SINGAPORE: In a doorstop interview with the media, Workers’ Party (WP) candidate at Hougang SMC, Dennis Tan Lip Fong, said that he receives feedback regarding cost-of-living issues from residents every day.
Mr Tan, 54, who was elected Hougang MP in 2020, said he walks the ground daily, except when he’s travelling. He visits not only Housing and Development Board (HDB) blocks but also condominiums and private estates.
“To be honest, I get feedback on cost-of-living every day until today. This feedback is very important. They allow me to have a feel for the pulse on how our residents… and help me to know how I should convey their issues in Parliament,” he told members of the media.
Aside from cost of living, residents also talk to him about many other issues, such as healthcare costs and subsidies.
“We have a lot of seniors in our midst, and they are concerned. For example, they’d like to use more of their Medisave, instead of being limited by the current cap. Of course, there is also a lot of feedback about municipal services, which I also carry back to Parliament.”
Mr Tan, who is a lawyer by profession, is up against a new candidate from the People’s Action Party (PAP), Marshall Lim. Mr Lim is also a lawyer and has served as Deputy Public Prosecutor in the Attorney-General’s Chambers, and as Assistant Chief Public Defender in the Public Defender’s Office.
Mr Tan also talked about the improvements that he has helped bring about in Hougang, including lift upgrading, bus services, lifts at overhead bridges, and the extended covered walkway network, which residents have expressed appreciation for.
“Yesterday, a young resident spoke to me during my house visits and said that he would continue to vote for the Workers’ Party to keep the government on their toes so that they can work harder for Singaporeans.
“Another resident spoke to me two days ago saying that Hougang must always remain the beacon of democracy in Singapore,” said Mr Tan, adding, “I hope to be re-elected so I can continue to work with the town council consultants and contractors to continue to improve how and to make it a better place for all our residents.”
Former WP secretary-general Low Thia Khiang wrested Hougang SMC from the PAP in 1991, and the ward has stayed under the WP since then. Mr Low represented Hougang until 2011, when he, together with current party chief Pritam Singh, WP chair Sylvia Lim, vice chair Faisal Manap, and Chen Show Mao, contested and won at Aljunied, making history as the first opposition party candidates to win a Group Representation Constituency.
From 2012 to 2020, the WP’s Png Eng Huat took over Hougang from Mr Low. While the two older WP leaders have since said they will no longer contest in elections, they have continued to lend their star power this year, helping the party’s candidates campaign in different constituencies.
Mr Tan, who had served as a Non-Constituency Member of Parliament between 2015 and 2020, contested and won in the last GE against the PAP’s Lee Hong Chuang, winning 61.21% of the votes, an increase of 3.52 percentage points from the election in 2015. /TISG
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