PAP lion dancers trying to ward of unwinnable spirit in Hougang – Another brings bad luck for business

The lion dance, usually performed during the Chinese New Year, is meant to expel evil spirits and attract good luck for the coming year.
Wikipedia describes the traditional ‘plucking the greens’ act the lion dancers perform as such:
“During the Chinese New Year, lion dance troupes from the Chinese martial art schools or Chinese guild and associations will visit the houses and shops of the Chinese community to perform the traditional custom of “cai qing” (採青), literally meaning “plucking the greens”, whereby the lion plucks the auspicious green vegetables like lettuce either hung on a pole or placed on a table in front of the premises. The “greens” (qing) is tied together with a “red envelope” containing money and may also include auspicious fruit like oranges. In Chinese cǎi (採, pluck) also sounds like cài (菜, meaning vegetable) and cái (财, meaning fortune). The “lion” will dance and approach the “green” and “red envelope” like a curious cat, to “eat the green” and “spit” it out but keep the “red envelope” which is the reward for the lion troupe. The lion dance is believed to bring good luck and fortune to the business.
For one business, we are not sure if the ‘lions’ brought good luck, but they sure did make the business incur more unnecessary expenses. They brought the house down.

The other dance was performed in a constituency held by the opposition for about 25 years – Hougang single member constituency. But the lions were without doubt partisan.
The lions had the People’s Action Party logo affixed all over their costume, and were performing for the grassroots advisor for that ward, Lee Hong Chuang and former PAP Minister, Lim Boon Heng.

Probably the PAP lions were trying to ward off the evil spirits which had prevented them from winning the ward in the last 25 years.