Pritam Singh calls multiracial bonds “Singapore’s secret weapon’

SINGAPORE: Workers’ Party chief Pritam Singh took to social media on Wednesday (Aug 14) to celebrate what he deems Singapore’s secret weapon: the multiracial connections and bonds among those living in the country.

Mr Singh, Singapore’s first officially designated Leader of the Opposition, posted over a dozen photos from a recent dinner he attended of the Serangoon North Hawkers and Residents Association, which hosted its final seventh-month dinner before, as he put it “they call it a night for good.”

He also noted that trying to get younger Singaporeans to take over the organization has been a challenge, one that similar groups and seventh-month temple committees also face.

The WP secretary-general, who has been representing Aljunied GRC in Parliament since 2011, added that in contrast, numerous people who attended the dinner mentioned to him that their parents had regularly attended many Serangoon North Hawkers and Residents Association dinners, which is a key reason for them to support the final one.

Mr Singh called the association a decades-long “platform for organic, ground-up friendships” and recounted how his interest was piqued by a table with some Indian men as their parents had attended the Serangoon North Hawkers and Residents Association many years ago.

“It is my sincere prayer for Singapore that these unscripted multiracial connections and bonds remain permanent features of our society. It is truly Singapore’s secret weapon. Let’s make that last forever,” he wrote.

However, Mr Singh is not the only WP MP participating in seventh-month events around Singapore.

On Sunday, Aug 11, Hougang SMC MP Dennis Tan wrote that he joined some residents at Blk 322 Hougang Avenue 5 the night before as they did their prayers, together with former WP MPs at the ward, ex-WP chief Low Thia Khiang and Png Eng Huat. Afterward, they all had dinner together.

Thanking the residents for having invited him, Mr Tan wrote that they “enjoyed catching up with everyone.”

Over at Sengkang, the other GRC that the WP holds, Louis Chua noted in a Facebook post that seventh-month prayer sessions at Rivervale not only gave current residents the opportunity to gather together but for those who have moved away to come back and reconnect.

“Hope our Chinese customs can continue to withstand the test of time!” Mr Chua wrote.

On Aug 12 he posted photos of himself and fellow Sengkang MP Jamus Lim attending a seventh-month dinner at Compassvale, characterizing the gathering as “he hallmark of what the Kampong Spirit is like,” since it had been organized by a team of dedicated residents for the past 25 years.

“The warmth and sense of community among our residents here, past and present, is always a key highlight!” he added. /TISG

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