Singapore Democrats
Sylvester Lim and Vincent Wijeysingha chatting with a resident
It was a great day out! We visited for the umpteenth time Fajar market and Bangkit Road at the Bukit Panjang constituency to continue our campaign for the general elections.
As before, we were happy with the warm response from the folks in the ward. Some wanted to know who our candidate was. Others wanted us to help with the difficult situation of high living costs.
The Singapore Democrats have been working the ground in the constituency since the last elections and we will put it even more effort to wrest the seat from the PAP.
As Team SDP meandered our way through the coffee shops and walkways we were greeted with friendly smiles and gestures. We countered with even friendlier responses.
Our walkabout spilled over into the surrounding area in the Holland-Bukit Timah GRC where the SDP will take on Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports Vivian Balakrishnan of the YOG-budget-busting fame.
A picture worth a thousand words
Unfortunately the area of the GRC belonging to Minister Lim Swee Say has been moved. We had been looking forward to meeting Mr Lim at the polls.
Apparently, the PAP sensed that he may be the weak link given all his gaffes: Telling the people he felt so rich at the height of the economic recession, dressing up in his ridiculous Zorro outfit and singing a goose-bump raising “Up turn the daah-own turn!” when unemployment was going skywards.
Still our candidates and activists greeted voters and handed out flyers as we went along, calling on everyone to visit our website.
This is especially important as the PAP-controlled media have been especially biased towards the Singapore Democrats, choosing to blackout our news even as they cover the other parties.
We were also on hand to sell The New Democrat which the Minister for Information, Communication and the Arts Lui Tuck Yew had delayed in giving us its licence last year.
Till today, despite repeated questioning, Mr Lui has not explained why he refused to approve our application in a prompt manner.
Smiles all around: John Tan with a young couple
Such is the politics that the PAP plays in Singapore.
It tries to portray itself as a party confident of its popularity. By controlling the media and censoring news on the SDP and by applying laws that discriminate against us, however, it is clear that the PAP is not a confident party.
The only way the PAP can beat us is by blacking out our news and keeping us from the minds of the voters.
Put in a genuinely fair fight, the PAP would lose.
But we don’t despair, we don’t get angry. We get busy. Despite all the difficulties and everything that the PAP throws at us, we face them and continue to work for a democratic Singapore.
Today was just another good day towards our eventual success.