Emir Shafri
After hours on end at the edge of my seat, I received horrible word. Potong Pasir has fallen. Potong Pasir. The opposition stronghold Potong Pasir. My Potong Pasir.
Damn.
A year ago, I moved to Potong Pasir, and fell in love with it. To me, it represented one of Singapore’s last bastions for democracy. It was the outlier: a town where people seemingly rejected material carrots, choosing instead not to compromise on their values.
It was, as the town motto reads, my kind of town.
I saw for myself how this quaint little town wasn’t the slum the state-controlled media made it out to be. Sure, it didn’t have all the bells and whistles. But it had decent amenities. More importantly, it had this energy, this je ne sais quoi about it. It kinda makes you wanna “high five” your neighbor and go “Yeah! Power to us!”
Those decent amenities I spoke of? That didn’t come easy for us. For over 27 years, our soft-spoken Che Guevara, The Honorable Chiam See Tong, fought against the PAP machinery. Every obstacle they threw, dear Chiam would pick himself up, and find his way around it. All for the residents of Potong Pasir.
Sheltered walkway across the open field to the MRT station? The PAP, through agencies such as the SLA (who seems to forget that they serve the citizenry, not the PAP), tried and failed to stop the man.
Delayed opening of MRT stations? Discontinued bus services? Both of course vital in connecting my neighbors and I to town. Again, Chiam lobbied to have them open and reinstated respectively.
And his Town Council went beyond that. They were truly servants of the people. When the circuit breaker of my house blew, Singapore Power/PUB told me that it’s after office hours, so tough luck. Electricians wanted to charge crazy ‘emergency call’ charges. I tried my luck by calling the Town Council. They immediately sent someone within the hour (at 10pm) and identified the problem. He unfortunately didn’t have the replacement part, so he came back at 9am the next day (a weekend), with the part. He only charged me around 20 bucks or so for the circuit breaker component, and when I offered to give more, he declined, saying that “it is our (the TC’s) job to serve the people of Potong Pasir”.
Heck, whereas the PAP MPs get air-conditioned rooms to conduct their meet-the-people session, Chiam’s office was a pathetic servant-quarters-like void deck cubicle, without air-conditioning, or the convenience of a bathroom. More importantly, this cubicle, being in a void deck, had little privacy, which would cause residents to shy away from sharing their problems.
But despite every effort to disrespectfully prevent our duly-elected MP from serving us, Chiam persevered. Never once did he say “I had enough of this” and quit on us. Neither did he take the easy way out and attempt to jump over to the PAP. No, sir. Mr. Chiam was bent on serving the people who voted him, at all costs. Mr. Chiam was an honorable man.
In true David vs Goliath style, he battled the PAP’s blatant “punish opposition wards for voting ‘wrongly’ by delaying upgrades” policy. All for the people of Potong Pasir.
And like David, he (and we) won.
Chiam’s Well-Oiled Town Council
Despite every effort to discredit Chiam, he and his Town Councillors (his wife, Lina Chiam, amongst them), ran the Town Council like a well-oiled machine. In fact, it is one of the more efficient Town Councils in the entire country.
Residents here pay amongst the lowest conservancy charges in the entire Singapore. Despite that, the TC still manages to find a way to serve its people well.
Even when it comes to upgrading. With just S$2 million, the Town Council managed to upgrade 29 lifts. All without residents having to pay a single cent.
Through prudence and pragmatism, the TC hasn’t lost a single dollar on bad investments, unlike most of the other TCs in Singapore.
The PAP could definitely learn a thing or two from Chiam’s team. That is, if it, through the Evil Insurance Man, wasn’t busy stealing credit in the first place.
Evil Insurance Man for Potong Pasir MP
Pardon my rudeness, but Sitoh Yih Pin looks like an insurance agent that’s about to con you by selling you a policy you don’t need just to meet his quotas
Sitoh claims that he is a “true servant of Potong Pasir”. Sure.
Which explains why in the past elections, he’d come in wonderful goodies: solar lights, wheelchairs, free medical checkup, free financial advice, morning brisk walking sessions, concerts with B-grade mediacorp celebrities, as well as $1 abalone porridge and sharksfin soup.
Such a “true servant”. So true, that everytime he loses, he’d take back all his goodies (even when Chiam doesn’t prevent him from providing these services), claiming that he doesn’t want to be part of a 2-in-1 coffee mix solution with Chiam.
Dishonest, much?
And when bribery fails, what else could he do to help Potong Pasir fold into the PAP machinery? Why, undermine its duly-elected MP, of course.
