I’d rather lose than attack my opponents: Chee

SINGAPORE — Speaking out against People’s Action Party (PAP) heavyweights’ criticisms of his character during the hustings, Dr Chee Soon Juan called for an end to such “poisonous” politics, saying that if such tactics were what it takes to win an election, he would rather not win.

In the Singapore Democratic Party’s (SDP) third rally in the Bukit Batok by-election on Tuesday (May 3), Dr Chee said: “If I have to play so dirty, to be so destructive and tear down my opponent so badly in order to win, then no, leave me out of it. Then, I don’t want to win.”

He also called on his PAP opponent Murali Pillai to urge his party colleagues to keep the remaining days to the May 7 poll a clean fight.

“I’m in charge of my campaign. If you’re in charge of yours, you will ask your colleagues to stop their nonsense,” he added.

Several PAP MPs have criticised Dr Chee since campaigning for the by-election started, including the ruling party’s secretary-general and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong who said last Saturday that while the opposition leader has presented himself as a changed man, he remained the same person who is not contrite about his past.

Others, including Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat and Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, have also taken swipes at Dr Chee on social media.

Alluding to these attacks during his speech last night, which stretched to nearly an hour, at the open field along Bukit Batok Industrial Park A, Dr Chee said he hoped his son and two daughters would learn not to ruin others in order to rise and not to ridicule others for not “being like us”.

“Instead, we lift up our friends, we extend a hand to strangers and we forgive our enemies,” he added. “We do what is good so that others may see the goodness in our hearts.”

SDP central executive committee member Dr Paul Tambyah, who was among the rally speakers, criticised mainstream media coverage of the by-election campaigning so far, as he defended Dr Chee’s character.

“A person’s character is not determined from distorted media reports or from some wayang show. Character is something best determined by those who know you best ... those who can see you out of the limelight,” he said, adding that he was “very glad” that Mr Murali was distancing himself from such character assassination attacks.

Veteran actress Neo Swee Lin, who was a guest speaker at the rally although she is not an SDP member, also weighed in, bringing up a petition that she and several prominent figures in the arts and civil society scene have signed against “gutter politics” in the by-election.

Dr Tambyah reiterated that he was “convinced” that programmes and national initiatives such as the Neighbourhood Renewal Programme will go ahead as planned no matter who is elected, as the Housing and Development Board and Urban Redevelopment Authority are non-partisan.

Dr Chee also took time during the rally to speak about the benefits of the social programmes he proposed for the elderly poor, low-income families and retrenched workers in Bukit Batok.

For instance, he pushed for his idea of retrenchment insurance again, while criticising the Government for the small number of jobs created last year.

Dr Chee added: “This is a by-election and it’s the perfect opportunity to send me into Parliament to speak up for you and your children or your grandchildren on this issue.”