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PAP MP in ivory tower, can't see the ground Print E-mail
Monday, 30 March 2009
Seelan Palay

I finally got to know my PAP MP Ellen Lee for the Sembawang GRC (Woodlands), when she visited my place during her door-to-door visits last week.

A member of my family opened the door and the first question she asked was whether he was local, to which he replied with slight irritation, "Of course I'm local!"

A member of my family opened the door and the first question she asked was whether he was local, to which he replied with slight irritation, "Of course I'm local!"

Ms Lee was accompanied by a uniformed police officer, a new phenomenon that has become part of all PAP MPs' entourage since the recent spate of physical attacks on (including punching and setting ablaze an MP) and verbal threats against them by their constituents.

She gave a glossy-coloured postcard advertising her meet-the-people sessions with her face and the PAP logo on it.

My family has been staying in the same block, which is only two blocks away from the office of a Residents' Committee, for seven years and yet this is the first time we are seeing our MP at our door. In fact, most of us have never seen her in person before.

After asking how many people there are in the family she handed my family member:
  • Five caps with a logo and words, "WOODLANDS" embroidered on the front and back
  • Five recycled cloth bags with the same logo and words, "WOODLANDS" printed on them
  • And said that they will be back to give five printed T-shirts


Obviously, Ms Lee doesn't know what is happening to her voters, or is simply ignoring the current situation. Perhaps it doesn't matter because we the people, according to her compatriot Mr Charles Chong, are "lesser mortals".

In this time of severe recession where families are having such a hard time making ends meet, where workers are retrenched and remain out of work for prolonged periods, and where people cannot even get three square meals a day, what does Ms Lee expect us to do with these caps, recycled bags and T-shirts?

Not only is this thoughtless, it is also adding insult to injury. Prior to making her rounds, did she spare any thought about how people in Woodlands are faring -- the same people whom she expects to vote for her? Obviously she did not, and that's why we're getting these caps, bags and t-shirts.

Have Woodlanders got jobs, can the people here put food on the table, and are their well-being taken care of?

Who stands to gain from these handouts? These are promotional items, but who and what are they promoting? In times like these, in spite of our plight, we are still being made use of to promote Ellen Lee, and to support the suppliers of these items. How much did these items cost?

At an average price of $4 per item, these useless "gifts" would have cost $60 per household. Is the PAP MP so high in her ivory tower that she does not know that this money can feed a family of four for a week, or pay for their essentials?

Help us genuinely - don't make use of us to promote yourself. Sembawang GRC does owe us, and it owes us a lot. The high maintenance costs that we have to pay, continue to fatten the Town Council's bank accounts. Some of our money was recklessly lost in speculative investments in toxic financial products; are there further losses to come? At the end of the day, we are the ones who have to bear the increasing burden.

What we need is jobs and, more immediately, cash or food vouchers -- not caps, bags and T-shirts to promote PAP MPs.

Seelan Palay is an artist and activist, he continues to blog at http://seelanpalay.blogspot.com

 

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Comments (9)
  • Tue 31 Mar 2009 7:47 AM | Sylvester Lim
    I would like to know how much money was spent on all this useless crap and where does the budget come from? I certainly hope that the residents of Sembawang GRC are not paying for it themselves?
  • Tue 31 Mar 2009 7:23 PM | | seebeng - Ellen Lee and her ilk
    MP Ellen Lee and her ilk are just proxies for the greedy, exploitative and corrupt PAP regime.

    In the first place, they are not MPs in the true sense. They are selected for their total subservience to the bankrupt neo-con system that Lee Kuan Yew insists on perpetuating.

    Their role as MP is part-time. Their main occupation is to make money by holding top positions or sitting on boards of government-owned companies.

    Not only these scums, but also their siblings, offspring, relatives and friends are given plum jobs with generous bonuses in exchange for their unflinching loyalty to the corrupt system.
  • Tue 31 Mar 2009 7:25 PM | Dick - Need More Money
    Also which company is awarded to supply these items, are they related to any RC dogs?
  • Tue 31 Mar 2009 7:55 PM | maxchew
    I agree and support your sentiments 100%, Mr Seelan Palay!!!! Should I get a similar visit from my own MP (DyPM Teo CHean) in Pasir Ris, I will refuse to accept any of the useless gifts, DyPM or not!
    Imagine being accompanied by a uniform cop....they'll scare the living daylights of some residents as cops always bring badnews to your home. Scaredy-cat useless cops!
  • Tue 31 Mar 2009 10:42 PM | Gopalan Nair
    I find it funny for her to be going around escorted by an armed policeman in uniform! She must wary of some disgruntled Singaporean pouring paint thinner over her and setting her ablaze! Just as what happened to another MP from her party Mr. Seng recently! I understand the man is completely disfigured! Being a PAP MP is now a hazardous occupation!
  • Wed 01 Apr 2009 12:33 AM | quantum
    http://www.straitstimes.com/print/Breaking%2BNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_356816.html

    March 31, 2009
    Be kinder, more gracious
    By Rachel Au-Yong
    THE Singapore Kindness Movement (SKM) will be sending out life-size reminders to Singaporeans to be more gracious.

    From this Saturday, students will be roped in to be 'Kindness Troopers', ambassadors of civic-mindedness who will exhort people to move to the back of buses and give up seats on public transport to those who need them more.

    The campaign, entitled 'Kindness - Bring It On', will be launched at IMM Mall.

    Twenty life-sized statues of the movement's iconic mascot will also be put up at strategic locations around Singapore.

    Three local personalities will join the campaign as 'Voices of Kindness'. One of them is radio DJ Shan Wee, 27, who hopes the campaign would inspire youths to be more spontaneous when it comes to doing acts of kindness.

    He said: 'I think people my age might think the chivalrous thing like pulling out a chair for a lady is old-fashioned. But we should definitely be reminded that this is just a small step to being kind.

    'In any case, the women love it,' he quipped.

    But as much as the campaign aims to encourage Singaporeans to display social graces and courtesy in all aspects of their lives, SKM Chairman Koh Poh Tiong remains optimistic that Singaporeans are innately kind.

    He said: 'Back in the 1950s, people were spitting, littering, cutting queues all the time. It happens a lot less now, and that's why I believe we can improve and aspire to be as polite and hospitable as the Japanese are.'

    In a recent survey commissioned by the SKM, it was found that 47 per cent were indifferent to the level of graciousness present in Singapore.

    Mr Koh said: 'We hope that Singaporeans will stop being shy, and be able to say, kindness, bring it on!'
  • Wed 01 Apr 2009 3:07 AM | quantum
    http://singaporerebel.blogspot.com/2009/03/martyn-see-resubmits-banned-films.html

    Martyn See resubmits banned films
  • Wed 01 Apr 2009 4:48 AM | Aung
    ((([i]where people cannot even get three square meals a day[/i])))

    Well, Seelan, I think she would say, [b]"if you cannot get three square meals a day, you can still have three circular meals a day. Please be grateful."[/b]. :-)
  • Wed 01 Apr 2009 9:05 PM | tewniaseng
    Nia mah, so scare how to become MP ? Next time I will vote her out.Useless house to house visit ? for what ? Police man is civil servant,if he wants escort,please employ cisco guard, don't misuse public fund ok ?!!! I already told my wife, my children, if any MP come house visit, pls slam the door except opposition candidates.
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