Sitoh would be the one with banners at the CC, wishing you a Happy CNY. He’d be the one chairing said CC. He also recently sent out a letter to my address, informing me of a new round of Lift Upgrading at my block, even though the Lift Upgrading was lobbied for and funded by Chiam’s Town Council. He even has his own notice board at every block, next to the TC’s own.
(An aside: Do you think for a moment that the PAP would extend the same privilege to the opposition, in the name of fairness? Imagine seeing Nicole Seah chairing a CC in Marine Parade, or Vincent Wijeysingha on a large banner in Holland-Bukit Timah. I mean, after all, we are “democratic society, based on justice and equality”. Right?)
Dirty tricks. But for 27 years, Potong Pasir was much smarter than that. For 27 years, Potong Pasir, with a cross on a piece of paper, sent a message to the PAP and its Evil Insurance Man: don’t insult our intelligence. We’re not that cheap. We’d take prudence, servant leadership and having our voices represented in Parliament any day over S$1 bowls of abalone porridge.
And when GE 2011 came, everyone, even the PAP thought, that Potong Pasir won’t fall for such tricks.
Boy, were we surprised.
The Fall of Potong Pasir
I stood glued to the small TV at the coffee shop downstairs. I was surrounded by strangers, but amongst family. The Potong Pasir family.
We sat through countless “Pursuant to section 49 subsection 7E paragraph “A” of the Parliamentary Elections Act’”, waiting anxiously for the results for Potong Pasir to be announced. We thought it would be announced first, since it was pretty clear (or so we thought) that Lina Chiam would win.
I mean, surely, despite all the dirty tricks, the gerrymandering, Potong Pasir would know better and vote for Lina Chiam, who has served alongside Mr. Chiam for all those 27 years. After all, she’s helped lead one of the most prudent Town Councils in all of Singapore. And (partly due to her nurse training) she has dutifully served the citizens of Potong Pasir. If anyone was a worthy successor to Mr. Chiam, Lina was.
Then, we heard rumblings – through SMS and social networks – that it’s extremely close, and a recount has been initiated.
(I eventually went up to await the results at my place.)
Then, it happened. First, there was silence. Then, from my flat, I could hear wailing and screaming from all around me. An agonizing groan. And an unmistakable “D’oh!” (with an accompanying facepalm, I’m sure).
By a small margin of 0.72%, Potong Pasir went to the PAP.
By a mere 114 votes (a total less than the number of spoit votes, 242), the 27-year opposition stronghold went to the Evil Insurance Man.
It was as if we simply forgot how hard Chiam See Tong and Lina Chiam fought, both at a Town Council level, and also, with Chiam See Tong, at a Parliamentary level, to have our voices heard.
It was as if, we decided dirty tricks, dubious intentions and one-dollar abalone porridge were more valuable than dedication, honesty and sacrifice.
It was as if, we decided to throw away all our values, our rebellious spirit, embodied in our kind of town, for mere carrots given by some guy that looks like an evil insurance agent.
After hours on end at the edge of my seat, I received horrible word. Potong Pasir has fallen. Potong Pasir. The opposition stronghold Potong Pasir. My Potong Pasir.
Damn.
HELP keep the voice of TOC alive!
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@ @Jason Goh,
I honestly only care about the unity of Singapore as 1 Nation. I really hope we won’t let partisan politics divide us.
1 People
1 Nation
1 Singapore
I still believe we are better than name calling.
You all have a nice day now.
I think its best Lina Chiam spend the rest of the years looking after Chiam See Tong. There is no question Lina Chiam can look after the Town Council but I don’t think she’s suitable for parliament.
@nay1
Well what difference would your argument be about ‘being grateful’ and ‘loyal fighters’, if you consider that Singapore had its growth from the doings of PAP, and not the opposition?
Yeah no doubt that Singapore has faced many problems today, but there is to some extent, credit given to them. And i say, credit, not honour nor glory
If you had expect people to be ‘loyal’ and vote for SPP, then what difference between you, and when LKY saying that “young singaporeans do not remember PAP’s past struggles”.
its sorta like an issue of loyalty, where you expect people to vote for you due to loyalty…
Potong Pasir is Uniquely Singapore. Born and bred in PP (though I have since moved away), I can still recall CST trashing MBT in 1984 even though I was just 8 years old. Why the need to waste millions or even billions of tax payers money to conserve Singapore when you have a heritage that will soon be wiped away by people who thinks they know Singapore and Singaporeans best.
