$100,000 Raised In Less Than 6 Hours After Appeal Was Announced
Remember the parliamentary debate about ministerial pay?
All that people could talk about then was how much money our politicians earn.
Well, it turns out that they can run into financial problems like the rest of us too, seeing from the recent appeal for donations made by three Workers’ Party (WP) MPs.
MPs have been paying out of their own pockets
The three MPs — Ms Sylvia Lim, Mr Pritam Singh and Mr Low Thia Khiang — posted the appeal on their blog In Good Faith on Wednesday (24 Oct).
They explained that the Aljunied-Hougang Town Council (AHTC) trial, which has been going on since 5 October, has cost them close to S$600,000 in legal fees.
And all the expenses have been covered by their “personal savings and contributions from friends”. They didn’t take any funds from WP.
On top of the mounting expenses, they are also at risk of bankruptcy if they end up losing the lawsuit. This could then lead to them losing their seats in Parliament.
We don’t know about you, but S$600,000 is not peanuts to us. It’s certainly large enough to leave a deep dent in the MPs’ financial resources.
Why else would they turn to the public for help, right?
Several ways to make donations
Those who are keen on donating can do so through various means:
- PayNow to Ms Sylvia Lim’s public line: +65 9852 5901
- Internet banking, transfer to UOB account number: 396 309 388 6
- Cheque made payable to: Lim Swee Lian Sylvia, Low Thia Kiang or Pritam Singh
- Mail addressed to: My Mail Box 882560 Singapore 919191
Donors are encouraged to leave their email address so that the MPs can thank them for their contributions.
The appeal was made around 6.30pm on Wednesday (24 Oct) and people have since donated S$100,000 as of midnight on Thursday (25 Oct).
Workers’ Party media chair Mr Daniel Goh disclosed this amount to Mothership.
SG Bonus to WP?
Singaporeans are not donating in small amounts either, judging from some comments on Mr Daniel Goh’s Facebook post.
The SG Bonus ranges from S$100 to S$300 depending on a Singaporean’s assessable income.
Amidst the uplifting reactions, there are netizens who are worried about the legitimacy of the appeal.
Singaporeans are reminded that the appeal was personally made by the three MPs to seek help to cover legal expenses for a lawsuit.
Over a week left till the end of the lawsuit
We won’t know how much the lawsuit will end up costing the Workers’ Party MPs, but with many Singaporeans pledging to donate and raise awareness about the appeal, there’s hope that enough money can be raised.
Even former Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) Calvin Cheng thinks that the MPs’ goal can be reached.
The AHTC trial is scheduled to run till 2 November 2018.
Featured image from Facebook.
