SINGAPORE — After nearly a year’s break from active politics, Kumaran Pillai, 2020 Singapore General Election candidate for Kebun Baru, is back on familiar ground as he visited the Mayflower Market and spent some time talking to hawkers and patrons in the area on the final day of Chinese New Year.
He was seen with several of his supporters clad in bright red and the letter ‘K’ in bold gold on the left side of the shirt. The group went around the market, with the former Progress Singapore Party’s communications chief handing out oranges to the hawkers and striking up conversations with them.
“The inflationary environment seems to be at the top of their concerns with hawkers saying that they are hit the hardest in this down cycle. And even after increasing the retail prices because of GST, hawkers feel that there has been a margin squeeze and it is not so profitable to run hawker stalls,” posted Mr Pillai on his Facebook.
Mr Pillai added that he noticed several shops that went out of business and that it is “not a very rosy picture for hawkers generally.”
While he remains tight-lipped on which political party he may be heading to next, he is committed to his political convictions and plans to make more ground visits in the weeks ahead and will share their concerns on his social media page.
In an interview with Wake Up Singapore earlier this year, Mr Pillai indicated that even though he left his former party, his political journey is far from over. “… I am looking at ways to strengthen our political institutions in any way I can. So, do expect me to come in another avatar in the future,” he said.
“I have over 70 volunteers in Kebun Baru and it is bigger than most of the smaller parties here in Singapore. I am going to spend some time talking to them and seeking their help in my future political work,” Mr Pillai added in the same interview.