Kaki Bukit CC Responds to Image of Bird’s Nest With PAP Candidate Face; It’s Not Bought with Public Funds


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Last Updated on 2020-07-07 , 6:07 pm

It’s not an election if there’s no drama.

Here in Singapore, we’ve so many of these dramas, we could’ve written a book about it.

But one guy has it worst, when he was involved in not one but two accusations.

Reader Bao: Yeah, that’s old news. Ivan Lim, right?

No, not Ivan Lim.

We’re talking about Mr Shamsul Kamar, a PAP candidate for Aljunied GRC.

First Saga: Free 2-Pc Chicken Meal from Texas Chicken

A few days back, this image went viral:

Image: Facebook (Say NO to PAP)

Soon, Mr Shamsul responded to this, saying that he wasn’t trying to use the free meal to bait voters. Instead, this event was just one of the many events his team organised, and this was planned before the General Elections were announced.

They’ve been running programmes to assist specific groups of people, and in this case, it was to help “lower-income, Malay-Muslim families”, and it was suggested by the community leaders from the Malay Activity Executive Committee (MAEC).

The event has since been postponed and will happen after the GE instead.

Okay, time to focus on more pressing matters, like the number of bubble tea shops in Aljunied GRC, right?

And before he could do so…this happened.

Image of Bird’s Nest Went Viral

If there’s one lesson you’d need to learn, it’s this: don’t anyhowly let people print your face on products.

Because both the issues arose from his face and name appearing out of nowhere.


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This time, it’s this image, posted by Facebook Page Sin Rak Sin Party:

Image: Sin Rak Sin Party

On any normal day, this won’t have attracted anyone’s attention, but during election season, you can bet that it’ll warm the cockles of many hearts.

Reader Bao: That’s not how you use the phrase—

This time, Mr Shamsul has not responded to it, but Kaki Bukit Community Centre, which is under the People’s Association (PA), did.

After all their logo is there, too.


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Lest you can’t read:

CLARIFICATION ON ALLEGATIONS THAT PUBLIC FUNDS WERE USED TO BUY BIRD’S NEST FOR ALJUNIED RESIDENTS

It has come to our attention that a post has been circulating alleging that PA had used public funds to purchase bird’s nest for Aljunied residents in order to buy votes during GE2020.

We wish to clarify that the bird’s nest were donated by grassroots leaders. They were given to Merdeka Generation (MG) residents who attended the Kaki Bukit Health Fiestas held in June and August 2019 as tokens of appreciation for their contribution to nation-building. Packs that were not distributed at the events were subsequently given to families under the Kaki Bukit Social Assistance Programmes.

We hope that members of the public will not misunderstand the intentions of our volunteers.


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Mr Shamsul is the adviser to the Kaki Bukit grassroots organisation in Aljunied GRC, and his face is also plastered on the CC’s Facebook banner.

Now that the facts on who’s funded the bird’s nest are revealed, I bet you’ve another question:

So is People’s Association part of PAP? And why is a PAP person being appointed as grassroots adviser?

People’s Association, a Statutory Board

People’s Association (PA) is a statutory board and is under the purview of the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY).

When an opposition party wins a constituency, they’ll take over the management of the housing estates. However, they don’t appoint the grassroots leaders and advisers in the area; it’ll be appointed by the Government to “guide grassroots organisations in carrying out their mission of promoting social cohesion and racial harmony, as well as connecting the people and the Government.”


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Chim?

Simply put, yes, Ah Gong doesn’t just completely let go of your estate when they lost it. I mean, imagine one day when LTA is not allowed into an opposition-controlled estate because it’s under the opposition’s control. Then how? The opposition create their own LTA ah?

The Aljunied GRC Fight

Aljunied GRC is one constituency many are looking at, since it’s the first and only GRC that’s won by an opposition party.

In this election, two powerhouses from Workers’ Party have retired: Low Thia Khiang and Chen Show Mao. Workers’ Party is still fielding their A-team to defend the constituency they’ve held since 2011 with Pritam Singh, Sylvia Lim Swee Lian, Muhamad Faisal Manap, Gerald Giam Yean Song and Leon Perera.

PAP is fielding Victor Lye Thiam Fatt, Alex Yeo Sheng Chye, Chan Hui Yuh, Chua Eng Leong and, of course, Shamsul Kamar.

And on a side note, candidates have been talking about NCMP (Non-Constituency Member of Parliament) in recent days. So, what’s an NCMP? Do you know that it’s just like an MP but the allowance is much lower? Watch this video to find out more: