SINGAPORE: On the evening of Nomination Day (April 23), a local Reddit user asked others what questions they would pose to the candidates standing in their constituencies.
“Always thought the interaction at interchanges or malls where the candidates say hi to you is a brief window into the personalities campaigning.
“What would you ask or say to them in that brief moment in your GRC/SMC?” wrote u/Hot-Pain503 in a post on r/Singapore.
The most upvoted answer is a question that a commenter wanted to ask Ng Chee Meng, who has been serving as the secretary-general of the National Trades Union Congress since 2018.
Mr Ng was part of the People’s Action Party (PAP) slate that lost at Sengkang GRC in the General Election of 2020. This year, he is hoping to make a political comeback at Jalan Kayu SMC, a newly created ward that was previously part of Ang Mo Kio GRC. He is up against Workers’ Party newbie Andre Low in this year’s polls.
The commenter wrote, “For our labour chief: Can you convince me why you approved the Income-Allianz deal? How did you miss the capital extraction clause?”
Another Reddit user said they would ask, “Hi, will you be willing to speak up and raise concerns for the residents in Parliament even if it means to ‘question’ against your party’s proposed policies? I think from the answer they give, you can judge their sincerity and genuineness.”
One wrote this, “Why did you announce a slate of candidates for my constituency days before, then do a switch at the last minute?”
An Ang Mo Kio resident said they would ask, “What are your plans to support both the older folk and the young families who are shifting into this area?”
They further explained, “We have the very, very old here. They will eventually pass on, and support will go to the younger crowd, but I want to see the transition happen in a way that both demographics are supported.”
Another brought up a single, but very practical issue, saying they would ask, “When are you gonna fix the rats issue?” Judging from the comments on the thread, rats are a problem in many areas, including Ang Mo Kio, Nee Soon, and Sengkang.
Another netizen posed this question: “Name your three biggest achievements over the last parliamentary term. What concrete measures of success can we use to judge your performance over the upcoming term? Not the party, not the government, but you personally as an individual.”
One weighed in with, “Why’s this the first time I’m seeing you, and why didn’t you reply to my emails?”
However, they added, “I’m kidding (mostly).”
Another Reddit user had questions for both incumbents and challengers.
“To the incumbent: There are a lot of old people living in the blocks here. Why is there no direct bus from here to the polyclinic?
To the challengers: “What do you think are the most pressing issues in the estate or in the country?”
A commenter remarked: “For me, all these day-to-day or perennial issues don’t matter. They will come up and be hotly debated in Parliament.
“What matters is their standing, e.g., do you stand for justice, will you question injustice, do you care for animals, will you protect the planet, do you support the LGBTQ+ community, etc.” /TISG
Read also: ‘This morning’s developments have been wild,’ commenters say of Nomination Day twists and surprises