SINGAPORE: The People’s Action Party (PAP) and the Workers’ Party (WP) delivered their constituency political broadcasts for the Marine Parade GRC on Sunday (Jul 5).
As the incumbents, the five-member PAP team spoke first. Mr Tan Chuan-Jin, Mr Seah Kian Peng and Mr Edwin Tong spoke in English, Dr Tan See Leng spoke in English and Mandarin, and Mr Fahmi Aliman in English and Malay.
READ: GE2020: WP and PAP to go head to head in Marine Parade GRC
For the WP candidates, Mr Yee Jenn Jong, Mr Nathaniel Koh and Mr Fadli Fawzi spoke in English, while Mr Ron Tan spoke in Mandarin and Mr Azhar Abdul Latip in Malay.
PAP: FOCUS ON RESIDENTS AND IMPROVING THE CONSTITUENCY
PAP’s Mr Tan, the former Speaker of Parliament, began his speech by emphasising his team’s commitment to residents.
He recounted the story of a resident he met when he had just started as an MP. The woman had drug issues and complex problems, but the volunteers and agencies involved in her case did not give up trying to help her.
They did not see her for a few years, but she recently went back to them for help, looking “better”, he said. She needed help because while she was holding supervisory responsibility in a cleaning job, she could not get access to some facilities due to her past record.
“I can tell you for my team and I, we were incredibly touched to see her in this state. We were more than happy to help, and we were glad that we were able to do so,” he said.
“We’re fully committed to making sure that in everything that we do our people, you our residents, remain at the centre,” he said.
Mr Tong and Mr Seah, in their speeches, focused on the improvements that have already been made to the constituency, and that would be made in the wards that they were in charge of.
Mr Tong, who has been serving Joo Chiat since 2015, said that over the last term, “much has been done, and I look forward to doing even more”.
He noted that that residents in the area will have access to the MRT for the first time, with two stations along the Thomson-East Coast Line in Joo Chiat. It will improve connectivity and ease of travel, he said.
Mr Tong, who is the Senior Minister of State for Health, added that there will be a new polyclinic in the area by the end of the year, which he said will provide a “broad range of medical services to cater to our people, especially an ageing population”.
Edwin Tong of the People’s Action Party team contesting Marine Parade GRC speaking at the constituency political broadcast on Jul 5, 2020.
He said that the team is also upgrading the Siglap and Frankel estates within the Group Representation Constituency (GRC), something that he is “particularly proud of”.
“I raised it in Parliament, lobbied the Government a few times over the last couple of years, and I’m very happy to say that we will now be proceeding with the upgrading,” he said.
The plans to “refresh and rejuvenate” the estates would be done in collaboration with residents, and be designed around the way they live and play, he said.
He added, however, that it is “not just about the hardware”.
“It’s about the people. It’s about the people we live with. We should all not just live in a community, but as a community, so that people of diverse races, cultures, backgrounds, can all come together, live as one, and be proud to call Joo Chiat our home,” he said.
READ: GE2020: From East Coast to Bukit Panjang, 7 key battlegrounds to watch
Mr Seah similarly brought up improvements that have been made to Braddell Heights, citing the opening of the Circle Line.
Mr Seah, who served as the chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Social and Family Development, also spoke of how he raised the issue of paternity leave in Parliament for six consecutive years.
“I’m glad there has been much progress since. And now, fathers get to enjoy 14 days of paternity leave,” he said.
Seah Kian Peng of the People’s Action Party team contesting Marine Parade GRC speaking at the constituency political broadcast on Jul 5, 2020.
Mr Seah said that the team is building “a special kind of community in our GRC” – one that looks out for and takes care of its people.
“(This) is why in our GRC, we have a range of ‘We Care’ programmes to help the vulnerable in our midst, be it providing free meals, food rations, befriending services, tuition, or rehab sessions,” he said.
Newcomer Dr Tan said that he “deeply” empathises with the needs of lower-income families.
“I will endeavour to do my utmost to reach out to the middle- and the lower-income groups to help them upgrade themselves and fulfil their hopes and ambitions,” he said.
He spoke of an initiative that he said he spent one year planning, a caregiver support network.
“With a rapidly ageing population comes the need for more caregivers to care for our elderly and our loved ones. I will ensure that there’s adequate support for our caregivers to better care for them,” he said.
Tan See Leng of the People’s Action Party team contesting Marine Parade GRC speaking at the constituency political broadcast on Jul 5, 2020.
The initiative, which will provide help in areas such as respite care and training programmes, will be rolled out “in the next couple of weeks”, he said.
“I will reach out continually to all of you, young to old, by listening, actively engaging you and to understand your concerns, your expectations, and help you better navigate to access the different governmental schemes to better your lives, to make sure that your needs are taken care of,” he said.
Mr Fahmi, on his part, spoke about the importance of lifelong learning and enhancing support for vulnerable families, and improving accessibility for the “disabled and elderly”.
“I hope to be the conduit for the residents and workers to understand the opportunities that are available for them to take advantage of, at the national level and an agency level, so that they can continually upgrade their skills and learn new things through job fairs, career fairs,” he said.
Mohd Fahmi Aliman of the People’s Action Party team contesting Marine Parade GRC speaking at the constituency political broadcast on Jul 5, 2020.
Wrapping up his team’s broadcast, Mr Tan said that his team would work hard for residents in the GRC.
“We’ll work hard to engage you and seek your feedback. We’ll explore new ways to bring people together as a community. We’ll outreach to those who are vulnerable and to help them,” he said.
The team would also ask residents to join them in helping others, he said.
