Reject the PAP’s carrot-and-stick approach, says Lina Chiam

SINGAPORE — Making her case to voters to return the Potong Pasir single seat to the Singapore People’s Party (SPP), Mrs Lina Chiam plugged the party’s achievements in bringing upgrading projects despite the odds, while slamming the carrot-and-stick approach taken by the ruling party.

Speaking at the penultimate night of rallies in this election, Mrs Chiam, who is facing the People’s Action Party’s (PAP) Sitoh Yih Pin in a rematch of the 2011 polls, also argued that voters can safely cast their votes for her, now that upgrading goodies have been put in place over the past four years.

Referring to her husband Chiam See Tong’s 27-year tenure in the ward, she said: “POSB (bank) and FairPrice (supermarket) were closed. Extra feeder bus services were denied to penalise and inconvenience residents for voting for Chiam See Tong. What do you think of their actions?”

She added: “Now these agencies have reopened these three vital links for the livelihood of Potong Pasir residents immediately after the 2011 GE. So, you think it’s fair? In a way, they’re saying they’re rewarding the people.”

Speaking at a field opposite Block 120, Potong Pasir Ave 1, Mrs Chiam said the lift upgrading projects in the estate were spearheaded by her husband, and Mr Sitoh had merely taken over the projects after beating her by 114 votes in 2011.

“We will continue the work left by Mr Sitoh, just as he continued the lift upgrading programme left behind by us in 2011,” she added.

Mrs Chiam also pointed out that when Mr Chiam was running the town, he managed to maintain the infrastructure and even built 29 lifts in Lorong 8 Toa Payoh without co-payment from residents, while not receiving funds from the Community Improvement Projects Committee that PAP-managed town councils can tap.

Using the analogy of two-in-one coffee mix, Mrs Chiam said: “Vote for me, I can speak up for you in Parliament, take care of your town council, your livelihoods. And at the same time, the PAP will continue to dish out all the goodies for you in their efforts to win back Potong Pasir.” She added: “So, you’ll get the best of both worlds ... they’ll always give you candies because they want to win back the ward.”

Mr Chiam also turned up at the rally to support his wife and got a warm welcome by his former residents. Pitching for his wife, he said: “You know why I support Lina? She is courageous. She has asked difficult questions in Parliament, which other MPs refused to ask.”

He was referring to Mrs Chiam, who earned a Non-Constituency MP seat in 2011, speaking up at 83 parliamentary sittings in four years, versus Mr Sitoh’s record of 39.

The Chiams’ daughter, Camilla, also took to the stage and spoke about the contributions she said her parents have made to the town.

Rounding up her speech, she said: “I love this place. Let us return Potong Pasir to where it belongs, to become my kind of town again.”