Singapore — Workers’ Party (WP) politician Kenneth Foo has, in a Facebook post published on Tuesday (Aug 18), urged Singaporeans to give more support to local hawkers.
Mr Foo began volunteering with the WP in 2006. Besides being active in grassroots work at Hougang SMC, he also served as Aljunied GRC MP Sylvia Lim’s legislative assistant. Mr Foo presently serves as one of the town councillors for Aljunied-Hougang Town Council.
He is also the deputy director of the Singapore Cancer Society.
Mr Foo first stood as a WP candidate in the 2015 General Election. He was a part of the WP team for Nee Soon GRC that received just over 33 per cent of the vote.
In the most recent General Election, Mr Foo was in the WP team for East Coast GRC. This high-stakes contest was closely watched because the People’s Action Party fielded a surprise candidate, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat, there instead of in his Tampines GRC stronghold.
The PAP’s team did less well than it did in the 2011 elections and barely made it into Parliament, with 53.41 per cent of the vote. This was the worst PAP performance in the ward since East Coast GRC was formed in 1991.
The PAP’s weak performance was especially pronounced since Mr Heng and his four team members, who included a senior political office-holder and a seasoned MP, faced off against a slate of WP candidates, including Mr Foo, that had never contested there.
It seems Mr Foo’s profile rose after that close electoral battle. In his Facebook post, he said a hawker recently called him by his name and said that his name was not known until the most recent polls. Mr Foo wrote in Mandarin (translated into English):
“While buying lunch, the stallholder suddenly called me by my name (Kenneth Foo). He said my name wasn’t known until during the general election. They also gave me a large serving of fish and said it would cheer me up.”
Mr Foo reflected that, just as a small fish plays a big role in feeding people, Singapore’s hawkers also play a large role in shaping local culture even though they may not realise their true value. He then urged Singaporeans to give more support to the local hawkers.
https://www.facebook.com/Fooseckguan/posts/1932670636857229?__cft__[0]=AZVhgLHqC4EVAOD5WMJVhtiXBDc-U6Tmu8kPUSe91hIxr-RjfWOtuAw0gdfsn2i4MTB-QaZsmKXqZSYy7MamKc_UDR74byXQR5uGU5bpq-NOQ4uDkNdnnu9OaCLXD0CYqc1NwVLJusu9OqsCv73XhykW-bTsfH_IaPnRAQWfw8pdTAKjrVSgEkHwjcs3zIBNv9c&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R
Heng Swee Keat sportingly accepts artwork alluding to his “East Coast Plan”