“As we help others, we change. As more of us change, society changes along with us, and we can build a fundamentally different and better society here in Marine Parade GRC and in Singapore,” he said.
“Our commitment is to care for all, our lives, our jobs, and our future. Do give us your support. Please vote for us. Please vote PAP.”
WP: WP ESTATES ARE WELL-MAINTAINED, PARTY IS BETTER PREPARED TO TAKE OVER AND RUN TOWN COUNCIL EFFECTIVELY
Mr Fadli’s speech focused on assuring residents who may want to give the WP a chance, but are anxious about the future of the estate under them.
Fadli Fawzi of the Workers’ Party team contesting Marine Parade GRC speaking at the constituency political broadcast on Jul 5, 2020.
Voting for the WP means having representatives in Parliament who would “listen to you, care for you, and fight for you”, said Mr Fadli.
He spoke of his experience as a town councillor in Aljunied-Hougang for the past six years, acknowledging the challenges.
“Managing a town council, especially as the opposition, is indeed challenging. For one, we had to work harder with far fewer resources,” he said.
“We have learned a lot and grown from our experience. We are now better prepared to take over and run a town council effectively. We have also created a new accounting software system to help us manage town council matters.”
READ: GE2020: AHTC finances are healthy; no possibility of opposition government this election, says Pritam Singh
He said this would ensure that the handover process would “be smooth and that services to residents will not be disrupted”.
“The estate will be kept clean, the lifts will work, and you will still get to enjoy the amenities in the neighbourhood,” he said.
But beyond efficient municipal services, the WP wants to build in Marine Parade “a sense of community and belonging”, he added.
“We want to build a neighbourhood that is inclusive, cohesive, and accountable,” he said, expanding on these attributes, which he called their “guiding lights”.
Inclusivity is about ensuring that each resident of Marine Parade is able to live with dignity; cohesion means strengthening the community ethos between the residents and neighbours of Marine Parade; and accountability reflects the party’s pledge to be transparent and resident-centric on matters of estate governance, he said.
“We will seek your civic participation in monthly town halls where we will listen to your thoughts about how to improve Marine Parade. These town halls will also create social capital in the community, making us more resilient in times of crisis,” he said.
In his speech, former Non-Constituency MP Yee Jenn Jong spoke of how the PAP has told residents that “Singapore only has enough talent for a Team A, that only the PAP can run this place”.
Yee Jenn Jong of the Workers’ Party team contesting Marine Parade GRC speaking at the constituency political broadcast on Jul 5, 2020.
“My years of participation in the alternative camp tell me otherwise. Hougang and Aljunied are well-maintained, just like any town in Singapore,” he said.
He added that the WP has raised many issues in Parliament “in a responsible manner”. The party’s proposals are made after “serious thoughts”, he added.
Mr Yee also said that he is concerned by the PAP’s economic leadership over the past two decades. It has been “simply injecting more capital and labour, especially low-wage migrant workers without meaningful growth in productivity”, he said.
“This has led to an overcrowded Singapore, depressed wages for many of us, and vast inequality,” he added.
Another concern is that Singapore has not adapted fast enough to industry disruptions, he said.
“We have many retrenched PMETs (professionals, managers, executives and technicians). Many of us struggle with the high cost of living. Two out of three working Singaporeans do not have enough savings for beyond six months. It is as if we are two different countries in one small island,” he said.
Mr Yee also spoke about how the WP has never left the constituency, despite the “difficulties of not having been elected”. The team has initiated various community projects in the GRC, and continues to visit residents, he said.
He spoke of a ground-up food distribution initiative implemented during the “circuit breaker” period.
“The distribution is run by volunteers, some of them living in rental flats with a big heart to help their neighbours. We can build a better Marine Parade, not just with infrastructure, but to invest in people so that the initiatives can be ground-up, by Marine Parade residents, for Marine Parade residents,” he said.
Mr Koh, an IT professional, said that he and his team would speak up for residents in Parliament.
Nathaniel Koh of the Workers’ Party team contesting Marine Parade GRC speaking at the constituency political broadcast on Jul 5, 2020.
“We will speak up on national issues and help you on your local ones. Collectively, we have the experience, expertise, and commitment to serve you. Like you, we are ordinary Singaporeans. We have been through hard times. We know what it’s like to fall and get back up,” he said.
He spoke about his team’s theme: “Marine Parade, Together”, in a GRC he said is diverse in many ways, including geography, distance and type of houses.
“There is strength in diversity and we want to harness that strength,” he said.
Wrapping up his team’s speeches, Mr Yee said that the PAP “does not have a monopoly of power”.
“Our team members are passionate, hardworking and resilient,” he said pointing to the individual attributes of his team members.
Mr Tan has “many years of experience serving in the grassroots in Aljunied”, while Mr Koh has been with the party for 11 years.
Mr Azhar had to take a year’s break from university to earn money for his school fees, and lost a leg in an accident, he said. Mr Fadli became a lawyer to be “better-equipped” to champion for “ordinary Singaporeans”, he said.
“Singapore needs MPs who can connect with the people, who care deeply for them. We have the right team to be your voice in parliament and to manage this town,” he said.
The PAP wants “100 per cent dominance of Parliament”, he said.
“They tell you that you can have 12 NCMPs because they want to win it all. They want to win all 93 seats,” he said.
“As a former NCMP, I tell you that this is not an effective check against the Government. The PAP only fears when it starts to have low vote share. Do not give the PAP a blank cheque. Make your vote count. Vote the Workers’ Party.”
BOOKMARK THIS: Our comprehensive coverage of GE2020 and its developments
Download our app or subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates: https://cna.asia/telegram
