~ By Benjamin Cheah ~
“Hougang is not for sale!” Mr Png Eng Huat declared. In his maiden rally of the Hougang by-election, this is the battle cry of the Workers’ Party (WP) as it kicks off its campaign for Hougang in earnest.
The rally focused on a central narrative: the residents of Hougang voting for the Workers’ Party, in spite of threats and promises from the People’s Action Party. “For the past 20 years, Hougang voters have been zapped by lightning,” Party Chairman Ms Sylvia Lim said. After consistently returning a WP candidate to Parliament in past elections, the government has reduced public transport routes in Hougang and gave opposition-held wards the least priority for flat upgrading schemes. The People’s Action Party (PAP) has also promised Hougang a hundred million-dollar flat upgrading program should voters send a PAP candidate to Parliament. In spite of this, she said, the voters of Hougang stood firm and continued to vote in the Workers’ Party. She thanked the voters for continuing to vote for the opposition,saying “we’ve only just begun” and “the best is yet to come”.