PP is gone forever… In the next election, it will be absorbed into TPY GRC so that the opposition can NEVER take it back. Full stop.
“I honestly only care about the unity of Singapore as 1 Nation. I really hope we won’t let partisan politics divide us.
1 People
1 Nation
1 Singapore
I still believe we are better than name calling.”
I hope your beloved PAP remembers that. They call us all sorts of names and are the biggest culprits of partisan politics going as far as holding back tax dollars from so called “opposition wards”.
They should learn a thing or two from more enlightened governments that really close ranks after elections and assemble the cabinet from the best of the elected, not just their own party and tell “oppositions” to sit in one corner, suck their thumbs and shut up. They totally forget that these ministers were voted in and have the backing of the people the government serves.
Yes potong pasir will have forever to repent. Because by voting in pap they have just ensured they will no longer exist as a political entity and smc. They will be absorbed into a grc and largely forgotten by singaporeans in the history of elections, as an opposition stronghold. And of course, with that will be gone all your goodies, carrots offered and attention given u by pap. Regret and repent! For your non existence…
There is sadness as Chiam has done much and proven himself. Beyond politics, his manner has shown much in terms of service. He does not shout or hides the intentions of the party. Do feel sad that Singapore will lose an MP whom one feels others have much to learn from. What is the use of all the degrees and intellect when the basic requisite of a leader is missing. Humility and intentions is beyond words and his actions from Cairnhill days and the beetle war house has shown.
In fact when from the PAP especially the founders were like this. Will we see more of the Chiam type?
As a resident and firm supporter of SPP, I have witnessed the fall of My Kind Of Town to the evil hands of Sitoh and my heart was crushed upon hearing the news…BUT in the spirit of Mr & Mrs Chiam and the SPP, We will stand up and once again return to fight for our Beloved Town…SPP and its supporters, as well as the opposition parties will not go down without giving the PAP a run for its money!
Life goes on, change is inevitable. Democracy is not dead in singapore. PAP is still best suited for leading the country at this stage. Let us look forward. When it is time for PAP to move on like LDP in Japan, no one can stop it.
@ @Jason Goh
Ok, let us just say for once let us forget all about PAP for a few seconds and ask ourselves this question….
As fellow individual Singaporeans, are we divide along partisan lines as well?
I watched Lina performance on tv. She was not eloquent. But I will vote her anyway because I believe she is in touch with people on the ground and she has a heart.
Compare this to what Vivian had said just after the election about PAP always had the right policies all the time but just failed to communicate adequately to get the people’s understanding.
George, you are right to retire from PAP. You will gain a lot of respect because of that.
As the head leads, so shall the masses follow.
@ @Jason Goh, quoting you:
“As the head leads, so shall the masses follow.”
Then it makes no difference whether the individual Singaporean is pro-PAP or pro-Opposition. Same beliefs/practices – different camps.
Same beliefs/practices – different camps? You really are in a world of your own.
The PAP and Opposition here in Singapore couldn’t be of more different beliefs and practices if they tried.
@ @Jason Goh.
“You really are in a world of your own.”
Perhaps right now you can say that of me, I fully understand why.
But only time will tell if I am correct or not, if and/or when the opposition gains prominence in Singapore politics.
I am sure you are aware that the PAP was once the opposition.
Anyway thank you for being able to hold a civilized discussion with me, I am most thankful. You have a nice day.
@ @Jason Goh.
Oh by the way I forgot to mention that I am actually very glad to see the WP win Aljunied GRC.
Personally I view it as a case of the beginning of change in Singapore politics. I’m never one against hearing the ideas of others.
Overtly long periods of dominance of any one party can lead to detachement and even complacency.
I am just as happy to see more and more Singaporeans being so interested/involved in our politics.
“But only time will tell if I am correct or not, if and/or when the opposition gains prominence in Singapore politics.”
Ok that, I fully agree with.
I have often said that the bulk of the problem lies with the people. Until we start to learn to think for ourselves, the problems will never disappear.
Regardless of whom is in power, if we don’t intelligently question what we are told and swallow everything hook, line and sinker… anyone we perceive as a “dictator” or “despot” or “tyrant” will just be replaced with another dictator, despot or tyrant in time.
@ @Jason Goh.
“I have often said that the bulk of the problem lies with the people. Until we start to learn to think for ourselves, the problems will never disappear.”
