SINGAPORE: Members of Parliament (MPs) looking to build a solid relationship with residents must ensure that they are available when the latter need them, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Monday (Jul 6).
Mr Lee was speaking during a live chat with fellow People’s Action Party (PAP) Ang Mo Kio candidates Darryl David, Gan Thiam Poh, Nadia Samdin and Ng Ling Ling.
Mr David had sought Mr Lee’s advice, after a participant asked how the newer candidates plan to maintain the “solid relationship” that some of the older MPs had built up with residents over the years.
“Well, you have to start off hitting the ground running, but you have to keep it up over a long time,” Mr Lee said.
“And the residents must know that when they need you, you are there. And I think once you have that bond, it’s a very personal one. And it’s a very valuable one.”
Mr David also asked the Prime Minister what kept him going as a politician through the years. Mr Lee first entered politics as Teck Ghee MP in 1984. The Teck Ghee ward is now part of Ang Mo Kio GRC.
Mr Lee, who is also the PAP’s secretary-general, said he looks after himself by eating moderately, exercising and getting enough rest, including being able to “decompress”.
“But also you must have a purpose in life,” he said.
“You get up in the morning for what? There’s something to be done, problem to be solved, something you’d like to try out, new area to develop, another speech to be delivered and you put that message across and convince people to move.
“I think you must have a feel that this is something which you really want to do, then you can put heart and soul into it. And for a long time.”
MPs have to come to the conclusion that their work is “meaningful, satisfying, it’s doing good and it’s making a difference to other people”, he said.
Mr Lee recounted that when he first served as an MP, the Internet was not prevalent in Singapore.
“So things moved much more slowly. You met people, you talked to them, and then the word spread in a coffee shop. Slowly, it would then get out. And that was one kind of politics; very personal face-to-face politics,” he said.
“It’s still there, but it moves much faster because now when you meet the chap in the coffee shop, he will take the picture and show you and say: ‘See, I see this! What does this mean?’ And you have to respond like that.”
Mr Lee also recalled what he had said during his first Fullerton rally, which the PAP has held at the mid-point of almost every General Election campaign since independence.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong speaking at a People’s Action Party rally on Jul 6, 2020. (Photo: PAP)
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He has spoken at seven Fullerton rallies, including the one held online earlier on Monday, when he asked Singaporeans for support to get through the COVID-19 crisis.
“One of the things I was talking about was to talk to the young people and say that you must have fun, you mustn’t be afraid to let your hair down, enjoy yourself,” he said of his first Fullerton rally.
“But at the same time do something for your community, and we hope that this would be a society where you know your neighbours, you help your friends, you help the community and you participate back.
“And I think we’ve been able to achieve both of that in Teck Ghee and in Ang Mo Kio.”
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Mr Lee said while his team has laid out plans for Ang Mo Kio GRC, these plans would only make sense with residents’ participation.
“Your interests, your cooperation, your working together, your enthusiasm, your volunteering,” he said.
“That’s what makes this a special community and a place where we call it a home. And we look forward to you coming forward to help us to realise it and to make it come true.”
Mr Lee said Ang Mo Kio is not the oldest or newest town in Singapore, but is “in the middle at a point where we have established roots and kept it moving with the times”.
“If you look at other towns, they are pretty but come back to Ang Mo Kio, this is our home here,” he added.
“And I hope we can keep it something special like that for a long time to come.”
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