Are you scared?
Someone from the incumbent party came by my friend’s place and delivered this to him by hand. He was a little shocked that it contains the names of both people living in the unit. He brought his concern up to me and I sent it to Miss Lee Lilian, the Workers’ Party [WP] candidate for Punggol East Single Member Constituency [SMC].
Lilian assured me that this is nothing to be worried about because every candidate can purchase this database (in the form of a CD) from the Elections Department once their candidacy is accepted. In fact, she also has a copy for Punggol East SMC.
Later that night, my mother told me that Steve Chia, the National Solidarity Party’s [NSP] candidate for Pioneer SMC came around in the afternoon. When she went to the door, she was a little surprised to be addressed by her own surname.
So, for those who are concerned – all these information came from a common database available not only to the incumbent party, but also to the minority party candidates. This is not a sign that the incumbent party has the ability to track down who voted against them when it is returned to power.
You have nothing to fear. Vote wisely.
Attending rallies is really tiring business. For every rally I stood for several hours and the only other time I had to stand so long was doing sentry duty during National Service [NS].
Today, I was at the Singapore People’s Party [SPP] rally at Potong Pasir. The turnout was again not as spectacular as that of the Workers’ Party [WP] but it was good in its own, as it covered at least 80 ~ 85% of the field where the rally is held.
Again I arrived late around 7:50pm so I end up standing on the far side to the left of the stage. I missed the speech by Jimmy Lee which a friend told me over SMS was very good. While I regret missing it, I managed to hear Wilfred Leung and Benjamin Pwee speak as well and they spoke well. Mr Chiam and his wife Lina Chiam arrived about 10 ~ 15 minutes after I arrived, and before Mr Leung starts to speak.
Mr Leung turned the incumbent’s tactics on itself, questioning where was Mr Matthias Yao and candidate Sitoh Ho Pin since the 2006 General Elections. Someone within the rally shouted that they have ‘gone on leave’ and Mr Leung then mentioned that the incumbent party only started showing up again in the past few days after 27th April. So much for that Mushroom ‘parable’ which Lui Tuck Yew delivered.
He also pointed out the fallacy that voting the SPP (or the other minority parties) will lower prices of properties in Potong Pasir or even Bishan-Toa Payoh. He gave an example, and the price was on par if not better than mine at Jurong West. I did not take his word for it and I looked it up on the HDB website for 4 room flats sold in Potong Pasir Ave 2 for Blk 101 ~ 147 between May 2010 ~ Apr 2011. I am surprised that I saw a Model-A 4-room at Blk 121 going at $517,000 in September last year in spite of the perception of it being a ‘slum’. It reminded me of something a WP candidate said the other day, “Don’t worry. The rubbish won’t stack all the way up to the third floor simply because you vote for us!”
Mr Benjamin Pwee was the next to speak, and he spoke about two main topics – listening, and security. Though these two speakers spoke on different matters, they reinforced each other. I couldn’t remember much of what Mr Pwee said about listening because I was moving around the edges of the field trying to grab myself a souvenir. By the time I got back, Mr Pwee was talking about “Total Defense” and explaining his interpretation on each of the components. If I did not remember wrongly, Mr Pwee said that minority party candidates are not business hostile, and explained their stand on minimum wages as part of their vision of “economic defense”. He also mentioned that exercising our rights to freely and boldly vote as a kind of “civil defense”. He further mentioned that as far as “psychological defense” is concerned, we are not only concerned with potential enemies beyond, but enemies within – our fear.
It wasn’t before long that Mr Chiam was invited to speak. As he stepped forward slowly, he received a standing ovation from everyone present and shouts of “Chiam See Tong!!” resonated throughout the field. Tears welled up in my eyes looking at a hunched Mr Chiam. He thanked everyone for coming, and apologised for not being able to provide us chairs so that we can be comfortable. Laughter broke out among the audience.
Today’s Souvenir
Mr Chiam then explained his decision to leave Potong Pasir – in his words to bring the Potoong Pasir Spirit into Bishan-Toa Payoh. It was not for his own personal glory but to further our democracy. He is sad that since 1991, the minority parties have not managed to progress beyond the 2 seats in Parliament. This is the first time I hear Mr Chiam speak, and his humor made me laugh in spite of the sadness I felt. This is an old man who clearly deserved a rest, and yet he is burning the very last bit of his life for something he believed in, for his love of country and his fellow countrymen. Respect filled my chest, even while I laughed away at the jokes Mr Chiam cracked. He reminded us how Lee Kuan Yew laughed about his “O” Level Results when he first stepped into politics. But he encouraged us not to be ashamed of it because our grades do not define us. We are late boomers and slow learners that is all and if he has only 5 “O” levels and yet become a lawyer, then all of us are capable of achieving greater things in spite of our grades.
There were a few occasions I couldn’t really figure out what he was saying. I wanted very much to stand beside Mr Chiam to hold him and to offer him encouragement whenever his speech slurred but can only reach out for him in spirit.
I left with one of my friends about 10 minutes after Mrs Lina Chiam start to speak, not because her speech was boring or uninspiring, but once again because I have no confidence in our public transport’s ability to take the load. The fact that this is an opposition ward would make it even worse. As I left with a heavy heart, I felt nothing but admiration for the 55% of voters who voted for Mr Chiam in the last election. They have done so in spite of the big stick that the People’s Action Party [PAP] has whacked them with in the past 27 years.
That, is more than a quarter of a century. 27 years ago I was just starting in secondary school. How am I to believe the PAP who claim it will leave nobody behind 5 years ago when it has deliberately leave people behind for 20 years already. Yet it still has the cheek to tell voters to go find out what the minority party Members of Parliament like Mr Chiam and Mr Low Thia Khiang has done for their constituencies!
No wonder I felt like nobody.