“What have you done for us?” — Public’s most mistaken expectation of opposition candidates

The public has the most mistaken expectation of opposition candidates, according to Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) politician Khung Wai Yeen.

When Singapore voters meet an opposition politician, they always ask what that person has done for them.

In a Facebook post on Tuesday (April 28), Mr Khung wrote: “I feel that as a voter, it is about what you want from your representative in Parliament, rather than what has the candidate done for you.”

“Believe me, the number of times I have been asked what have I done to deserve their vote is amazing,” he said.

In the 2015 General Election, Mr Khung stood against the People’s Action Party’s Teo Ho Pin in the Bukit Panjang Single Member Constituency.

He noted that, as part of Dr Teo’s role as a town councillor, he has distributed food, given  out scholarships, certificates of merit with Edusave Awards, built sheltered walkways, helped people find jobs.

“What have I done to deserve their vote in comparison to that?” he mused. He pointed out that everything Dr Teo was praised for was the expected role of a Member of Parliament.

Mr Khung said that, in contrast, Dr Teo “asked a total of 3 questions in Parliament in the last 4 years, 2 on construction industry master plan, and 1 on the completion date of the Bukit Panjang Polyclinic. Nothing on GST increase, nothing on the amended presidential election criteria, nothing on all the lapses highlighted by the Auditor-General every year, and more recently, nothing on the absurd idea of calling an election in the midst of an outbreak”.

He said that he has “done over 50 house visits, and walkabouts in the past 3.5 years, I met at least 100-200 people on each of the visit, so there are bound to be those who have not seen me around, but should it automatically mean that I am undeserving of your vote?”

He said “the people have to reconsider that the vote they cast is really about they want their candidate to do once he/she is elected into parliament, rather than what he/she has done for you personally to deserve your vote”.

“It is like something along the lines of ‘Ask not what the MP candidate has done for you – ask what you want to do for your country’,” Mr Khung wrote.

Mr Khung concluded his post with the hope that the people take a leap of faith with the SDP, “unless of course you truly feel that an overwhelming representation of one party is the epitome of good governance”. /TISG