SINGAPORE: The ruling party’s Sembawang West SMC candidate, Poh Li San, has drawn criticism online for the aspersions she has cast against her rival, Chee Soon Juan, despite the latter’s appeal for a debate focused on policy rather than personal attacks.
Speaking at a rally on Monday (28 Apr), the one-term MP who entered Parliament in 2020 under Health Minister Ong Ye Kung’s team took aim at Dr Chee and shot down his idea of turning meet-the-people sessions into public town hall meetings. While Dr Chee had said that this would cut down waiting times for residents, Ms Poh denigrated the proposal, asserting that “MPS is not a stage for public political theatre.”
She added that Sembawang West is not a place for experiments and said, “You can’t just walk into Sembawang and claim to understand its people.”
Her former team leader, Ong Ye Kung, had made a similar jibe in the first days of the campaign period, asking why Dr Chee “abandoned” Bukit Batok, which he has contested since 2016. The Minister changed his tune days later, after netizens reminded him that his ruling party colleagues Gan Kim Yong and Tan See Leng did the same by leaving their former wards for new ground, in this election.
Netizens reminded that Mr Ong, himself, “abandoned” Aljunied GRC, which he contested and lost in the 2011 election, and only entered Parliament one term later under former Minister Khaw Boon Wan’s team at Sembawang.
Mr Ong was also reminded that Bukit Batok SMC was dissolved ahead of this election.
Dr Chee was among the best-performing opposition candidates who failed to win a ward in the 2020 general election when he contested Bukit Batok SMC. His score of 45.2 per cent was a personal best since he first contested elections in 1997.
After the elections, Dr Chee said he intended to remain in Bukit Batok SMC and re-contest the ward in the next general election. He also launched a grassroots campaign to help Bukit Batok residents and began to raise funds for the initiative.
He walked the ground faithfully over the next five years and expressed hope that Bukit Batok SMC would not disappear from the electoral map by the time the next elections are called. His worst fears unfortunately came true this year when the hotly-contested ward will be absorbed into a larger multi-member ward, forcing Dr Chee to pivot to a Northern Strategy at the nth hour.
The backlash Mr Ong faced for his comments does not seem to have dissuaded Ms Poh from making personal jibes against Dr Chee. She said during the rally on Monday, “Yes, he is passionate. But passion doesn’t build playgrounds, support seniors, or comfort a struggling family. Leadership is about being there, day in and day out.”
She added, “Sembawang West doesn’t just deserve a proven platform — it deserves a proven person.”
Ms Poh drew swift backlash online. Some asked how she walked into Sembawang in 2020 and claimed to understand its people, while others pointed out that Dr Chee is a veteran politician whom Singaporeans know better than they know her.
Others asked how the ruling party politician expects Dr Chee to build playgrounds to prove his ability to do so once elected. They added that over the years, Dr Chee has stood up for countless Singaporeans, struggling families, and the elderly poor, such as seniors forced to collect cardboard to earn a living across Singapore.
This is not the first time Ms Poh has made a dig at Dr Chee. Last week, she was accused of making a “cheap potshot” when she said Sembawang West residents can tell who has “done real work” and who “shows up one month before election.”
While Ms Poh continues harping on what an unworthy candidate Dr Chee is, the opposition party leader has called on election candidates across the political divide to focus on key policies and issues, and not dwell on character assassinations.
He said, earlier in the campaign period, when Mr Ong accused him of abandoning Bukit Batok, “When PAP politicians find that they cannot talk about the issues, when they cannot talk about the policies, they start attacking the person. Voters have had enough. They want to see a good debate, a good contest—on what affects them.”
The backlash against Mr Ong and Ms Poh perhaps suggests that Singaporeans are tired of the constant mudslinging aimed at individuals like Dr Chee who put themselves up to serve the country, despite the opportunity cost.
In the almost 30 years since he entered the political fray, Dr Chee has dealt with harassment, multiple lawsuits, bankruptcy, and even imprisonment. Addressing the smear campaigns against him in a 2020 interview with the Robb Report, Dr Chee had said:
“I don’t have two horns sticking out from my head. I’m just an ordinary man with his own set of worries, aspirations, insecurities, strengths, and weaknesses — I’m going through the processes any typical human being would go through in life. I’m no different from anyone else, but it’s only natural for everyone to have his or her own views on various matters.”
He added, “… I just want people to see me for who I am and for all my thoughts. I’d like to be able to show people this genuine side of me, and while some may not agree with my values, at least they’re informed of how I work.”
As for how he would like to be remembered when he leaves this world, he said, candidly: “This may sound a little vain and nebulous, but when I leave this world, I’d like to be remembered as someone who cared — in whichever way you choose to see it.”