The job of a Member of Parliament (MP) isn’t easy and often takes up one’s whole day.
Meet-The-People sessions (MPS), obviously, are held at night, and can end quite late.
If you’re an MP, you may feel like going home for much-needed rest after spending hours tending to residents, but Mr Pritam Singh apparently decided to make a necessary stop at a resident’s wake.
A netizen who saw Mr Singh at the wake was impressed.
He also said Mr Singh’s residents were fortunate to have him as their MP.
Most Singaporeans know Mr Singh as our erstwhile Leader of the Opposition.
For the people who live in the Eunos division of Aljunied Group Representation Constituency (GRC), he’s also their MP.
He typically holds his MPS on Mondays at 7.30pm.
Like other MPs from the Workers’ Party, it’s usually a simple affair at a void deck.
However, for his residents, Mr Singh’s personal touch may make up for the lack of air-conditioning during MPS.
The netizen shared that on Monday (16 Nov), he was attending a wake when he saw Mr Singh there at about 10.45pm.
Knowing that he has his MPS on Mondays, the netizen deduced that Mr Singh took the effort to come over after it had ended, despite it being rather late.
Thus, he was obviously impressed, saying,
His residents are so fortunate to have him as MP.
Another netizen commented on the post, pointing out that this isn’t something new.
Apparently, former Aljunied MP Low Thia Khiang also used to attend residents’ wakes.
Here’s Mr Low attending one in 2013.
Since Mr Low was Mr Singh’s mentor and predecessor as WP chief, Mr Singh’s following in his footsteps ably.
But why did Mr Low attend wakes?
During an interview with The New Paper (TNP) in 2011, Mr Low, who was then Hougang MP, said he started the practice in 1991, shortly after he was elected for the first time.
He came across a wake at a void deck in the estate, and went to pay his respects.
The family told him that the deceased had voted for him, and took the chance to ask for his advice on some problems.
Mr Low thus decided to make this a regular thing, he was quoted by TNP as saying,
From then on, I told myself, perhaps I should pay my respects to my constituents and to find out more about them.
That’s because sometimes such tragic events happen suddenly, and the family may be caught by surprise. So they may need his advice on problems they may be facing.
How would he know that a wake was happening?
Ingeniously, he would be informed by the Town Council whenever families apply for permits to hold wakes.
While the passing of a family member is a tragic event, having one’s MP visiting the wake to offer help and advice will go some way in terms of reassurance.
Kudos to Mr Singh, and before him Mr Low, for starting this practice.
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Featured images adapted from Facebook and Facebook.
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