Ooi Boon Ewe Has Collected Nomination Papers & Intends to Contest in Bukit Panjang SMC This GE

By
George Yang
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Do you know that you—yes, you who are reading this—can be a Member of Parliament if you so desire to?

You are qualified as long as you fulfil these criteria:

  1. is a citizen of Singapore;
  2. is 21 years old and above on Nomination Day;
  3. is registered as an elector in the current Registers of Electors;
  4. is resident in Singapore on Nomination Day and has been so for a total period not less than 10 years;
  5. is not subject to any of the disqualifications specified in Article 45 of the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore; and
  6. possesses a sufficient degree of proficiency in spoken English, Malay, Mandarin or Tamil and, unless incapacitated by blindness or other physical cause, be able to read and write at least one of the said languages so that he can take an active part in the proceedings of Parliament.

But you’d go, “Simi is Article 45?”

To put it simply, as long as you’re of sound mind, are not an undischarged bankrupt and haven’t been imprisoned for more than a year, you most probably are qualified.

Which is why even when the elections are usually contested by people in political parties with large war chests and branding, people who’re not affiliated with any parties would still step in to try their luck.

And one of which is Sherwin Eu, the young ex-Uber (now is probably Grab) driver who can speak with a poker face.

And another popular never-say-die potential candidate?

Ooi Boon Ewe, who didn’t just try to be nominated multiple times—in fact, the aspiring politician has once ran in the election before.

Ooi Boon Ewe Has Collected Nomination Papers & Intends to Contest in Bukit Panjang SMC This GE

A day after PM Lee announced that the seats in Parliament would be up for grabs, Mr Ooi was up and ready the next morning, collecting his nomination papers with his mask on.

Unlike previous elections whereby you’d see Chan Chun Sing heading to the Elections Department after peak hours to avoid the ERP charges, and reporters camping out the area to speculate who would be running, this year will be a tad different.

The papers can be downloaded online and potential candidates are advised to print it instead of going all the way to the Elections Department.

But Mr Ooi, who’s a regular in all elections since 1999, has done it the traditional way.

The man was spotted collecting his nomination papers yesterday (24 June) morning.

He told the media that he intended to contest in Bukit Panjang SMC, a ward that is currently held by PAP’s Teo Ho Pin, who won with 68.38% of the votes in 2015.

Now, if you’re unfamiliar with Mr Ooi, you should really download our app. And also, read on.

Ooi Boon Ewe, a Man Who Wants to be a Politician for the Last 21 Years

It’s hard to know what job the man holds: at one time, he was known as a private tutor, and the last we know, he was a real estate executive.

But one thing’s for sure: we know about his dream job.

The 79-year-old started his race to be a politician from 1999, when he tried to run for President. However, his application was rejected as he had been made bankrupt twice and his application was incomplete.

But two years later, he successfully ran in the 2001 General Elections, contesting in Joo Chiat SMC (which is now merged into Marine Parade GRC) against PAP’s Chan Soo Sen. He lost with 16.45% of the votes, and because the deposit would only be lost if the votes are less than 12.5%, he managed to get it back.

Four years later, he tried to run for President again but was rejected as he didn’t “hold any similar or comparable position of seniority and responsibility as spelt out in the Constitution that was required of an elected president.”

In 2011, he tried running for both the GE in Sengkang West SMC and for President again—both weren’t successful. For the GE, he was short of an assentor and for the Presidential Election, he had submitted an incomplete form.

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In 2013, he did collect the nomination papers for the Punggol East by-election after former parliamentary speaker Michael Palmer resigned due to an extramarital affair, but didn’t contest.

And of course, in 2015, he was back with a song while he collected his nomination papers…

…but didn’t make it to the Nomination day.

His latest attempt to secure the word “Politician” in front of his name was in the 2017 Presidential Election, and as you probably know, his application wasn’t successful and we all waited with bated breath for his comeback.

And so, this article is published.

The aspiring politician isn’t one who’s just in for fun—in a 2015 interview with TNP, he said, “I’m not a gambler but there’s one thing I would gamble on: put all my money into politics, to make the election deposit.”

To him, raising the election deposit isn’t easy, but he added, “It is my dream to be an MP.”

This year, the election deposit is set at $13,500—which is $1,000 less than 2015’s deposit.

Now, we’re waiting for Sherwin Eu and our CPF—Han Hui Hui.

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George Yang
Email: [email protected]