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SINGAPORE: Workers’ Party (WP) candidate Yee Jenn Jong was in no mood to mess around as he took to the stage at the rally on Tuesday night (April 29), saying that his rival at East Coast GRC, the People’s Action Party (PAP)’s Edwin Tong, needs to come up with “something better than the East Coast Plan.”
The phrase “East Coast Plan” is a memorable one from GE2020, when they were uttered by then Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat, who had served as Member of Parliament at Tampines GRC for nine years before it was suddenly announced he would stand at East Coast GRC on Nomination Day.
Mr Heng went viral that year when he seemed to be at a loss while talking about the “East Coast Plan,” saying he had a “plan for East Coast residents. Also, a plan for East Coast. We have a East Coast, Singapore, we have a together and East Coast Plan. We care for East Coast”.
In 2011, Mr Yee won 48.99% of the votes at Joo Chiat SMC, which is now part of East Coast. Having served as a Non-Constituency MP from 2011 to 2015, he has been active on the ground in the area since then.
On Tuesday night, though his voice gave out several times during his speech, the candidate was nevertheless in fine form. This is the fourth time for Mr Yee to contest. However, he pointed out that although he has always lived, and stood as a candidate in the same place, he is contesting his third constituency, Joo Chiat, Marine Parade, and now, East Coast.
“So many Singaporeans have experienced this now, moving constituency without moving house. This is Uniquely Singapore,” he quipped.
He took aim at Mr Tong, who said in a rally on April 26. “A good policy is not just a good idea alone. There is a lot more that is needed to turn a good idea into something that can work well.”
“Dear Singaporeans. We are so, so fortunate to have Mr Edwin Tong. He must have a very practical and sensible plan to get Singapore to the World Cup finals in 2034! A plan better than the East Coast Plan!
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Let’s get back to reality. A few of our speakers and I had shared in earlier rallies about proposals that we have made that were eventually executed by the government.
The WP’s proposals must have made some sense for the government to agree with them,” he added.
He also pointed out how capable Singapore’s civil service is, and that it’s their responsibility to implement policies, saying that the Workers Party would be happy to work closely with them “to improve Singapore.”
He went on to say that many have asked why he is back, but he has told them that he never left.
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“I told the Party that I did not need to be a candidate. I am still a soldier with fire in my belly. I was happy to prepare the ground,” said Mr Yee.
One community project he appears to be particularly proud of concerns food rescue, where he and some friends bought a truck for securing excess food from establishments, distributing this daily to communities and soup kitchens around Singapore, which benefits 18,000 people every month.
“I continued with the daily cooked food distribution in Marine Terrace and Eunos Crescent. For five years, we distribute meals from charity sources to some 300 people, 365 days a year, even on public holidays,” he added, saying that residents have stepped up as volunteers in these efforts and also oting that “This is the community spirit I hope to bring across East Coast GRC.”
He also asked East Coast residents to take a good look at the WP’s slate.
“They say that heroes are ordinary people who do extraordinary things. The commitment of this team is extraordinary. East Coast residents, believe in us. Believe in us as voters in Hougang believed in a then-young Low Thia Khiang in 1991, as voters in Aljunied and then Sengkang believed in our teams. They have not repented. We will not let East Coast voters down.
This is service. This is commitment. They stepped forward without any safety net to fall back on. This is a team that I am proud to lead. This is Team East Coast – bringing blue skies to the east, because after the lightning, comes blue skies!” /TISG
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