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REACTION AFTER MP SET ON FIRE
Keep meeting residents? We will
That's our job, say three MPs interviewed in the wake of MP Seng Han Thong being burnt
By Hedy Khoo
January 13, 2009
CONCERNED: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at Singapore General Hospital yesterday to visit MP Seng Han Thong, who was set on fire yesterday. TNP PICTURE: ADELINE ONG
SHOCK, followed by immediate concern were their reactions when they first heard the news that a fellow MP had been viciously attacked.
Said Mr Yeo Guat Kwang, MP for Aljunied GRC: 'I couldn't believe it initially when I heard the news and my first thought was to verify if it was indeed true.'
Mr Hri Kumar, an MP for the Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, said it was very unfortunate that two persons had been injured.
He said: 'It's a terrible thing to do. To throw petrol and set fire to a person is unspeakably horrific not only because of the pain you inflict, but the petrol is bound to splash on someone else.'
MP Indranee Rajah, MP for Tanjong Pagar GRC, commented that such an act is 'very wrong and very dreadful'.
'If someone is not happy with something, make an appeal, don't attack a person in such a fashion,' she said.
'This incident is not in the same category as punching someone,' she said, referring to Mr Seng's being assaulted by a cabby in 2006. (See report on facing page.)
HAPPILY MEETING THE PEOPLE: MP for Aljunied GRC Yeo Guat Kwang, giving red packets and food hampers at a Mid-Autumn Festival event at a Taoist temple last August. ST FILE PICTURE
All three MPs also expressed concern for temple chairman Aw Chui Seng.
Said Mr Yeo: 'When I found out that it was true, I immediately wanted to rush to the hospital to see Han Thong.'
But he didn't after he got further information that only family members were allowed to visit Mr Seng at that time.
'I find it unimaginable that someone would do such a thing,' he said of the incident.
Mr Yeo said he has known Mr Seng since 1996 when they entered politics together.
'He has always been a man close to the ground with the interests of workers and residents at heart,' he added.
Ms Rajah said that there is always a risk factor when you are a public figure.
She pointed out that most MPs do not have personal security when they go about their duties and walkabouts.
However, she is not unduly worried as she said she has always been cautious as a person.
'The risk is the same as it always has been,' she said.
All three MPs said that they have yet to come across residents who grew violent.
They said they had only encountered residents who got angry and raised their voices, or one or two who were tipsy.
The three MPs shared that in such instances, it was important to remain calm and listen to the person and find out the root cause.
'Listening helps'
Said Mr Kumar: 'When they feel that you are listening and trying to help them, they will calm down.'
Ms Rajah said that in the only two instances that she met residents who were intoxicated, the police were called to handle the matter.
She has come across more cases in which the residents are so overcome by their problems that they break down and cry.
Mr Yeo observed that some residents who come to him for help have been suffering from long-term financial problems, compounded by familial problems which can lead to depression.
He said: 'Some of these people are repressed and unable to share their problems, and they may have no family or community support.
'In such cases, they may need more than monetary support and we must try to look into their emotional well-being,' he said.
While the MPs felt that yesterday's incident was a rare and isolated case, Ms Rajah pointed out that there was a strong need to send out a message of deterrence to the public that such acts will not be condoned.
Said Ms Rajah: 'The signal must go out to show there are severe penalties for such an act.'
But the MPs said they would not let the incident affect them in carrying out their duties.
Said Mr Kumar: 'Our job encompasses dealing with the residents on a one-to-one basis and being in close contact with them.
'If we worry too much about these things, we won't be able to do our job.'
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who visited Mr Seng at the Singapore General Hospital last evening, said: 'MPs have to be accessible, you go round, you have to meet residents, you have to be in contact. You can take precautions.'
He said that the grassroots leaders have been exceptionally careful with MrSeng following the previous accident in which another resident had tried to hit him.
PM Lee said: 'But this time despite all the precautions, this guy slipped through.
'The police have arrested him and they will deal with him according to the law and depending on the facts and circumstances.'
Asked if he would be asking the MPs to set up security for their events this coming week, PM Lee replied: 'I think the MPs will be on their guard and so will the grassroots leaders, but we have to continue with our activities.
'Because this is an isolated case, the person is an IMH case, we will deal with it, but life has to go on and our work has to go on.'
