SINGAPORE — Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong spoke out on Saturday (April 30) against online comments and whispers going around Bukit Batok asking Chinese voters to cast their ballot along racial lines, calling this “completely wrong and bad”.
Speaking to the media after a visit to Bukit Batok – his first since 2009 – Mr Lee acknowledged that in a multi-racial society, race would be an issue on people’s minds. “But I think when they vote for somebody, they should not be voting on the basis of race, but they should be voting on the basis of his ability to contribute, his sincerity, the heart, the colour of his heart and his commitment – which is red – regardless what race or religion he may belong to,” he said.
Apart from word going around the constituency - which Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Grace Fu also alluded to during the People’s Action Party’s (PAP) rally on Friday - Mr Lee said he has seen some comments online making the point about race in “a quite open way”. In particular, such comments were made in response to Facebook postings by Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) chief Chee Soon Juan, which have yet to be refuted and taken down, Mr Lee pointed out. Dr Chee is up against PAP long-time activist Murali Pillai in the Bukit Batok by-election.
He noted that it is not unheard of for racial sentiments to emerge and be exploited during election campaigns. He recalled how the race issue came up during the campaigning period for the 1984 General Election, where PAP candidate Chandra Das was up against SDP’s Mr Ling How Doong in the Chong Boon Single-Member Constituency (SMC). “They didn’t say vote for (Mr Ling), they didn’t say the other chap was no good. They just asked, ‘Has that Indian man come yet?’ Everybody knew what it meant, there was a special UHF signal there, so you say one thing, what you mean is another thing,” he added.
Referring to Mr Murali’s performance in last year’s General Election as part of the PAP’s Aljunied GRC team, Mr Lee said that Mr Murali has shown that he was “able to connect with voters, serve them and win their confidence in the Paya Lebar division. “If Paya Lebar had been an SMC, Murali would be their MP by now. But it was a Group Representation Constituency, so overall, we missed winning by a very narrow bit,” he added.
On Friday, Ms Fu warned voters against those playing the race card by “asking Chinese residents to vote for Chinese only”. “We know some people have gone around saying this,” she said. She added that she hoped the SDP was not resorting to this and called on the opposition party to clarify its position.
Speaking to reporters during the walkabout on Saturday, Mr Murai acknowledged that racial issues are present in society. “But ultimately I am confident that if I can show to our Bukit Batok people that I’m sincerely interested to solve their issues, I can overcome their language issue, the race issue together with my committed group of volunteers,” he said.
In response, Dr Chee - who was greeting residents in the constituency later in the day - said the PAP's accusation was "absolutely appalling" and called on the ruling party to "stop playing politics". “If the PAP wants to talk about racism, then I refer you back to some comments PAP leaders have made about Malays," he said. Regarding the comments made on his Facebook page, Dr Chee said it was impossible to go through every comment posted by netizens but he called for parties to stay away from personal attacks – be they on race or personal indiscretions – during the campaign.
Following his visit to Bukit Batok, Mr Lee said Mr Murali stands a “good chance” in the by-election. “From the reports from our activists, from what I can see and what the residents show, I think that they know Murali, they recognise him, they know ‘Ah Mu’ which is important, they remember him because he’s gone house visiting, and he’s done things for them from the last time when he was here as branch secretary,” he added.
Apart from Mr Lee, Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Senior Minister of State (Home Affairs and National Development) Desmond Lee and Parliamentary Secretary Low Yen Ling (Education and Trade and Industry) were also present during the walkabout to lend their support to Mr Murali.
http://www.todayonline.com/singapor...gainst-playing-race-card-bukit-batok-election
