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GE2020 constituency broadcasts: What Ang Mo Kio GRC candidates have to say

SINGAPORE — In Ang Mo Kio Group Representation Constituency (GRC), two political party chiefs are squaring off against each other in the General Election (GE). On Friday (July 3), candidates from both sides appealed to residents for their votes in a constituency political broadcast aired on national television.

Candidates from the People’s Action Party (top) and the Reform Party (bottom) are contesting for five seats at Ang Mo Kio Group Representation Constituency this General Election.

Candidates from the People’s Action Party (top) and the Reform Party (bottom) are contesting for five seats at Ang Mo Kio Group Representation Constituency this General Election.

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SINGAPORE — In Ang Mo Kio Group Representation Constituency (GRC), two political party chiefs are squaring off against each other in the General Election (GE). On Friday (July 3), candidates from both sides appealed to residents for their votes in a constituency political broadcast aired on national television.

The incumbent team from the People’s Action Party (PAP) consists of secretary-general Lee Hsien Loong, 68; Mr Darryl David, 50; Mr Gan Thiam Poh, 56; Ms Nadia Samdin, 30; and Ms Ng Ling Ling, 48.

Contesting the constituency is a team from the Reform Party (RP), led by secretary-general Kenneth Jeyaretnam, 61. His team members are party chairman Andy Zhu, 37; Mr Charles Yeo, 30; Ms Noraini Yunus, 52; and Mr Darren Soh, 52.

During the broadcast, Mr Lee, who is also the prime minister, touched on both national and municipal issues, pledging to unite Ang Mo Kio GRC, Yio Chu Kang Single Member Constituency (SMC) and Kebun Baru SMC under a single town council.

Pointing to the bigger picture, he said that although the Covid-19 situation has stabilised, the crisis is still far from over and jobs are the top priority.

“If you have lost your job or lost income because of Covid-19, we have schemes to help you,” he said.

Mr Yeo and Ms Noraini were the only RP candidates featured in the broadcast on Friday.

Mr Yeo said that he and his team had walked the ground in Ang Mo Kio GRC and they were aware of the bread-and-butter issues that residents are facing. If elected, the party will help residents address these challenges, he added.

In these constituency political broadcasts, candidates vying for single-seat wards have three minutes each to speak. Those contesting in four- and five-member GRCs have 12 and 15 minutes respectively in total.

The broadcasts are being aired on Channel 5, CNA938, cna.asia, 8world.com, CNA YouTube, CNA Facebook and TODAY at 7pm from July 3 to 8.

PAP’S PROPOSALS

  • Singapore has stabilised the Covid-19 situation in the last few months, Mr Lee said, noting that residents have been supported through the crisis by some assistance measures.

  • For example, Ang Mo Kio Town Council has given out conservancy charge rebates to households and shops. Two community job fairs are planned in July at Yio Chu Kang Community Centre (CC) and Cheng San CC, he added.

  • Ang Mo Kio GRC plans to come together with Yio Chu Kang and Kebun Baru SMCs to form a single town council after the election, Mr Lee said, urging voters in these SMCs to vote for the PAP as well.

  • Mr David said that more than 180 blocks of flats in the GRC will benefit from the Home Improvement Programme in the next year, while several community centres will be upgraded, with the brand new Fernvale CC set to be the first community centre in Singapore to house a wet market.

  • The GRC is also extending its cycling and paths network, while Lentor and Mayflower MRT stations on the Thomson-East Coast MRT line will be opening soon.

  • Recalling how her family had been adversely impacted by the 2001 severe acute respiratory syndrome pandemic, Ms Nadia Samdin said that she was proud of how her retrenched father, as well as her mother who had to take up a preschool teaching job, had adapted. “Today we face a new pandemic, with deeper effects on lives and livelihoods,” she said.

  • Mr Gan outlined the benefits for seniors living in Ang Mo Kio, stating that the Pioneer and Merdeka Generations “have done so much for Singapore”.

  • Ms Ng, who spoke about the wide range of social support and healthcare services in the GRC, said that she will also lend her 16 years of experience in the social service sector to the GRC to “develop new initiatives for healthy living and social support for our residents”.

Mr Lee said: “After the election, Ang Mo Kio GRC plans to form one town council together with Yio Chu Kang and Kebun Baru. So I ask voters there to please support your PAP candidates... Let us all work together to make this an ideal town to live, work and play.”

RP’S PROPOSALS

  • The residents of the Ang Mo Kio GRC deserve full-time MPs devoted to the interests of the residents, Mr Yeo said.

  • The party is aware that this is its “first and foremost duty” to the constituents and if elected, the party will organise more frequent meet-the-people sessions to help residents in need, he added.

  • Mr Yeo is also aware that residents are unhappy with high service-and-conservancy charges, and the hiring of “expensive managing agents”. He said that the party will “carefully examine the wastefulness of projects” proposed by the PAP that may not improve the lives of residents but “provide contracts for the sake of it”.

  • The party is also aware that the cost of living is an issue for most residents, Mr Yeo said. To that end, the party pledges to help small businesses.

  • Mr Yeo added he will actively meet with resident stallholders to look into their commercial concerns.

  • Switching to speak in Mandarin, Mr Yeo said that if elected, RP hopes to speak up in Parliament about the large numbers of foreign students being awarded scholarships in Singapore, as these foreign students may compete with local students for employment when they graduate. 

  • Speaking in Malay, Ms Noraini said that she empathises with those who need to work, while trying to improve their skills and take care of their families at the same time. If elected, she said that she will work with her party members to take care of the needs of such residents.

Mr Yeo said: “We can love Singapore and be diligent citizens and at the same time, voice out our complaints.”

Related topics

SGVotes2020 Singapore General Election political broadcast Ang Mo Kio GRC PAP Reform Party

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