Andrew Ong
On the fifth day of rallies, a crowd of 3,000 comprising mostly of residents from Yuhua SMC gathered at the Jurong East Stadium to listen to its PAP candidate, Ms Grace Fu, who is currently the Senior Minister of State for the National Development and Education.
Aside from her ‘3Hs’ plans for Hope, Heart and Happiness which she said she would push for in the newly-carved out Yuhua single-seat ward if elected, the PAP candidate went on an assault by smearing the credibility of the SDP
First speaking in Mandarin, Grace Fu warned voters not to be deceived by the SDP. That though the opposing party is presenting a new slate of better quality candidates at this elections, the SDP remained the same like it was before as the party is led by the same man (referring to SDP’s leader, Dr Chee Soon Juan).
“So the (SDP’s) packaging may be different but the content is the same. Don’t be deceived,” she added and suggested that the SDP was merely using the residents of Yuhua to advance its own political agenda rather than Singapore’s interest.
Then reverting to English, she continued her assault with these rhetorical questions:
“During the global financial crisis, where were they when we needed them most? When we were losing our jobs, where were they? More importantly, do they know you? Do they understand your problems? Have they walked the streets of Yuhua? Over the past 5 years, have they visited you at your home?”
A 50-year old male resident of Yuhua for 8 years shared with TOC that he had met Ms Fu on two occasions when she was MP since 2006. Both were house visits. The resident, a social worker who preferred to remain anonymous said, “I’m satisfied with how my constituency have been managed for the past 5 years and the future development plans ahead. But I believe in having an opposition voice that will help as a check and balance in parliament.”
During the rally, 8 grassroots leaders from the Yuhua SMC took turn to share their personal interactions and experiences serving alongside Ms Fu as the MP. Special guests such as Yu-Foo Yee Shoon, a former MP for Yuhua Constituency and Minister of State for Community Development, Youth & Sports, and Mr Lim Boon Heng, Minister in PMO, spoke in support of Ms Fu’s dedication and accomplishment as a worthy candidate for MP of Yuhua SMC.
Towards the closing of her speech, Ms Fu invited residents to choose the right MP that will represent them in the government when 7 May approaches.
She admitted that the PAP nor she was perfect.
“We’re humans, we make mistakes. We cannot predict the future as we do not have complete information,” she said. “However, we are committed in serving the people of Singapore. But most importantly, we’re committed to protecting the interests of Singapore in the long run.”
As the rally ended with shouts of “Majulah PAP! Majulah Singapura! Majulah PAP!”, a mother living in Yuhua, who’s in her 40s, mulls over her job security. Like many other Singaporeans, she is worried and uncertain about her future and her family’s especially with more influx of foreigners expected in the near future.
