PAP banking on teddy bears and fresh faces in Sengkang

SINGAPORE: What chance does a teddy bear have against a hammer? The teddy bear is cuddly; the hammer is hard, but the People’s Action Party (PAP) seems to have put its faith in soft power in Sengkang, reckoning it’s a young town with young couples bringing up kids and babies who, of course, love teddy bears. So teddy bears it is!

Lam Pin Min, chairman of the PAP Sengkang West Branch, was seen at a walkabout on Sunday (March 30) with his team, meeting residents at the coffeeshops at Rivervale Shores and Sengkang Grand Mall’s hawker centre, giving out PAP Sengkang teddy bear plushies.

“Teddy bear is a symbol of love and comfort, and we hope that by distributing this little gesture of love and comfort to our residents, we are able to send love to them as well as to reach out to them and know them better,” said Lam.

Yes, love is what the PAP needs to win over the voters in Sengkang who rejected them roundly in the 2020 general election, becoming the second GRC  to vote for the Workers’ Party, the wielders of the mighty hammer.

The youthful WP team led by lawyer He Ting Ru, including economics professor Jamus Lim, social enterprise founder Raeesah Khan, and equity research analyst Louis Chua Kheng Wee, won 52.13 per cent of the vote, defeating the heavyweight PAP slate, which consisted of Ng Chee Meng, Lam Pin Min, Amrin Amin, and Raymond Lye.

Now the same WP team – sans Raeesah Khan, who quit after a scandal – faces a transformed PAP squad of new faces: Elmie Nekmat, an associate professor at the National University of Singapore, Theodora Lai Xi Yi, a business development director at a venture capital firm, and Bernadette Giam, director of Creative Eateries.

Lam, now a veteran leading rookies, said his team is younger, passionate, and has a good gender representation.

“I hope through our sincerity, diligence and determination we will be able to win over the hearts of Sengkang residents,” he said, Mothership reported.

He added that they had been visiting residents and would address their concerns if elected.

A couple in their early 30s who moved into Rivervale Shores a year ago said they were happy with the estate.

When asked who they would vote for, the husband said that would depend on the candidate picked by the Workers’ Party to replace Raeesah Khan. But they are “supportive” of Jamus Lim and Louis Chua.

The WP Sengkang team held a town hall meeting with over 50 residents on March 29.

Chua, vice-chairman of the Sengkang Town Council, said they are planning to discuss better amenities with the Urban Redevelopment Authority in April.