Singapore Democratic Party (SDP)'s Chee Soon Juan will be going up against the People's Action Party (PAP)'s Murali Pillai at Bukit Batok Single Member Constituency (SMC) for this 2020 General Election.

Thank you speech

The two previously faced off at the SMC's 2016 by-election, where Murali won 61.21 per cent of the votes.

During his thank you speech at Nanhua High School after submitting his nomination papers, Chee delivered a barb aimed at Murali, Bukit Batok SMC's incumbent Member of Parliament (MP).

The 57-year-old secretary-general of SDP addressed the crowds of candidates and reporters in both Mandarin and English, saying that the "current MP gives sweet promises but has not lived up to them".

He then urged voters to elect him as a full-time MP.

During Murali's thank you speech, he promised to help the less fortunate families affected by the pandemic.

He has been involved in Bukit Batok for 20 years, four of which were as an MP.

MP is a full-time job

In a doorstop interview, Chee said that being an MP is a full-time job, and added that his PAP opponent has been "taking his eye off the ball when it comes to the estate and welfare of the residents".

Chee said that with all the responsibilities required of an MP, he could not fathom how an MP could keep his or her nine-to-five job and then appear on weekends to "do a bit of PR work".

"That doesn't cut it," he said.

This year's election, Chee stated, was a "high stakes" one, and emphasised that the PAP has not been delivering what they promised, even before the Covid-19 pandemic.

Productivity and economic growth are the on the decline as unemployment rises.

"This is not a promise of hope, despite what the PAP may tell the voters, and we're going to show you," he said.

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Top photo © Lim Sin Thai for Mothership