On July 26, Workers' Party (WP) MPs received a package from Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s wife, Ho Ching.

Here it is.

The MPs were given hand sanitisers, accompanied with an individualised note on how sanitising would protect them and the people they care about during the flu season.

WP chief Pritam Singh wrote that it was thoughtful of Ho to gift the opposition MPs this present, as he was sure that the PAP MPs received the same.

Powerful metaphor

Pritam, however, read deeper into the meaning of the gift.

For him, clean hands are a "very powerful metaphor" for anyone in public office.

He added that this should be intuitively understood and internalised by every WP MP, or even prospective candidates hoping to join WP.

The WP chief cheekily analysed the hand sanitisers further, interpreting it to mean that the opposition has an important role in Singapore's political system as well.

Pritam then ended his post advising readers to visit their general practitioner or a nearby polyclinic to get their flu shots, as it is a vaccination that can be paid for with Medisave.

Package by Ho Ching confirmed

A Temasek Holdings spokesman told Today that similar packages were sent to other MPs.

“They are just simple ways that Members of Parliament and their teams can protect themselves from the spread of flu,” the Temasek spokesman said.

“As you may have seen, the strain of flu this season is quite serious. Basic steps to guard against the spread of flu and other viruses can include frequent washing of hands with soap, or the use of sanitisers, and particularly for people with lower tolerance or pre-existing conditions, to get a flu shot to guard against the spread of flu.”

Ho is the chief executive officer of the government's commercial investment firm.

You can read his original post here:

Hand-Sanitizers

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All the WP MPs received an unusual but welcomed package today - hand sanitizers - courtesy of Mdm HO Ching. I am sure the PAP MPs also received the same, but it was thoughtful of Mrs Lee to include us. The package was accompanied with an individualised note, sharing that hand sanitizing would better protect us and our families, our constituency volunteers and residents in view of the twice-a-year flu season.

Even so, clean hands are a very powerful metaphor for anyone in public office! This is something that must be a given, and intuitively understood and internalised by any serving WP MP or prospective WP candidate. For present purposes, I will liberally interpret the receipt of the hand sanitizers to mean that the opposition have an important role to play in our political system too! ?

Coming back to the flu season, do consider heading to your GP or the nearest polyclinic to get your flu shot. You can pay for it with your Medisave balances as flu shots are an approved vaccination under theMinistry of Health, Singapore National Adult Immunisation Schedule (NAIS).

Top image via Pritam Singh's Facebook