Marine Parade GRC Member of Parliament (MP) Seah Kian Peng has spoken out about a Sunday morning walk he took, while "playing the role of a safe distancing ambassador (SDA)".
Seah's initial Facebook post about his walk on Apr. 26 drew ire of netizens, with many questioning his intentions in making the trip.
Why was Seah out on Sunday morning?
Speaking to CNA, Seah shared extra information that was not in his initial post in a bid to clarify the purpose of his trip.
Seah said he had left home in order to sign documents at the community club, and to check on two FairPrice supermarkets as part of his job.
He is Group CEO of NTUC Enterprise and FairPrice.
As per what Seah shared with CNA, the route that he took for these apparently essential tasks happened to take him past the "various kopitiams as well the wet market" which he mentioned in his initial post.
Why did Seah stop to speak with residents and merchants?
Seah's Facebook post said that he "talked to some residents and merchants as well as group of SDAs" while out, which attracted questions about whether it was right for him to have done so.
Seah told CNA that "one or two" wet market vendors stopped him to give him feedback, while "two residents" stopped him for advice.
He also said that he had been working from home for most of the week.
Has Seah been appointed as a SDA?
Seah's earlier statement that he was "playing the role" of a SDA led to questions as to whether he had been formally appointed.
This, together with his apparent lack of official identification, caused commenters to conclude that being able to play the role of a SDA appeared to be a loophole that could be exploited to circumvent the strict circuit breaker measures currently in place.
It was not mentioned by CNA if he had been appointed as a SDA.
But he commented that a SDA's role "takes a few hours a day" and "is work for them".
"I hope we don't politicise this matter"
Seah also told CNA: "I hope we don’t politicise this matter. It appears that some are clearly wanting to do so."
Online commenters had earlier called attention to Seah's actions, which could be reasonably interpreted as political activity.
This was the case as he was out in his own constituency and meeting his constituents, while wearing a top in PAP colours, which read "We Care @ Braddell Heights".
He had also included the "#walkabout" hashtag in his initial post.
Seah's political party, the PAP, had said that it would suspend all on-the-ground initiatives, including market visits and home visits.
This was following an earlier brouhaha involving another MP, Chia Shi-Lu, who was also out and about meeting constituents during the circuit breaker period.
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Top image via Seah Kiang Peng on Facebook