After WP’s Harpreet Singh post shows he’s a ‘Punggol kia’, Singaporeans call him the ‘real son of Punggol’

SINGAPORE: Senior counsel Harpreet Singh Nehal took a trip down memory lane in a social media post, showing a photo of his kindergarten graduation certificate that his mother had framed more than half a century ago.

Mr Singh, who is with the Workers’ Party, wrote “Pungol Kia” as the heading to his post. The term loosely translates from Hokkien or Teochew to “child of Punggol” or “Punggol kid” and is a term of affection for old-timers who grew up in the old kampungs of Punggol, among others.

“My kindergarten was at the old Ponggol Community Centre near Lim Ah Pin Road. I remember we spoke a lot of Teochew in class, including with our teacher. She also complimented me once (in Teochew) for some words I wrote in Mandarin,” he wrote.

He added, however, that the best part of the day for him at the time was when his father picked him up after class on his bicycle. 

“I always looked forward to that,” wrote Mr Singh, adding, “Wonderful memories.”

The term “Pungol Kia” seems especially relevant, as Mr Singh had been part of the WP slate that contested at Punggol in last year’s General Election. Although the opposition team, which had been made up of political newbies, had lost to the ruling People’s Action Party slate headed by Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, the fact that the WP received a respectable 44.83% of the vote is not insignificant.

‘The real Son of Punggol’

Aside from commenters who said they looked forward to one day welcoming Mr Singh as a Punggol MP, several netizens began to call him a “real son of Punggol.”

“Oh, so you are the real son of Punggol,” wrote one. 

“You are the true son of Punggol,” added another.

“This could be the real Punggol son,” a third chimed in.

“Eh, can the ‘son of Punggol’ pls show something for proof too?” a Facebook user asked.

While he was not mentioned by name, the comments appeared to refer to Koh Poh Koon, who first entered politics in 2013 as a PAP candidate in the by-election in Punggol. Dr Koh often referred to himself as “kaki lang” (“one of us” in Teochew) and “son of Punggol” during the campaign period.

He ended up defeated by the WP’s Lee Li Lian, who won with 54.5% of the vote.

Two years later, he joined the PAP team at Ang Mo Kio and was elected into Parliament, and in 2020, moved to the Tampines team. While he continues to represent Tampines Centrak in Parliament, he recently announced he would step down from his duties as Senior Minister of State in the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Manpower. /TISG

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