It is during this challenging and unprecedented period of time that we get to know a little bit more about ourselves and those around us.
Expressing this sentiment, the Workers’ Party (WP) chief Pritam Singh took to Facebook on Monday night (25 May) to share what he has come to know of his fellow party members – notably former Non-Constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) Yee Jenn Jong, long-serving member Ng Swee Bee, and former WP candidate in Marine Parade GRC Dylan Ng Foo Eng – from their contributions amid the circuit breaker period.
Beginning with Yee Jenn Jong, who Mr Singh addressed as JJ, it appears that Mr Yee has been a card-carrying volunteer – a literal one – of an essential social service provider that cooks and distributes food to the needy.
Mr Singh noted that Mr Yee has been volunteering to distribute food on a daily basis since the first day of the circuit breaker.
“A resident and volunteer in Marine Parade GRC, JJ now helps to distribute in excess of 300 packets of food in several locations in the constituency to low-income earners and those who need some tiding over,” he added.
Next, Mr Singh spoke of Ng Swee Bee, who kick-started the ‘Art for SG Migrant Workers‘ campaign on social media to create a network of mutual support through art for migrant workers and the general public.
In describing the campaign, he quoted Ms Ng, who earlier remarked, “Art is boundless, it transcends language and culture. Therefore I thought of using our artworks to offer companionship, and bring comfort and hope to our migrant workers during this difficult period, especially when they are far away from their family and loved ones”.
According to Mr Singh, the campaign has been going on for more than a month, and it has evolved from a personal project to a project owned by a team of like-minded people. Ms Ng’s team is currently on the lookout for funds to secure art care-packs for the migrant workers.
He continued, “In between, Swee Bee also helped Aljunied-Hougang Town Council staff with crowd management at a market in Aljunied GRC, patiently advising and helping senior folks.”
Subsequently, Mr Singh shared that Dylan Ng Foo Eng worked with a volunteer organisation that provides assistance to low-income families to solve their IT/communications needs.
More specifically, he said that the volunteer group supplied second-hand computers to the children of low-income households for Home-Based-Learning.
“The volunteer organization collected, refurbished and supplied laptops to around 400 households before the enhanced circuit breaker took effect,” Mr Singh wrote.
He went on to say that Mr Ng personally dropped laptops off to families living in various areas islandwide.
“All kinds of people make up a democracy and there are yet other WP members who are making a difference during COVID-19 in their own ways.
“Some Singaporeans are the doers of deeds. Other Singaporeans choose opposition politics to fight for a better tomorrow. Some Singaporeans do both,” he concluded.
Netizens praised the Workers’ Party and its members for the hard work and kind contributions
Upon reading Mr Singh’s post, netizens expressed their respect and support towards the opposition party and its members for working hard to care for the people while contributing to a better Singapore.
Penning their appreciation in the comments section of the Facebook post, a large number of them were quick to thank WP for its undying effort in putting the people first.
A handful of netizens also gave voice to their dissent on the current ruling party, asserting that the presence of WP in Parliament is purposeful and its contributions very much significant.
