Singapore—On Sunday (July 19) Workers’ Party (WP) Member of Parliament-elect Gerald Giam took to Facebook to thank a resident who had donated mattresses to a family in need at Hougang-Punggol.

In the accompanying photos Mr Giam can be seen carrying one of the mattresses, which he described as “heavy!”

He captioned the post, “Thankful to a resident in Bedok Reservoir area for generously donating some really good quality (and heavy!) mattresses to another family in Hougang-Punggol who needed it for their children. We need more of this “gotong royong“* spirit in our communities! *(community helping one another)

https://www.facebook.com/geraldgiam.sg/posts/3442123679139367

Many netizens were impressed by how hands-on Mr Giam was in receiving and transporting the heavy mattresses, seemingly astonished that he would be involved in such a personal way.

One comment even advised the MP-elect to take care of his back, “Be careful when lifting such heavy objects though Mr Gerald Giam 严燕松. I’m no expert but I think you need to maintain neutral spine when lifting, and use leg muscles, stomach muscles, butt muscles etc and minimise strain on the spine. Seems to me you should NEVER turn your waist sharply when holding a heavy object. I met a young guy who did this and he ended up with a terrible slipped disc. ”

Mr Giam responded to the comment, thanking the netizen for his good advice.

Others also chimed in, telling Mr Giam to take care of himself

Another netizen welcomed him to the area, saying he was making a great start as he has “big shoes to fill.” Bedok Reservoir Punggol used to be represented by former WP head Low Thia Khiang, who did not contest in this year’s GE. The well-respected Mr Low had suffered a fall in his home earlier this year and spent several weeks in recovery, but actively participated in the campaign, supporting the WP candidates.