Singapore — Several residents in Sengkang GRC have come up with a workaround to have their own MPs from the Workers’ Party honour their childrens’ educational achievements quite apart from the existing practice of having PAP grassroots advisors give out Edusave awards in opposition-held wards.
Ms He Ting Ru, who represents the Buangkok ward in Sengkang GRC said in a Feb 17 Facebook post that Sengkang residents had asked Workers’ Party MPs for letters of encouragement for students in their area to recognise their achievements.
Posting a recent photo with a young recipient and her family, she wrote, “We have been giving these out through informal meetings, such as this during my Meet-the-People Session last night, and it is nice to be able to chat with our young residents and their families about their experiences of the last few years, and how they have coped (or not!) with the disruption caused by Covid.”
She encourages residents to reach out if they would also like to receive similar letter for their young achievers.
“As The Workers’ Party MPs, we are not involved in the giving out of Edusave awards. This is because although they are funded out of the public purse, they are parked under the purview of the People’s Association. Consequently, elected MPs who do not belong to the ruling party are not asked to give out the awards to our residents — we are not Grassroots Advisors for our constituencies,” Ms He explained.
Edusave awards are grants typically given to students in the top 10 per cent of a school’s cohort. The grassroots advisers who hand them out are appointed by the People’s Association.
In PAP-held wards, the MPs take on that role and present the Edusave awards personally. In Opposition-held wards, the grassroots advisors are usually the PAP representatives who were defeated in the General Election.
In Sengkang GRC, apart from Ms He, Prof Jamus Lim represents Anchorvale, and Mr Louis Chua represents Rivervale. Compassvale, the ward of former WP MP Raeesah Khan, who had to resign late last year has been subsumed into the other three wards.
The Edusave issue emerged when Prof Lim wrote a much-shared Facebook post relating that his social media feed had been “flooded with pictures of PAP MPs handing out awards to proud recipients” and parents had asked him why the same wasn’t happening in Sengkang, “especially now that COVID-19 restrictions have been slightly loosened”.
He said a parent “expressed dismay” as their child was looking forward to interacting and taking a photo with their MP and losing the opportunity to do so because the awards were mailed out instead.
Prof Lim said he would “happily write” and sign letters of encouragement and hand them out in an “informal mini-ceremony” during his weekly meet-the-people sessions.
“Most importantly, please don’t feel that the only way you can meet and take a selfie with your MP is by studying hard and doing well!” he noted.
Edusave season or not, Prof Lim said he always available for his residents, whether virtually or physically. /TISG