PAP branch chairman called out for sending huge condolence banner to wake in Sengkang GRC

SINGAPORE: One of the chairmen at Sengkang GRC from the ruling People’s Action Party drew flak from netizens after the banner he sent for a wake prominently featured his name.

“PAP Sengkang GRC Marcus Loh sent huge condolence banner to wake,” wrote u/Cryptoivangoh in a Reddit Singapore post on Wednesday (July 24).

They also put up a photo of the banner that Loh allegedly sent, and a screenshot from another Reddit user u/No-Mortgage1939 that had been a comment to a now-deleted post from earlier this month.

That redditor wrote that when he attended the wake of a relative in Sengkang, Mr Loh sent “a PAP condolence banner (big big Swee Swee Marcus Loh name)” on the second day of the wake, which was collected after a few days, presumably so that it can be reused.

In contrast, they added, current Sengkang MP He Ting Ru from The Workers’ Party came to the wake on the first day to give baijin and sit with the family. The party also sent a sympathy blanket to the family that is still in their possession, the Reddit user claimed, adding, “I’m not a Sengkang resident so I don’t vote, but this is what I see as an outsider.”

Mr Loh’s biography page on the PAP website says that he began volunteering in 2015 at Braddell Heights and was made chairman of the PAP Sengkang East division in 2023.

The Independent Singapore has reached out to Mr Loh, as well as to the PAP, for comment.

The banner has also been featured in another recent Reddit post:

Till death do us apart, PAP will always be there for you. 🤮Seriously PAP, you getting your hands in people's misery.
byu/queenkard inSingaporeRaw

Commenters on u/Cryptoivangoh’s post, meanwhile, appear to find the banner in poor taste.

One wrote that Mr Loh “ has zero political instincts,” and added that he could have gone to the wake and simply paid his respects.

“There is no need for some banner with his party’s logo on it,” the commenter added.

Another wondered why no one advised Mr Loh against sending the banner and asked, “Literally is this the best people PAP have to put as a candidate?”

“Literally using a funeral for a political ad,” chimed in a Reddit user.

One added that while they are “politically neutral,” they found the banner to be distressful.

“Imagine forcing all the wake attendees to view your ad,” a commenter added, while one quipped, “How Loh can you go?”

Others wrote, meanwhile, that when other MPs from the WP and the PAP visited, they have been discreet and respectful of the bereaved family’s needs and wishes. /TISG

Read also: Sengkang East branch Chair Marcus Loh describes his team as PAP underdogs in opposition-held Sengkang GRC