Murali “should be grateful to have his workload lessened”, says resident

Singapore — Opposition Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) leader Dr Chee Soon Juan’s recent house visits seem to have elicited a collective response from Singaporeans who have contrasted his work to that of his opponent in last year’s General Election, Mr Murali Pillai of the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP).

In a Facebook post on Tuesday (Feb 9), Dr Chee shared snippets of his house visits around Bukit Batok SMC, where he contested against Mr Murali in GE2020. Mr Pillai won with  54.80 per cent of the vote and Dr Chee received 45.20 per cent.

In his post, Dr Chee shared that he has “spent some quality moments getting to know many of you”, directly referring to the Bukit Batok residents, “(as well as) your concerns and aspirations”. He also acknowledged their sentiments saying “I hear you and I’ll be in touch”.

While netizens flocked to the comments section of Dr Chee’s post to express their appreciation and gratitude with his work in the SMC, others took things a step further and made comments that contrasted Dr Chee’s work with that of Mr Murali. While some made reference to Mr Murali’s parliamentary allowance, others shed a spotlight on Dr Chee’s groundwork despite the absence of such an allowance.

One netizen wrote: “Mr Murali should be grateful to have his workload lessened,” to which another responded “… plus without salary”.

Not long before Dr Chee’s post, though, Mr Murali also shared some snippets of his own. In a Facebook post on Monday (Feb 9), he shared photos of his house visits, expressing his joy over seeing how residents of Bukit Batok have remained in lively spirits with Chinese New Year just around the corner. “In times like this, the smiles, greetings and goodwill we share with fellow neighbours makes a huge difference whilst we endeavour to overcome the pandemic together,” wrote Mr Murali.

/TISG