When meeting the people’s session becomes an occupational hazard

When meeting the people’s session becomes an occupational hazard

SINGAPORE - One MP got punched and was subsequently set on fire in an unfortunate incident. Another received threats of a physical assault by phone. Recently, a 17-year-old was arrested for hurling a chair at the glass door of an MP office.

What do the above antagonists have in common? Frustration, perhaps. The first one was a cabbie who was unhappy over the lack of assistance in reinstating his revoked license. The other was frustrated over the fact that he has not been receiving financial assistance from the Central Community Development Council (CDC). The other simple lost his cool after a meeting session with the MP.

It was apparent from reports that the above assailants have been afflicted with some sort of unsound mind based on their history at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) or had some form of intellectual handicap in the case of the 17-year-old who was reported to have a low IQ. It is quite tempting to attribute such assaults or nearly assaults to the mental capacities of the perpetuators. But one shouldn’t lose track of the larger picture - effects of the political culture of the ruling party and the savviness of their candidates in dealing with the ground that comes in all forms.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that people who need help from their MP are already at their last vestige of desperation. Obviously, a person who has been doing grassroots work and administering to such people for a long time would be able to cope with such desperate souls. An attitude of wanting to help the downtrodden ones is a definite must-have.

What does the political culture of the ruling PAP have to do with this? Senior Minister Mr Goh Chok Tong admitted that the purpose of the Group Representation Constituency (GRC) is to serve as a platform to bring top talents who are potential ministerial material into the government.

“They also contribute to Singapore’s political stability, by ‘helping us to recruit younger and capable candidates with the potential to become ministers.”
- The Straits Times, in an interview with Mr Goh

And Mr Goh further added that such candidates wanted the guarantee of winning their first election if they were to make their first foray into politics.

“Without some assurance of a good chance of winning at least their first election, many able and successful young Singaporeans may not risk their careers to join politics.”
- Mr Goh, in the aforementioned interview

Thus, if a particular candidate has not received his baptism of fire in working with the desperate and downtrodden, but is instead parachuted into such a position by the mechanics of a GRC contest, one really wonders if the latter can effectively tend to the desperate and downtrodden residents in his ward. Yes, apologists for the ruling party may be tempted to point to the fact that these assailants have a diminished capacity to control their rage. Then, would one expect the ground to be free of such people? The ground is populated with people of varying mental and intellectual capacities, and the reality is that the MP of the ward must also deal with the ones whose capacities are deemed to be ‘aberrant’. If such people have violent tendencies, how come our ‘much maligned’ (at least from the mainstream media’s perspective) members of the opposition have not received such treatment? Opposition parties like the Singapore Democratic Party, Worker’s Party and the Singapore Democratic Alliance have been walking the ground and surely they must be exposed to such people. Thus, it is only by working the ground can one be savvy in dealing with all types of people, including those with ‘limited capacities’.

I remembered a memorable quote from the movie Spiderman, which was an advice from Uncle Ben to Peter Parker AKA Spiderman:”With great power, comes great responsibility”. The pertinent question is - are those in power well-equipped enough to take on such great responsibilities?

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