Singapore—Dr Tan Cheng Bock received a warm welcome as he “went home” during Progress Singapore Party’s (PSP) first walkabout for the year, which they held on Sunday (Jan 12) in West Coast GRC.
The veteran politician told The Straits Times (ST), “The reception has been warm. Tell them: I’m coming home.”
Dr Tan was the Member of Parliament for Ayer Rajah from 1980 through 2006 when he was still under the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP). Ayer Rajah used to be a single-seat constituency and became part of West Coast GRC in 2006.
Members of the media asked him if PSP would be fielding candidates in the area, to which Dr Tan did not give a direct reply, but he did say that the party was scouting for areas where they would contest for the upcoming General Election (GE).
When asked about the other possible areas where PSP would field candidates, Dr Tan chose not to answer.
But since coming to Ayer Rajah is considered a homecoming for Dr Tan, it is expected that PSP will be fielding candidates for West Coast GRC.
Regarding the choice to do 2020’s first walkabout at the West Coast market, the PSP leader simply said, “We have a plan, so now we have decided to come here. The places we go and the things we do; these are all very calibrated and well-calculated.”
PSP posted on the party’s Facebook page that Dr Tan was “warmly” greeted with a garland of orchids when he and the other party members arrived at the West Coast market.
There, they bumped into a sitting GRC MP, Foo Mee Har, to whom they extended birthday greetings.
TODAY quotes Dr Tan as telling members of the press later that day, “Ms Foo Mee Har is quite good. I heard she takes care (of the residents).”
He praised PAP as well, saying that they have served Ayer Rajah well in the years since he stepped down as MP of the area, saying, “That’s how it should be. It doesn’t matter whether it’s me or whoever but the important thing is to make sure that people who live in this area are given the facilities that they asked for.”
Moreover, Dr Tan congratulated PAP for making the “constituency even better, nicer.”
PSP also did four-hour-long door-to-door visitations in the area, covering 50 blocks of flats. All in all, 200 members joined the walkabout to West Coast GRC’s Teban Gardens and Pandan Loop areas, in 22 teams. The party said in a Facebook post that the walkabout took three weeks to plan.
For many PSP members, it was the first time that they had an up close and personal involvement with the community.
The PSP post reads, “We met entire families who knew “Doc” from his Ama Keng Clinic days. We also met young families who have not heard of PSP and our teams wasted no time in introducing the party to them. All in all, our members had fun greeting the residents of West Coast GRC, and we hope the residents enjoyed meeting us too.” -/TISG
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