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[h=2]ST: Aljunied residents warming to PAP’s Chua[/h]
May 8th, 2014 |
Author: Editorial
The Straits Times (ST) reported on Tuesday (6 May) that the
residents of Aljunied GRC are “warming” to PAP’s potential candidate Chua Eng
Leong (“Opposition Aljunied GRC ‘warming to PAP man’”).
ST said that the “son of [an] ex-minister” finds Eunos residents more open
after a year of visits. Mr Chua is the son of former Cabinet minister Chua Sian
Chin.
ST quoted Mr Chua as saying that after spending the past year visiting nearly
three-quarters of the homes in the ward and helming the weekly meet-the-people
sessions (MPS), he senses things have improved.
Mr Chua works for VP Bank, a Liechtenstein-based private bank, as a private
banker. Previously, he worked for Swiss wealth manager Julius Baer [Link].
Despite Aljunied GRC falling to the opposition, the PAP continues to hold its
MPS there, competing with the Workers’ Party (WP).
Last year, Mr Chua restarted PAP’s MPS at a PAP branch office in Bedok
Reservoir. He has been conducting his MPS for a year now, even though he is not
an MP and is just an ordinary citizen. That being the case, it looks like anyone
can also start his MPS to advise residents.
Addressing volunteers and residents before inviting them to a spread of satay
and drinks, Mr Chua said, “We need your support to go out and tell residents to
give us another chance. We will prove the critics wrong… Whether it’s me or not
(as a candidate) doesn’t matter.”
The WP’s Pritam Singh is the actual MP for Eunos, one of 5 divisions in
Aljunied GRC. However, Mr Singh does not have the luxury of an office to hold
his MPS. Mr Singh holds his MPS at a void deck opposite the PAP branch
office.
Mr Chua wants to target especially young parents in their mid-20s and 30s
whose children attend the neighbourhood’s PAP Community Foundation
kindergarten.
Eunos resident Steven Ng observed that Mr Chua is friendly even to kids.
Taking a leaf from the PAP, it may be a good idea for opposition parties to
conduct MPSs in PAP constituencies, even though they may not be the elected
representatives of those constituencies.
Mr Chua Eng Leong (fourth from left), bantering with
satayman Ramle Salleh at a party in Eunos ward yesterday to thank activists and
residents for their support. (Photo: ST)
In any case, it is a mystery how many Aljunied residents are really warming
up to Mr Chua, as alleged by ST.
Not too long ago, a reader posted the following in TRE (‘Aljunied
GRC residents don’t take threats lightly!‘):
I’ve lived in the part of Hougang when it was Cheng San GRC, then became
Aljunied GRC. I have never in my time staying there see any RC member doing
house visits let alone the MPs.
Let me tell you who visited my place back then. It was the Hon. Ms Sylvia Lim
AFTER WP lost GE 2006 and subsequently 2 weeks before GE 2011. She didn’t send
her helpers to announce her arrival nor did she have a battalion of them. I
remember there were no more than 5 people including her. On both occasions, she
did not ask me to vote for her. All she did was ask me what problems did I
encounter in the neighbourhood. No glitzy bombastic policy discussions. Just
plain bread and butter issues of day to day lives in the neighbourhood. I’m a
simple person. To me, if you can’t take care of your own backyard, don’t meddle
with national policies. I felt she was genuinely sincere in listening to the
average Joe. It was these encounters that sealed my support for WP.
I still remember when Yam Ah Mee announced the result for Aljunied GRC during
GE2011. Let me tell you this, the cheering in my neighbourhood was louder than
any of the EPL’s big 4 winning the Champions League, it was louder than any of
the World Cup finals and it could even be louder than Singapore winning the
World Cup.
Perhaps it was WP’s persistence, perhaps it was discontent with PAP. But I
can tell you that Hougang residents don’t take threats lightly and we definitely
won’t forget the threats. We will take the gauntlet PAP has thrown down and
shove it up their a**es so deep that they can never sit down again.
Let me quote my favourite kopitiam auntie, “They take away the MRT, We’ll
take the bus. They take away the bus, WE WILL WALK.”
Because F*** YOU, PAP!
