4 noteworthy moments from the National Solidarity Party (NSP) rally (Sep 7)

Good luck, NSP.

Grace Yeoh| September 08, 07:59 PM

Editor’s note: Mothership.sg called for young Singaporeans to step up and give their perspective of GE2015. The aim of such an endeavour is to provide our readers a means to view GE2015 through the lens of young Singaporeans, warts, sparkles and all.

The National Solidarity Party (NSP) held its rally at Circuit Road in MacPherson SMC last night. This is a seat that will see a three-way fight between the ruling People's Action Party (PAP), Workers' Party (WP), and the NSP. Marine Parade GRC MP Tin Pei Ling is the incumbent.

Below are four noteworthy moments that occurred from the NSP rally:

1. The field was as barren as their chances of winning

NSP crowd 7 sept

At 7.20pm, the crowd was thin. Supporters were merely trickling in, at best.

At 8.30pm, the crowd had increased, albeit slightly, but was still a far cry from the popular Workers’ Party (WP) rallies.

By 9.30pm, the crowd had thinned out again.

NSP crowd 7 sept (2) (1)

Granted, the size of a crowd doesn’t necessarily translate into votes come polling day. But one can’t deny the size of a crowd indicates interest in the party and the willingness to hear them out.

2. NSP’s Sembawang candidate Kevryn Lim broke down on stage when mentioning single mothers

The 26-year-old, who is a single mother to a two-year-old son, choked up and wiped away tears when she spoke of fellow single mothers and the equality they deserve.

One can’t deny the passion and empathy Lim that reverberated in Lim’s emotional speech:

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She also questioned the government’s claim that those earning $1,000 a month could also afford a two-room Build-To-Order flat: “How many Singaporeans are earning $1k a month and can afford a two room flat? We need to be realistic here!”

So passionate was her speech that an audience member, who appeared indifferent to the other speakers before Lim, was overheard saying, “This one very good. You can tell she feels it.”

3. NSP’s MacPherson candidate Cheo Chai Chen didn’t really redeem himself for his gaffe on motherhood.

How do you recover from shooting yourself in the foot? Especially when you have insulted a crucial portion of the voting demographic.

Last week, NSP candidate Cheo Chai Chen, 64, took aim at MacPherson SMC rival PAP candidate Tin — infuriating working mothers in the process. He had called Tin’s status as a new mother a “weakness”, as she would dedicate more time to her child and less to serving residents.

With a seemingly unforgivable gaffe to his name, Cheo’s party tried their best to advocate for him. Sebastian Teo mentioned that Cheo was of similar age to the demographic in MacPherson SMC, and would therefore be better placed to understand and relate to residents’ experiences.

Sebastian Teo

In Cheo’s Mandarin speech, he also briefly highlighted the neglect towards single parents and how they could not purchase BTO flats, reinforcing Lim’s points.

Did he succeed in making amends? You be the judge.

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4. NSP Tampines candidate Choong Hon Heng might have lost his party’s deposit the moment he lost his marbles

Or perhaps Cheo has nothing to worry about, especially after Choong’s erm, rousing speech.

Choong took to the stage for 14 minutes of comedic gold, in what would cement itself as his claim to (internet) fame. During his speech, he dished out criticisms against the current policies and how they could be improved.

For example, he advised the government on how they could increase jobs for Singaporeans.

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“We need jobs. How do we get more jobs? Can you imagine if all the cleaners in Singapore are trained to clean so well, that every cleaner can be a manager of a small company fo themselves? That’s where they get higher pay, higher promotion. And then we can get the government to bring foreign talent to be under the care of these cleaners. [...] Will the cleaners of Singaporeans complain? It’s the same mentality, same for carpark attendants.”

You’re not alone if you find yourself both deeply perplexed and highly amused.

Watch his speech in its entirety here:

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Step aside, Dr Chee. You’ve got yourself competition for Most Epic Speech of GE2015.

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