Singapore—While campaigning can get very ugly indeed, Singaporean netizens have been thrilled to see the opposite, when members of different parties have crossed paths and show civility and goodwill.
On Sunday, July 5, a reader submitted a 10-second video to media outfit Mothership, showing a pleasant encounter between the teams fighting it out at the newly created Group Representation Constituency (GRC) from the Workers’ Party (WP) and the People’s Action Party (PAP).
The two teams met up at Rivervale Plaza shortly before 10am on Sunday morning and are seen in the short clip exchanging pleasantries. As people mill about them, the candidates, all wearing masks, have a brief and pleasant conversation, even if a woman’s voice can be heard on the video saying “Is this a showdown?”
PAP’s slate is headed by Ng Chee Meng, and in the video he is seen with fellow candidates Amrin Amin and Raymond Lye. All four WP candidates are also seen: Jamus Lim, Raeesah Khan, Louis Chua, and familiar face He Ting Ru.
Mr Ng can be heard on the video asking Professor Lim, “Have you eaten yet?,” in Mandarin, to which the latter answered, “not yet”, adding that he had arrived at 7:30 that morning.
Mothership reports that Mr Ng exchanged greetings with the other WP candidates as well before they groups went on campaigning.
Later that afternoon, there was another encounter between members of different parties, with Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam of PAP bumping into Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) head Chee Soon Juan.
https://www.facebook.com/cheesoonjuan/photos/a.10150092386688849/10160600860788849/?type=3&theater
Dr Chee, who posted a photo of the encounter on his Facebook page, wrote, “Met Mr Tharman at Bukit Batok yesterday. He was campaigning for Mr Murali. Heard that Ms Grace Fu was there the day before. After this photo was taken, I spotted Mr Murali and went up to him and wished him the best.
Elections should be a contest of ideas not personal attacks.”
In the photo, the two men are seen bumping fists, which is a safer way of exchanging greetings while the coronavirus pandemic is still ongoing.
Dr Chee is aiming to win the seat at Bukit Batok Single Member Constituency (SMC), near Jurong GRC, where Mr Tharman heads PAP’s slate.
Netizens showed their approval of the encounters between the candidates.
Some praised Mr Tharman for being “humble” and “respectable.”
Of the encounter between the WP and PAP teams at Sengkang, one individual commented, “Glad to see such courteous gestures between different parties!!”
-/TISG