Chee Soon Juan urges people to do more cooking during lockdown

Singapore Democratic Party leader Chee Soon Juan recently took to Facebook to urge Singaporeans to give cooking a try during the temporary closure of schools and non-essential businesses, which is set to last for at least one month.

Taking a break from his usual political posts, Mr Chee on Sunday (April 5) shared a photo of himself at work in the kitchen, as he issued a call for Singaporeans to pass time in the kitchen if need be. “Had a near domestic uprising on my hands this morning when I suggested having salad for lunch,” shared Mr Chee. “Did the next best thing – attempted to cook chilli butter prawns (crab too expensive; not illustrated in photo). The operative word being ‘attempted’.”

He shared that given the mandate to stay home, people may find themselves in search of an activity to effectively pass the time. “Now that the country is going on virtually a lockdown mode, it might be a good time to wander into the kitchen and mess around with the stuff in there.”

In a leap of faith, Mr Chee encouraged people to give something new a try, despite whatever feeling of uncertainty they may associate with the thought of working in the kitchen. “If you haven’t already tried it, give it a go. What’s the worse that could happen?” he said. “You make an inedible batch of omelette or burn the toast. So what? If you screw up, just start over.”

Mr Chee also highlighted that during trying times, what is important is that people find something to keep themselves occupied and keep their hearts lively. “It’s something to keep us occupied while staying home. Cooking is fun (washing up not so much) especially when you do it with your family,” he shared. “Whatever we do, let’s keep our spirits up and our thoughts with those recovering from the disease.”

The “virtual lockdown mode” Mr Chee referred to is set to commence on Tuesday (April 7) for non-essential businesses and Wednesday (April 8) for schools. The closures will last at least a month.