Editor’s note: To gain an insight into the mind of Chua
Eng Leong – who has the face of his mother and the build of his father, it may
be useful to know that he lived in his youth in a private estate called Jalan
Merlimau, off Thomson Road. He grew up in a house situated in a cul-de-sac,
where one could hear crickets chirping and large dogs barking at night.
residents of Aljunied GRC are “warming” to PAP’s potential candidate Chua Eng
Leong (“Opposition Aljunied GRC ‘warming to PAP man’”).
ST said that the “son of [an] ex-minister” finds Eunos residents more open
after a year of visits. Mr Chua is the son of former Cabinet minister Chua Sian
Chin.
ST quoted Mr Chua as saying that after spending the past year visiting nearly
three-quarters of the homes in the ward and helming the weekly meet-the-people
sessions (MPS), he senses things have improved.
Mr Chua works for VP Bank, a Liechtenstein-based private bank, as a private
banker. Previously, he worked for Swiss wealth manager Julius Baer [Link].
Despite Aljunied GRC falling to the opposition, the PAP continues to hold its
MPS there, competing with the Workers’ Party (WP).
Last year, Mr Chua restarted PAP’s MPS at a PAP branch office in Bedok
Reservoir. He has been conducting his MPS for a year now, even though he is not
an MP and is just an ordinary citizen. That being the case, it looks like anyone
can also start his MPS to advise residents.
Addressing volunteers and residents before inviting them to a spread of satay
and drinks, Mr Chua said, “We need your support to go out and tell residents to
give us another chance. We will prove the critics wrong… Whether it’s me or not
(as a candidate) doesn’t matter.”
The WP’s Pritam Singh is the actual MP for Eunos, one of 5 divisions in
Aljunied GRC. However, Mr Singh does not have the luxury of an office to hold
his MPS. Mr Singh holds his MPS at a void deck opposite the PAP branch
office.
Mr Chua wants to target especially young parents in their mid-20s and 30s
whose children attend the neighbourhood’s PAP Community Foundation
kindergarten.
Eunos resident Steven Ng observed that Mr Chua is friendly even to kids.
Taking a leaf from the PAP, it may be a good idea for opposition parties to
conduct MPSs in PAP constituencies, even though they may not be the elected
representatives of those constituencies.
Mr Chua Eng Leong (fourth from left), bantering with
satayman Ramle Salleh at a party in Eunos ward yesterday to thank activists and
residents for their support. (Photo: ST)
In any case, it is a mystery how many Aljunied residents are really warming
up to Mr Chua, as alleged by ST.
Not too long ago, a reader posted the following in TRE (‘Aljunied
GRC residents don’t take threats lightly!‘):
I’ve lived in the part of Hougang when it was Cheng San GRC, then became
Aljunied GRC. I have never in my time staying there see any RC member doing
house visits let alone the MPs.
Let me tell you who visited my place back then. It was the Hon. Ms Sylvia Lim
AFTER WP lost GE 2006 and subsequently 2 weeks before GE 2011. She didn’t send
her helpers to announce her arrival nor did she have a battalion of them. I
remember there were no more than 5 people including her. On both occasions, she
did not ask me to vote for her. All she did was ask me what problems did I
encounter in the neighbourhood. No glitzy bombastic policy discussions. Just
plain bread and butter issues of day to day lives in the neighbourhood. I’m a
simple person. To me, if you can’t take care of your own backyard, don’t meddle
with national policies. I felt she was genuinely sincere in listening to the
average Joe. It was these encounters that sealed my support for WP.
I still remember when Yam Ah Mee announced the result for Aljunied GRC during
GE2011. Let me tell you this, the cheering in my neighbourhood was louder than
any of the EPL’s big 4 winning the Champions League, it was louder than any of
the World Cup finals and it could even be louder than Singapore winning the
World Cup.
Perhaps it was WP’s persistence, perhaps it was discontent with PAP. But I
can tell you that Hougang residents don’t take threats lightly and we definitely
won’t forget the threats. We will take the gauntlet PAP has thrown down and
shove it up their a**es so deep that they can never sit down again.
Let me quote my favourite kopitiam auntie, “They take away the MRT, We’ll
take the bus. They take away the bus, WE WILL WALK.”
Because F*** YOU, PAP!
Eng Leong – who has the face of his mother and the build of his father, it may
be useful to know that he lived in his youth in a private estate called Jalan
Merlimau, off Thomson Road. He grew up in a house situated in a cul-de-sac,
where one could hear crickets chirping and large dogs barking at night.
