The Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) held its third rally on Tuesday night (May 3).
Here are some highlights:
1. Veteran actress Neo Swee Lin asks Bukit Batok to vote for Dr Chee Soon Juan
Neo, who played a granny in TV sitcom Phua Chu Kang, said she is not a member of SDP, but urged Bukit Batok residents to vote for Dr Chee Soon Juan.
She said that when she first met him, she was surprised to see that he was “a very nice person”, and unlike how he had been portrayed in the media.
She added that she was “moved by his passion, impressed by his dedication”, and that she believed he would “stand up for the people who have no one to represent them”.
2. Dr Paul Tambyah speaks in Mandarin
SDP central executive committee member Dr Paul Tambyah addressed Bukit Batok residents first in Malay, followed by Mandarin, and then in English.
In his Mandarin speech, he asked residents not to worry about upgrading plans as the authorities in charge of the plans are “professional” and would not scrap plans based on the election results, he said.
He told the audience that Dr Chee had sacrificed a lot for Singaporeans. “His wish for freedom has not changed,” he said. He also said that Dr Chee would be a voice for people regarding issues like CPF and transport in Parliament.
In his English speech later, he said that if Dr Chee was elected, residents would get “two for the price of one” as the People’s Action Party’s (PAP) candidate Murali Pillai would not abandon the SMC even if he lost the race.
Over the issue of whether character is important in evaluating election candidates, Dr Tambyah also said that character is important, but that a person’s character is “not determined by distorted media reports” but best determined by “those who know you best…those who can see you apart from the limelight”.
3. Chee Soon Juan repeats call for clean politics
In his speech, Dr Chee brought up Singapore’s reserves in sovereign wealth funds GIC and Temasek.
He said: “We cannot remain so uninformed”, adding that Singaporeans should know what happens to their CPF savings.
“Because of the CPF scheme, we are the biggest savers in the world in terms of our retirement. How is it that despite this, we still don’t have enough to retire on?”
Dr Chee also told the crowd that the PAP has accused him of having bad character.
“One by one, the ministers have popped up to take shots at me. Every single one of them attacking me very personally and very viciously. But I don’t care,” he said.
“I don’t want to see politics become so poisonous,” he added.
“If I have to play so dirty…in order to win, then no, leave me out of it. Then I don’t want to win,” he said, adding that if he wants to win with honour or lose with grace.
Dr Chee said he had undergone “unrelenting” insults and taunts but he continues to stand up for his principals.
“They jailed me, sued me, made me a bankrupt, but I’m still standing,” he said.
Before ending the speech, he told the crowd he had walked with his head held high, and that he had grown stronger with every attack.
4. Amos Yee, Roy Ngerng and Lim Kay Siu spotted
AsiaOne spotted Roy Ngerng, a former GE candidate for Reform Party, speaking with teen blogger Amos Yee at the SDP rally.
According to Channel NewsAsia, Neo Swee Lin’s actor husband, Lim Kay Siu, was also spotted in a red SDP tee in the audience.
AsiaOne, YouTube screengrabs
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