. As one resident pointed out, we may have actually made the ruling party work harder!”
Meanwhile, Dr Chee wrote that “apparently, our PAP friends got our memo” that SDP would be at the food centre, as three of the five PAP MPs were there.
According to Dr Chee, a resident remarked, “Wah, what’s happening? Why both parties here today?”
However, he noted that Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam, who has been representing the Chong Pang ward at Nee Soon since 2011, was absent.
Dr Chee wrote, “Things went well enough at first. But after a while, our members started to feel bit of argy-bargy going on,” alleging that whenever the SDP team stopped to chat with people, individuals from the other party would give out tissue packets with a Nee Soon MP’s image on them.
He also claimed that one of the SDP’s younger members “was prodded a couple of times by the other party.”
The SDP chief urged the ruling party to “play nice and stay classy,” but added that the SDP team had fun meeting Chong Pang residents.
“Their smiles made our day. Many of them were reading our newspaper all around the place. So, watch out for The New Democrat coming to a food centre near you,” he wrote.
Mr Lim, meanwhile, called Nee Soon “relatively uncharted territory” for the SDP, and added that residents had been pleased to see them.
“But what was even more heartening was the warm encouragement from supporters and well-wishers who came forward to show their solidarity openly, even with two groups of PAP entourage tailing us throughout our walkabout,” he added.
Based on a post from PAP Nee Soon GRC’s Facebook account, it appears that Goh Hanyan, Syed Harun and Jackson Lam were the MPs Dr Chee had referred to, as they had held walkabouts in various parts of Nee Soon. Mr Shanmugam, meanwhile, was at events for seniors and youths, and Lee Hui Ying was at a retreat for PCF teachers. /TISG
Read also: Chee Soon Juan: You cannot solve the anxieties of younger Singaporeans simply by giving them more money
