SINGAPORE: Dr Chee Soon Juan, the Secretary-General of the Singapore Democratic Party, is preparing to contest at Bukit Batok SMC once again in the upcoming General Election, which must be held before Nov 23. His election campaign includes dinners.
Dr Chee announced on social media earlier this week that he will be holding a series of fundraising dinners at his restaurant, Orange & Teal, located at Rochester Mall.
The fundraiser is from Feb 18 to 26 and costs $100 per person. On weekdays, it will be held from 6.30 to 8.30 pm, and on weekends, from 3 pm to 5 pm. Seats can be booked on Orange & Teal’s website, where one will be asked to make a payment in advance and specify the number of people who will be attending.
The SDP chief added in his announcement that the event is only for Singapore citizens. He will be present during the nine days of the fundraising event to discuss SDP’s plans with diners and answer any questions people may have.
According to the site, the meal will be a no-pork and no-lard buffet and will include a few vegetarian dishes. Diners who require halal food should indicate this in the special request section when they make a booking, and those with reservation inquiries may contact the restaurant via WhatsApp at 98767148.
“If you have the means, please buy a ticket for $100,” Dr Chee said in a video earlier this week. “I know it’s a lot of money… but we don’t do this lightly.”
He went on to explain how costly elections are, as parties need to print fliers and posters, organise rallies, and rent trucks.
“In truth, this is a David and Goliath fight. It has always been,” he said.
If he waited for the new electoral boundaries to be announced before launching fundraising efforts, it would be too late, he added.
“There’s no time to waste” for launching his ground-up campaign, he said, naming the two key issues the SDP will fight for: To control the cost of living and to “bring some sanity” to Singapore’s immigration policy.
This is the SDP chief’s third time contesting at Bukit Batok. He contested the by-election in 2016 and the general election in 2020 against the People’s Action Party’s Murali Pillai. Though he lost both times, his polling numbers improved from 38.77 per cent in 2016 to 45.20 per cent in the last election. /TISG