If Hougang falls to the PAP, it would mean that all the chicken feathers have been plucked

There is a famous quote by fascist poster boy Benito Mussolini: “If you pluck a chicken one feather at a time, nobody notices.”

His analogy spoke to the fact that a leader or government could consolidate power feather by feather without the people realising it or making a fuss about it.

Each and every election in the past 29 years has seen the Workers’ Party romp home on the back of the Hougang Spirit.

The People’s Action Party tried and tried but could not pluck the feathers off the chicken in Hougang.

The Hougang Spirit – almost a throwback to the kampung spirit – prevailed each time, a spirit borne out of sacrifice, resilience and fortitude. Come what may, resist temptation, even if there is the threat of having to pay a price.

The overtures of the PAP are seen as forbidden fruit – one you succumb to a bite of the apple, you have sold out, you have given up the power in your hands – the voting power.

So never ever take a bite of the apple, never allow the chicken feathers to be plucked!

But for GE2020, even Hougang is precariously poised.

If Hougang falls to the PAP, the rest of the country does not stand a chance.

We always knew that the Hougang flame of democracy, no matter how resilient, was fragile against the onslaught of the PAP.

If Hougang fails to carry on the mantle as Singapore’s opposition stronghold, it would set the country back three decades. At least.