PAP candidate Marshall Lim says volunteer who was spat at is a Hougang resident
Lawyer Marshall Lim, the People’s Action Party (PAP) candidate attempting to breach the Workers’ Party (WP) stronghold of Hougang SMC, has told of an unsavoury incident that happened recently.
One of his volunteers was spat at twice outside Hougang MRT station, he said.
Source: Google Maps
Volunteer spat at while giving out cards, says Marshall Lim
Speaking during his first-ever election rally on Wednesday (30 April), Mr Lim said politics has begun to “test the care that we have for each other”.
Last week, one of his volunteers was distributing cards outside Hougang MRT when he was spat at twice, he added.
The volunteer was “an Hougang resident like yourself”, he told the crowd gathered at Anderson Serangoon Junior College.
Source: People’s Action Party on Facebook
Disappointing that volunteer was spat at, says Marshall Lim
“I will not pretend that it did not disappoint me,” said Mr Lim, a first-time election candidate.
This is not because of the act itself but because it is “a sobering reminder of just how far we have drifted from the kind of politics we deserve”, he added, elaborating:
When disagreement turns into disgust, when political affiliations become a reason to dehumanise. This is how the bonds between us begin to break.
Instead, he believes politics should be about “care and compassion”, “persuasion not aggression”, and “empathy not ego”.
It should also not come at the expense of community because Hougang is “more than a symbol” but “our home”, he said, adding:
And a home must be built on kindness, not division.
Incident ‘does not define Hougang’
Mr Lim believes that the incident “does not define Hougang” or anyone there tonight, he said to cheers from supporters.
Source: Marshall Lim on Facebook
Though he respected Hougang’s history, the slate is wiped clean every five years, he pointed out.
Thus, when they go to the polls on 3 May, voters will choose between two visions of Hougang: one rooted along “old lines” and one where unity is the foundation.
He urged them to remember that “Hougang does not belong to the Workers’ Party” no matter what they say and “no matter how many documentaries they produce about it”.
Rather, Hougang belongs to its residents, he charged, calling on them to “return” Hougang to the people.
Source: Marshall Lim on Facebook
Hougang has been under WP control for 34 years
Mr Lim, 38, has the uphill task of breaking the WP’s 34-year grip on Hougang, Singapore’s longest-standing opposition ward.
He will face off against incumbent MP Dennis Tan, 55.
At the 2020 General Election, Mr Tan prevailed with a comfortable 61.21% of votes against PAP candidate Lee Hong Chuang, who is now contesting Jurong East-Bukit Batok GRC.
Also read: Lawyer Marshall Lim to represent PAP in Hougang SMC, netizens say he is ‘lamb being sacrificed’
Lawyer Marshall Lim to represent PAP in Hougang SMC, netizens say he is ‘lamb being sacrificed’
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Featured image adapted from People’s Action Party on Facebook and Google Maps.
