SINGAPORE: Workers’ Party MP Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap (Aljunied GRC) said in Parliament on Wednesday (Apr 19) that a level playing field is essential to good politics in Singapore, including the position of constituency adviser being given regardless of political party.
“Members of Parliament who are not from the ruling party need to put in more effort at the grassroots level to meet the needs of our constituents. We have to do so because we do not have access to the resources of the People’s Association – MPs who have been elected to represent and serve their constituents but who are not from the ruling party are routinely set aside by the PA in its appointment of grassroots advisors.
Rather, in constituencies not held by the ruling party, it is the losing candidate who is appointed the grassroots advisor despite having been rejected by voters through the democratic voting process,” he said, speaking in Malay.
Mr Manap, the vice chairman of the WP, brought the subject up in Parliament last September as well, when he noted that “a great segment of political observers from the public… still opine that the People’s Association is utilised as a platform to achieve the ruling party’s political interests.”
In his speech on Wednesday, he added that the practice of the defeated ruling party candidate assuming the role of the grassroots advisor while the non-government party representatives elected by the voters are set aside is not aligned with Singapore’s pledge to build a democratic society based on justice and equality.
Mr Manap gave an example from his own constituency, where he has been serving for nearly 13 years. He has heard residents commenting on how the ruling party appears to be organising more events than the WP, and when asked, has been told that they refer to events at the community club or organized by the Residents’ Committee
“They associate these events with the PAP as it is often the grassroots advisor who is also the local PAP Branch Chairman who is invited as the guest of honour or the host of such events.”
He also touched on Edusave awards given out by the PAP grassroots adviser in opposition-held wards, which his fellow WP MP Jamus Lim (Sengkang GRC), has also spoken up about.
“Undeniably, the funds utilized by the bodies under the purview of the PA are for the benefit of the residents in a given area. It is also undeniable that the existing system creates the assumption and impression that events organized by the PA are events of the PAP,” added Mr Manap.
His speech may be viewed in full here.
/TISG