SINGAPORE: Workers’ Party MP Jamus Lim (Sengkang GRC) addressed the common perception that Singapore’s new residents would always vote for the ruling party. He noted that they have always warmly welcomed him in the course of visiting homes and coffee shops, and many have told him that they see the value of alternative voices in government.
He noted in an Aug 5 (Saturday) Facebook post that the residents he meets have been “extremely welcoming” of visits from him and his team, writing this in the context of having visited 318C and 318D Anchorvale this week, as well as the eating house at 289 Compassvale.
“This perception may not just be mistaken, but unfair; after all, if we hold it, we strip our new Singaporean brothers and sisters from any agency over their choice of who represents them. And I, for one, happen to think that the desire for voice and accountability transcends borders, and is one closely held by people all over the world, new immigrant (or new #SengkangGRC resident!) or not,” wrote Assoc Prof Lim.
He wrote that the warm welcome they’ve experienced has come from new residents of China, India, and other countries, adding that this could partly be because “of their recent experience of being a guest in another country, which heightens their sense of hospitality overall.”
Assoc Prof Lim added that another reason may be due to the new residents coming from a country that “deeply respects democratic traditions (India) or from where such considerations have been given short shrift (China), and therefore imbuing them with a keen appreciation for what we have here.”
Or it could be, he added, that new residents “see the tremendous value of alternative voices even if, on balance, they value the work that the government has done thus far (a sentiment that many have shared directly with us, and one not limited to recent immigrants).”
The insight that new residents appreciate alternative voices in government is useful, given the common sentiment that new immigrants would always favour the ruling People’s Action Party, he noted. /TISG
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