‘This is the haze, sir’: WP MP Jamus Lim apologises for runny nose in Parliament

SINGAPORE: As he was speaking on the proposed amendments to the Financial Services and Markets Act on Tuesday (Oct 6), Workers’ Party Member of Parliament Jamus Lim (Sengkang) had a bit of a struggle, as he had a runny nose.

Assoc Prof Lim could be heard sniffing, and had presumably gone to the podium less than prepared to deal with his condition.

Fortunately, some well-timed help came in the form of PAP MP Diana Pang (Marine Parade-Braddell Heights), who unobtrusively went up to Assoc Prof Lim to hand him a tissue.

After thanking her and wiping his nose, he turned to House Speaker Seah Kian Peng and said, “This is the haze, sir. I apologise.”

The MP was seen wearing a mask when he was in his seat during the session. 

What Ms Pang did had not gone unnoticed by Singaporeans online, who praised her for her act.

“Very good gesture. Should be the way,” wrote a Facebook user.

“Sometimes the most memorable moments in Parliament aren’t the speeches — they’re the little human moments in between. A runny nose doesn’t care which side of the aisle you sit on, and apparently neither does a tissue. One person needed help, another happened to have exactly what was needed — simple kindness at the right moment,” added another.

Some also praised Assoc Prof Lim for participating in the sitting despite feeling unwell. On Wednesday, he was back in Parliament.

Haze in Singapore

Singapore has been battling worse-than-usual haze conditions this year, mainly due to the land-clearing fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan in Indonesia amid extremely dry weather and prevailing wind directions because of this year’s Super El Niño and a positive Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) pushing rain away from Southeast Asia.

On Wednesday morning, the National Environment Agency said that the 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) forecast was High Moderate to Unhealthy. The highest PSI reading was 133 in central Singapore, followed by 124 in the west, 123 in the east, and 103 in the south.  

Haze conditions can trigger or worsen a person’s allergies and respiratory infections by irritating their airways and causing inflammation.

When PSI readings are in the unhealthy range (101 to 200), even adults without lung or heart disease have been advised by the Health Ministry to reduce prolonged or strenuous outdoor physical exertion. /TISG

Read also: Workers' Party Chief Pritam Singh says haze in Singapore this year affected him more than in years past