Police officers must be glad that the 2020 general election is over.
In the lead up to the election, police reports were becoming as commonplace as declarations of love for Jamus Lim on the internet, with a total of 8 police reports lodged in relation to the campaign a week before Polling Day.
Some netizens lodged reports against politicians, while other netizens lodged reports against netizens who lodged reports against politicians.
One of these police reports was lodged against Education Minister Ong Ye Kung for… talking to a kid?
The police confirmed that they received a report in relation to a video Ong posted on 2 July.
In the video, Ong – who was then contesting in Sembawang GRC and has now won the seat – had a conversation with a young boy named Jony, where he told him about the amenities that his party had introduced to the town.
Shortly after the video was posted, one netizen lodged a police report against Ong, for the “possible offence of having abetted a primary school child to participate in an election activity.”
Ong didn’t pressure the young boy to run for office or anything, of course.
In fact, if you’ve watched the video, it’s a rather entertaining (and hilarious) video which could have definitely gone viral.
According to the Parliamentary Elections Act, primary and secondary school students are prohibited from taking part in any election activity during the period beginning with Nomination Day and ending with the start of Polling Day, reported TODAYonline.
The education minister took down the video on the same day after being informed by authorities that it wasn’t “in line with electoral rules”, and apologised for “any inconvenience caused”.
“Primary and secondary school students are not allowed to appear in a video or take part in other activities to promote a political party during this period,” the Elections Department Singapore (ELD) wrote on its website.
So if Ong simply talked about his favourite Wanton Mee in Sembawang without bringing up the election, everything would have been fine and dandy.
But he did, as he wondered (or to be specific, the boy) what would happen if he’s not elected.
I know you’re dying to watch the video now, but let’s just say that we’ve spent our weekend looking for it and it’s nowhere to be found. Instead, just watch this Ong Ye Kung video by Mothership.sg that is equally entertaining lah:
Is the Education Minister going to get detention in school?
Police & ELD Not Taking Action on Ong Ye Kun’s FB Video During GE2020
Actually, things are still fine and dandy for Ong, as both the police and ELD confirmed that they will not be taking any further action against after the Assistant Returning Officer (ARO) had “looked into the matter”.
“The Assistant Returning Officer (ARO) had issued an advisory to Mr Ong Ye Kung to remind him to comply with the law in relation to all campaigning activities,” ELD and SPF said.
“Under section 83(1) of the Parliamentary Elections Act, no person attending a primary or secondary school as a student is allowed to take part in any election activity,” they added.
Ong and his fellow People’s Action Party (PAP) members successfully retained Sembawang GRC in GE2020, beating out the National Solidarity Party (NSP), with 67.29% of the votes.
No Offence Committed By DPM Heng & PAP
The police earlier confirmed that there was no offence committed Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat and the PAP, after police reports were lodged against the minister and his party.
Heng was reported for a statement he made last year where he allegedly said that the older generation of Singaporeans was not ready for a non-Chinese Prime Minister.
The PAP was also cleared of any wrongdoing, after a report was made against it for its statement on police investigations regarding comments made by Worker’s Party (WP) MP Raeesah Khan.
The Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) concluded that no offence was committed in both instances.
The police and AGC have yet to comment on Khan’s investigations.
Ong Ye Kung, the New Leader for Sembawang GRC
Lest you didn’t know, Ong’s journey into politics wasn’t a smooth one.
Prior to wearing white for the PAP, Ong was a high-flyer in the public sector, working in various Government agencies and ministries. If you’re impressed by his persuasive powers, you’re not the only one: the man was once the Deputy Chief Negotiator of Singapore-US Free Trade Agreement.
He was also NTUC’s Assistant Secretary-General when he joined the 2011 General Elections to contest in Aljunied GRC. Back then, the GRC was represented by PAP, and it was led by former Minister for Foreign Affairs and powerhouse George Yeo. A pretty safe constituency at the time.
But Low Thia Khiang left the ward he’d been serving to lead a team to contest Aljunied GRC, and you know what happened next: the shock defeat didn’t just lead to the retirement of George Yeo from politics, but also hindered Ong’s entry into politics.
Ong didn’t give up, however, and contested again in 2015, this time in Sembawang GRC, led by former Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan. They won 72.28% of the vote share and Ong’s high-flying career continued.
Once he was elected, Ong became a Senior Minister of State for Ministry of Defence for a year, a Second Minister for Defence for about 1.5 years and a Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills) for about 3 years. Then, in May 2018, he became the Education Minister, and has been going to schools since then.
In the latest election, he led the Sembawang GRC team to victory with 67.29% of the votes. He was the only minister in the group.
Over in TikTok, there’s a drama involving property agents that’s caused by us. Here’s what happened:
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