Pritam Singh holding meet-the-people session at void deck a ‘sad sight to see’

Singapore – A photo of the Workers’ Party secretary-general, Pritam Singh, conducting his Meet-the-People session at a void deck got members of the online community wondering if a better venue was available for opposition members to hold their meetings.

Tagging it as “old school,” Mr Pritam took to Facebook on Monday (August 17) to announce that their face-to-face sessions with the residents have resumed. “I much prefer physical Meet-the-People sessions (MPS), (in spite of the screen)!” said Mr Pritam. He shared his enthusiasm in being able to get back in touch with the Eunos community after the National Environment Authority lifted the Covid-19 imposed restrictions on the hosting of physical MPS.

“As expected, there were more residents in view of the hiatus, and I thank everyone who waited patiently while my team and I processed each case,” added Mr Pritam who is also the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament.

They will be holding their next session on Monday (August 24) at Blk 672. They will commence with a regular schedule of every first and third Monday of the month at Blk 615 Bedok Reservoir Road and every second and fourth Monday of the month at Blk 672 (junction of Jalan Damai and Bedok Reservoir Road). There will be no sessions during public holidays and the fifth Monday of the month.

Mr Pritam’s MPS are scheduled from 7:30 to 9:30 pm, although he noted he would be late for the next one due to the opening of Parliament on August 24.

Attached to his post was a photo of himself and a resident discussing over a makeshift receiving counter. The photo garnered numerous sympathetic comments from the public, with many saying it was “a sad sight to see” the opposition not given a proper place to conduct their MPS. “Not even a decent covered office for them,” commented Facebook user Vivien Zeng. “So much for awarding him as the Leader of the Opposition.” She advised all parties to be “sporty and fair and assist (one another) when necessary.”

Meanwhile, others looked at the bright side and commented that it was the quality of the meetup, not the location that mattered. “No point meeting up in a nice and cosy place when it don’t resolve the concerns of the people,” said Facebook user Jack Oh. Many encouraged Mr Pritam to “keep up the good work as the voice of the people.”

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