Photos by Christopher Wong, Edwin Koo and Rachel Chew.

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 Workers’ Party (WP) candidates for GE 2015 have become veritable quote machines in the course of their campaigning. At their rally for Aljunied GRC held at Serangoon Stadium yesterday, they revelled in their home ground advantage and managed to fire off some noteworthy quotes.

1. WP Chairwoman Sylvia Lim feels good about being bitten by dogs.

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She was bitten by a dog while doing house visits in Kaki Bukit prior to the 2011 election, which they subsequently achieved a historical win in Aljunied GRC, with 54.7 per cent of the vote. According to her, “I (she) got bitten again by another dog”. It happened about a month ago during a house visit at Walmer Drive.

“I have a good feeling about this GE,” she exclaimed.

So is being bitten by dogs her lucky symbol? Hopefully, her vaccinations are up to date.

She also showed her displeasure with how the People’s Association (PA) and Citizens' Consultative Committees (CCCs) had been uncooperative in (not) working with Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council (AHPETC) and also how they refused to co-fund National Day bannerettes and told resident organisers to un-invite the WP MPs from events.

2. All the ships are sailing.

It was all hands on deck when it came to ship metaphors that night.

Carrying on from Emeritus Senior Minister (ESM) Goh Chok Tong’s metaphor of WP being a gambling ship heading nowhere and WP secretary-general Low Thia Khiang likening PAP’s cruise ship to the Titanic, Chen Show Mao, incumbent Aljunied GRC, jumped onto the bandwagon by saying:

ESM Goh said that...the ship steered by the Opposition would be a gambling cruise ship adrift at sea... We understand you (PAP) are the captain during your term of appointment with the right to form a government to steer the ship. We have an obligation to tell you that we feel that you’re going in the wrong direction, but we also have a responsibility to work with you to ensure safe passage for all the passengers.

Png Eng Huat, WP’s candidate for Hougang SMC, also weighed in by likening Singapore to a ship. He said:

There’s only one ship, and the ship needs urgent repair. The ship is overcrowded, the elevators break down during peak hours and the sick have to sleep in the corridor. The ATM on the ship does not dispense cash, only a statement for you to look at. And you are supposed to be happy looking at it, but no cash will come out until you are aged 65. The captain and chief officer are grossly overpaid. So the WP will be there to change the crew.

Low Thia Khiang gamely ramped up the ship metaphor:

While in the last 50 years the PAP Government’s leaders have taken a comfortable cruise ship. Singaporean citizens have taken a sampan.

So cruise ships, gambling ships, sampans have come up so far in the poking between PAP and WP. What’s next, yachts and speedboats?

3. Dennis Tan, an ex-Raffles Institution (RI) boy, is not an elitist.

Dennis Tan, WP’s candidate for Fengshan SMC, shared the reason why he joined WP:

Some people asked me why as a RI boy, I did not join the PAP. I often jokingly said that I decided to stop wearing my school uniform when I left Raffles.

He also added that the PAP white is almost exactly the same as Raffles Institution’s white uniform, save for that lightning badge.

Tan also highlighted how the WP was not elitist despite its candidates having good academic credentials:

It is not unusual for the MPs to stay back and pack up the tables and stack up chairs, hand in hand with the rank and file of our WP members and volunteers... Being a product of a good school does not mean that one has to be an elitist. It all boils down to a person’s attitude towards other people.

4. Pritam Singh did a shout-out to independent websites (like us).

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Incumbent candidate for Aljunied GRC, Pritam Singh, gave us warm and fuzzy feelings when he said:

There are also many independent websites that have resolved to explore issues more deeply, at great personal cost to some of their editors. Even when these sites do not agree with the WP’s position, I would like to say this - you are the balance and you rock! Thank you!

He definitely scored brownie points from me, and other writers and editors of alternative media (of which we are, as we humbly assert, a shining example).

He also poked at PAP not having as much control of the media as they use to:

Today it (the PAP) has lost control of the media, thanks not just to technology and the Internet, but because ordinary Singaporeans have stood up and spoken out against injustice and fought for causes the mainstream media chooses not to take up. A special word is also in order to all those who have sought to encourage greater discussion of government policy. This is not always easy to do, because we have a political culture that is not very forthcoming with information, or encouraging of a deep debate of issues.

Aside from his praise for alternative media, he also spoke on how AHPETC and WP MPs had brought a “human touch” and how residents had reflected their increased visibility “on the ground compared to the PAP MPs of the past”.

5. That home ground fever and rhetoric to inspire Aljunied residents to continue voting for them were no joke.

In fact, I overheard fellow rally-goers saying that the support for WP in Aljunied was “scary”. There was indeed an amazingly large crowd (which almost entirely filled up the stadium) chanting “Workers’ Party!” even as they left the stadium after the rally. However, it was unclear whether some of the uncles and aunties at the rally were really listening to the policy changes that the WP MPs outlined, or if they were just supporting the WP wholeheartedly.

This is best encapsulated in Sylvia Lim’s proclamation of:

My friends, today, there is a lot of haze. But look beyond the haze, the blue sky is already above Aljunied.

The ambitious WP is now setting their sights on other grounds beyond their current constituencies, as stated by Sylvia Lim:

The stadium is next to Boundary Road. From here, we can smell Marine Parade.

I guess PAP better lather deodorant liberally.

So heads up the rest of Singapore, the blue tsunami of the WP is headed your way with their quotable quotes and memorable metaphors.

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