REACTION AFTER MP SET ON FIRE
Keep meeting residents? We will
That's our job, say three MPs interviewed in the wake of MP Seng Han Thong being burnt
By Hedy Khoo
January 13, 2009
CONCERNED: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at Singapore General Hospital yesterday to visit MP Seng Han Thong, who was set on fire yesterday. TNP PICTURE: ADELINE ONG
SHOCK, followed by immediate concern were their reactions when they first heard the news that a fellow MP had been viciously attacked.
Said Mr Yeo Guat Kwang, MP for Aljunied GRC: 'I couldn't believe it initially when I heard the news and my first thought was to verify if it was indeed true.'
Mr Hri Kumar, an MP for the Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, said it was very unfortunate that two persons had been injured.
He said: 'It's a terrible thing to do. To throw petrol and set fire to a person is unspeakably horrific not only because of the pain you inflict, but the petrol is bound to splash on someone else.'
MP Indranee Rajah, MP for Tanjong Pagar GRC, commented that such an act is 'very wrong and very dreadful'.
'If someone is not happy with something, make an appeal, don't attack a person in such a fashion,' she said.
'This incident is not in the same category as punching someone,' she said, referring to Mr Seng's being assaulted by a cabby in 2006. (See report on facing page.)
HAPPILY MEETING THE PEOPLE: MP for Aljunied GRC Yeo Guat Kwang, giving red packets and food hampers at a Mid-Autumn Festival event at a Taoist temple last August. ST FILE PICTURE
All three MPs also expressed concern for temple chairman Aw Chui Seng.
Said Mr Yeo: 'When I found out that it was true, I immediately wanted to rush to the hospital to see Han Thong.'
But he didn't after he got further information that only family members were allowed to visit Mr Seng at that time.
'I find it unimaginable that someone would do such a thing,' he said of the incident.
Mr Yeo said he has known Mr Seng since 1996 when they entered politics together.
'He has always been a man close to the ground with the interests of workers and residents at heart,' he added.
Ms Rajah said that there is always a risk factor when you are a public figure.
She pointed out that most MPs do not have personal security when they go about their duties and walkabouts.
However, she is not unduly worried as she said she has always been cautious as a person.
'The risk is the same as it always has been,' she said.
All three MPs said that they have yet to come across residents who grew violent.
They said they had only encountered residents who got angry and raised their voices, or one or two who were tipsy.
The three MPs shared that in such instances, it was important to remain calm and listen to the person and find out the root cause.
'Listening helps'
Said Mr Kumar: 'When they feel that you are listening and trying to help them, they will calm down.'
Ms Rajah said that in the only two instances that she met residents who were intoxicated, the police were called to handle the matter.
She has come across more cases in which the residents are so overcome by their problems that they break down and cry.
Mr Yeo observed that some residents who come to him for help have been suffering from long-term financial problems, compounded by familial problems which can lead to depression.
He said: 'Some of these people are repressed and unable to share their problems, and they may have no family or community support.
'In such cases, they may need more than monetary support and we must try to look into their emotional well-being,' he said.
While the MPs felt that yesterday's incident was a rare and isolated case, Ms Rajah pointed out that there was a strong need to send out a message of deterrence to the public that such acts will not be condoned.
Said Ms Rajah: 'The signal must go out to show there are severe penalties for such an act.'
But the MPs said they would not let the incident affect them in carrying out their duties.
Said Mr Kumar: 'Our job encompasses dealing with the residents on a one-to-one basis and being in close contact with them.
'If we worry too much about these things, we won't be able to do our job.'
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who visited Mr Seng at the Singapore General Hospital last evening, said: 'MPs have to be accessible, you go round, you have to meet residents, you have to be in contact. You can take precautions.'
He said that the grassroots leaders have been exceptionally careful with MrSeng following the previous accident in which another resident had tried to hit him.
PM Lee said: 'But this time despite all the precautions, this guy slipped through.
'The police have arrested him and they will deal with him according to the law and depending on the facts and circumstances.'
Asked if he would be asking the MPs to set up security for their events this coming week, PM Lee replied: 'I think the MPs will be on their guard and so will the grassroots leaders, but we have to continue with our activities.
'Because this is an isolated case, the person is an IMH case, we will deal with it, but life has to go on and our work has to go on.'
