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Parents might remember Edusave awards as being one of the crowning glories of their child's formative years.

These awards are offered to students based on their character, leadership, conduct, learning dispositions and academic performance, and are typically given to students in the top 10 per cent and above of a school's cohort.

Ceremonies are then held where Members of Parliament (MPs) will hand out the awards to awardees in their group representation constituency (GRC).

A number of Sengkang GRC residents however, hoping to get a photo of their child posing with the MP, were disappointed when they were unable to do so.

Awards at Sengkang GRC were mailed out

Workers' Party's Jamus Lim shared in a Facebook post that Edusave awards at his GRC were mailed out, without the usual fanfare.

The Sengkang GRC MP shared that he has since received a number of email queries as to why his GRC did not hold an awards ceremony, despite Covid-19 restrictions being relaxed enough to do so.

One parent, he said, "expressed dismay", as their child had been looking forward to taking a photo and interacting with the MP.

Signed letter of encouragement

Lim explained that as an MP from the opposition party, he does not have the "pleasure" of distributing the Edusave awards personally.

This is done by the Grassroots Advisers (GRAs), which are appointed by the People's Association.

In wards occupied by the People's Action Party (PAP), the role of the GRAs are taken up by PAP MPs in the PAP wards they were elected at, or unelected PAP candidates in opposition wards where they contested.

Lim said he shared this with his residents, and is also willing to write them a signed letter of encouragement.

This, he can distribute to them in an "informal mini-ceremony" during his weekly Meet-the-People session.

He added:

"Most importantly, please don’t feel that the only way you can meet and take a selfie with your MP is by studying hard and doing well! I’m always available for my residents, Edusave season or not, whether virtually or physically. Just feel free to reach out and touch base."

You can read his full post here.

Lim previously held a mini ceremony

The topic of how GRAs are appointed and the difference this poses between PAP wards and opposition wards has been a long-running politically contentious issue.

This is not the first time Lim has brought it up on his social media.

In 2021, Lim similarly held a mini ceremony of his own to hand out letters to students who won the award.

The current arrangement of how GRAs are appointed is also seen as unfair by the opposition.

Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh has repeatedly called attention to the fact that PAP MPs get to perform the following functions as GRAs:

• Having a say in the dispensation of government funds for upgrading projects
• Presiding over citizenship ceremonies for new voters, including presenting them with their pink ICs
• Appointing GRLs in opposition wards

This, he said, constitutes "violation of fair play" when it comes to elections, since the PAP candidates are afforded visibility and opportunities to interact with residents.

You can read more about GRAs here.

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Top photo from Jamus Lim / FB