From what I have seen in most socio-political blogs/websites, most people have this imaginary but distinctly present line demarcating that having the opposition as government will definitely solve all their problems and that the PAP is the root of all their woes and sorrows. People who vote for the PAP in GE2011 are labeled as “traitors” and called “daft” for not being to think for themselves. I wonder why then the need for elections considering that personal choice to vote leaves another abused albeit verbal.
Thus partisan politics is clearly not sufficient to solve these “problems”. In a multi dimensional world we live in today, things are never simply left/right, yes/no, PAP/Opposition…
I only vote for the party that I believe serves our Nation best considering the truth of the matter is that there is no perfect party.
I’m just against seeing a divided Singapore.
I’m not here to convince anyone, if you think only the opposition can do what’s best for Singapore, so be it for you. I wish you well but I won’t call you names that’s for sure.
P.S, do you think that this year’s election was fair???
Never said I believe only the opposition can do it. Never said I fully believe in everything the opposition is selling either.
The only thing I know for sure right now is, the PAP isn’t doing it. Not if they can or will, but they are not.
If what it takes is more opposing voices in parliament to bring out people’s concern, then that’s what I will vote for – more opposing voices.
There are many systemic flaws in the entire election process here for me to comment on this years election on it’s own.
Sure, a marked difference compared to the ones before, but I strongly believe that happened due to the presence of New and Social Media (opposing voices? alternatives to main stream media?).
GRC (’nuff said), control of the Main Stream Media, ED under the PMs office (seriously, c’mon now), etc.
(I’m only bother to reply to you cause you seem to hold moderate enough views).
Controlled MSM – I know people are saying there’s more exposure to the opposition this year, but have you read what was printed? There’s be full page covers of the PAP candidate speeches with bold heading tearing down the opposition’s points. Every word uttered stated like they were backed with scientific fact. For the opposition? Everything was, “He thinks…”, “In his opinion..”, “He feels that…”. That shapes opinion a lot. Read all the forum letters they chose to print?
TV was no different in their time allotment of choice of sound bites.
ED under PM’s office. Justification of boundary lines? PPS to the PM’s wife running and certain violations being ignored while sticking to the letter of the law with the oppositions 35sec tardiness (again, even questionable there if you read/viewed stuff online regarding what really happened).
Anyway, my point is, the system in place today with all of this plus questionable transparency and accountability can easily be used by any government no matter how good against it’s people. The best government in the world could turn and the people will never know with all the blind spots we have right now.
Potong Pasir under Mr Chiam now lives in the hearts of the residents.
Come next GE, I would think they will cut it up. Unless LHL really repent and decided to change for the good of Singaporeans. Remember we only vote for ‘Singaporean First’, Not ‘PAP First’.
Please prove me wrong on PP.
I completely agree that our press and media is totally biased and packaged/marketing for the MIW.
Man, our generations are flocking to social media and internet for information. Only the older ones keep to the traditional media.
@nothing changed
“Compare this to what Vivian had said just after the election about PAP always had the right policies all the time but just failed to communicate adequately to get the people’s understanding.”
Yeah man! Not only him. Even GCT and LHL also say the same tag lines, its communications not wrong policies!! OMG, so they are going to re-package the same crap policies into ‘nice marketing snippets’?
The PAP government have been holding the development fund for Potong Pasir for 27 years, should pay it back now. Residents can request Sitoh everything from now. Let PAP make Potong Pasir the best of Singapore, after 5 years hand over back to SPP..
Even though I don’t stay in potong pasir, I get the feeling of serenity and tranquility everytime I visit that place. The feeling is totally different now. You guys at potong pasir will get that kind of suffocating feeling living in a PAP ward from now on. Very clever for trading in ‘Home’ for a ‘House’.
Mr Chiam is an icon for democracy. Way before he came into politics, as a lawyer then, he ever help my illiterate 4th aunt to “settle” her deceased husband’s will with no professional fee. I used to live in PP for 12 years. My parents and most residents there agree that he is someone who put residents before self, one who truly care. That’s the Unique factor of Potong Pasir.
In fact, one of Mr Chiam’s Meet the People poster reads: “Service Before Self”
He gave his all for the past 27 years. Viva Chiam, The Campeone, Au Revoir to the man whom the younger generation should model after. Thank you & wish u well.
The Best Is Yet To Be.
Mr Chiam did no lost Potong Pasir, We did not betray him. His wife lost Potong Pasir, not him. SMC/Town Council is not family business, you dont “give it” to your wife, you pass it on to the most capable/suitable people in the party.
Did Mr Low pass Hougang to family member? no. if he had done that, hougang will be gone too.
Full respect to Mr Chiam, but that is not the right thing to do.