Close to 20 members and volunteers of Singapore’s newest political party Red Dot United (RDU) recently made their way to Jurong Lake Gardens beach for a clean-up exercise, the party said in a Facebook post on Sunday (13 December).
The alternative party noted that this is the party’s way of “giving back to Singapore, Singaporeans and in particular to the community in Jurong”.
“We picked-up more than 10 trash bags full of garbage from the beach which looked pristine to the naked eye. There’s still a lot more to be done. The team led by Narelle and Jimmy resolved that they’d do this often and little-by-little,” RDU stated, adding that Singaporeans should all be passionate about restoring nature and try to achieve a zero-waste outcome.
Speaking of this exercise to TOC, the party’s chief Ravi Philemon said: “The Jurong Lake Clean-Up project was conceptualised and carried out by the young people as well as the environmental activists in Red Dot United. I merely played the role of a facilitator”.
He added, “It has been almost 6-month since we got out ROS approval and I think the clean-up efforts shows that we are here to stay. The buzz from the last GE is long over, but our members and volunteers still remain very passionate about the various causes RDU can champion for”.
Mr Philemon also invited other young Singaporeans to join the alternative party so they can be part of this “exciting journey”.
Sharing personal experience of the clean-up exercise, RDU’s youngest member, 18-year-old Tay Yi Ting, told TOC about the good time the member got in getting to know other members of the party and was given a “timely reminder about what it means to serve and advocate”.
Tay also said that the event started off slow as the areas at which most people would visit had already been cleaned, however when the team ventured deeper into areas that are typically overlooked, they were then able to “recognise and unearth the external damage that was done with the litter that the common man had left behind”.
The member also said that seeing people discard items like underwear, slippers and cups around the park was rather surprising.
“This pilot event may seem trivial, but it is one that will pivot us towards greater advocacy for our people and every other life placed under our care. This is just the beginning, and we are excited to continue on this journey with all of you – after all, there is strength in collective effort,” Tay added.
