The Prime Minister lamented recently that the party was finding it difficult to attract people from the private sector to join them. Which explained why out of the 24 candidates introduced over the past 4 weeks, only a third, are not from the public service sector. The online community have also decried the wisdom in getting new citizens like Foo Mee Har and Janil Puthucheary to represent them in Parliament, the latter getting a major brunt for not serving his National Service like any other male citizens.
Perhaps a change or review in the selection policy of the ruling People’s Action Party could do the trick. Some say that the PAP is only interested in high-fliers, some have been earmarked as soon as they received their President’s Scholarships, while some have been highlighted for their rapid rise in the ranks of the public service. Though someone like Tin Pei Ling who was “promoted” for her grassroots work since she was 21, or people Ang Hin Kee had gone through retrenchment were made candidates to show the diversity in the party’s ranks, the majority of the electorate still feels that the ruling party will always be elitist in its approach to getting new candidates.
Not only that, what rankles in the minds of the laymen is the perceived lack of connection and sincerity between the People’s Action Party members / Members of Parliament from the ruling party with the people on the ground. Yes, one might be able to say that a highly educated person who earns high incomes is able to connect with the ground based on their humble upbringings, but the fact is lip service do not constitute to actions. Take for instance, the recent walkabout made by new candidate Ong Ye Kung, which was reported in the papers. He had an advanced team to do the honours of telling the residents that he was coming and that could cut short the introductions that he had to make.
You tell me, is that sincerity and being genuine to your cause? Has the insurance of hiding behind the coattails of the Foreign Minister made him over-confident that his team would win Aljunied GRC? I was also unimpressed when I saw the introduction of the last batch of candidates especially when I looked at the body language and swagger of the ex-Chief of Army, Chan Chun Sing. The way he spoke and the way he carried himself are exactly why the laymen hate this kind of elitist attitude that the PAP possess. He spoke about “standing their ground and staring down the competition” and saying it with an arrogant face. Tell me, who are we competing with? Who are we at war with?
Contrast that with Desmond Choo, who by all accounts knows that he is up against a strong incumbent (Low This Khiang). This guy spends as long as twenty minutes with one resident alone and taking great pains to hear out their problems. Not only that, he endears himself to neutrals by sticking to the fact that he is just a second adviser to the Hougang Grassroots organization. Another one that impressed me is Dr. Intan Azura Mokhtar. As much as I would like to find flaws in her, I simply could not find any. She is definitely sincere, humble and someone I would not begrudge if she becomes an MP.
The electorate would like to see more candidates like Desmond Choo and Dr. Intan Azura Mokhtar who are ordinary Singaporeans who still live in HDB flats, who from time to time take the public transport, as well as being highly educated, knowing what it feels like to be a normal Singaporean with their eyes and ears on the ground. These are the people who still believe in remaining humble and not think that they contest is done and dusted even before they begin. These are the kind of candidates which the opposition have managed to woo for this upcoming elections. True enough, some might not be holding high-flying jobs nor highly educated. At the end of the day, your intentions, sincerity and willingness to serve your residents will shine through. And a large part of it is due to humility, which only a few of the PAP candidates old and new, possess...
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