What we observed about PAP West Coast GRC candidates on their morning walkabout on July 4

Lots of people queuing to order breakfast.

Fasiha Nazren | July 05, 2020, 10:12 AM

The People's Action Party (PAP) candidates for West Coast GRC had a walkabout at Boon Lay Place Market and Food Village on the (very early) morning of July 4.

By 7:45am, the West Coast GRC team were already spotted crossing the road from the opposite blocks of HDB to Boon Lay Place Market and Food Village.

All of the candidates -- S Iswaran, Demond Lee, Foo Mee Har, Ang Wei Neng and Rachel Ong -- were present for the (again, I stress, very early) walkabout.

Here are some things that we noticed that morning.

Iswaran was paired with Ong for the walkabout

PAP's West Coast GRC team crossing the road. Photo by Fasiha Nazren.

Upon reaching the hawker centre, the team wasted no time in reaching out and talking to the residents who were either queuing for food or having their breakfast.

Minutes into following Iswaran, I suddenly realised: Where are the other candidates?

Turns out, the team spread out (a little too fast for this solo Mothership writer, though) to reach out to the residents on their own.

Iswaran, who is helming the West Coast team, was paired with Ong – probably so Iswaran could introduce Ong, a new PAP candidate contesting for the general election for the first time, to the residents.

Here are some photos of Iswaran and Ong interacting and giving away campaign pamphlets to the residents:

Photo by Fasiha Nazren.

Photo by Fasiha Nazren.

Foo, a two-term MP, went solo, reaching out to both patrons of the hawker centre and the hawkers themselves.

Photo by Fasiha Nazren.

Ang and Lee, who were formerly Jurong GRC MPs, also reached out to residents together.

Photo by Fasiha Nazren.

Photo by Fasiha Nazren.

Guess teamwork makes dreams work?

It is very clear who the more experienced candidates are

Even if one isn't familiar with either Ong or Iswaran, watching them interact with residents makes it quite clear to an observer who the more experienced politician is.

We couldn't help but notice how Iswaran effortlessly carried out numerous conversations with the residents.

At one point, he even had friendly banter with a Liverpool fan sporting the team's jersey.

This uncle is a Liverpool fan. Photo by Fasiha Nazren.

He quipped in Malay:

"You're a fan of Liverpool? They won the English Premiere League the other day but they lost last night!"

Throughout the walkabout, it seemed like residents were also able to talk to him with ease.

This, perhaps, can also be attributed to his ability to have at least basic conversations in English, Malay, Chinese and Tamil with the residents.

While Ong did speak to some residents, Iswaran's casual and outgoing personality, coupled with the years of experience he has accumulated as a seasoned politician, made her appear far more quiet in comparison.

Boon Lay is really, really popular with non-West Coast GRC constituents

Boon Lay Place Market and Food Village was packed on a Saturday morning. And that was even before the candidates arrived at the hawker centre before 8am.

After all, the hawker centre is home to popular food stalls like Boon Lay Power Nasi Lemak and Heng Huat Boon Lay Boneless Duck Noodles.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B-bMf0wlu-Y/

So it was not surprising that quite a number of its patrons weren't living in Boon Lay or West Coast GRC, for that matter.

As it turns out, some of them come from nearby constituencies, Jurong GRC and Pioneer SMC, which are mere streets away from the hawker centre.

When they met residents from Jurong GRC, both Ang and Lee shared that they were previously from Jurong GRC but will contest in West Coast GRC this election.

When Iswaran met these non-West Coast GRC patrons, he would urge them to support his fellow PAP colleagues in the other constituencies.

Some residents nodded in response, and carried on with their meal. Others, however, then proceeded to tell the PAP candidates about their views of the opposition candidates contesting in their constituency.

Too bad we didn't have time to try the nasi lemak, though.

Maybe next time.

Top image by Fasiha Nazren.