Ground less sweet, says Khaw, but he's confident
In an occasional series on key election players, Salma Khalik reports how the Health Minister views the upcoming contest in his Sembawang GRC ward
AT THE 2006 General Election, Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan's Sembawang GRC team got the 'wows' as the highest-scoring PAP team.
It won 76.7 per cent of valid votes against the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), way above the PAP's overall tally of 66.6 per cent of valid votes.
So is there a chance the PAP might move him from Sembawang GRC to another one where it has less solid support?
He laughed at the suggestion and said: 'I don't think so. I see no need.'
He noted he was moved from Tanjong Pagar GRC to Sembawang GRC in 2006 because Dr Tony Tan had retired, 'and they thought I would be a good successor for him'.
In fact, he added, not only would he be 'upset' if he were to be switched to another GRC, he would be 'traumatised'.
During the interview on Friday at Beaulieu House, an eatery in Sembawang Park overlooking the Johor Strait, Mr Khaw was stopped several times by residents who were there enjoying the public holiday, eager to shake his hand and offer him some of their barbecued food.
The SDP has said it will contest the GRC again this year, and its slate will comprise Mr James Gomez, Mr John Tan, Mr Mohamed Isa Abdul Aziz, Mr Sadasivam Veriyah and Mr Jarrod Luo.
Mr Khaw, 58, admitted that losing two heavyweight MPs to other constituencies - Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam and Senior Parliamentary Secretary (National Development) Mohamad Maliki Osman - was a blow to the GRC.
'How to replace them?' he asked, noting that between them they had 'more than 30 years of bonding' with residents in this GRC that frames the northern tip of the island.
The GRC now has five members, down from six. Dr Lim Wee Kiak has moved to Nee Soon GRC, while Senior Parliamentary Secretary (Manpower and Health) Hawazi Daipi and lawyer Ellen Lee remain. The new faces are trader Ong Teng Koon, 34, and lawyer Vikram Nair, 32.
'The moment they were announced, we pushed them out to block visits,' said Mr Khaw. He views home visits as a crucial prong of the campaign and expects to drop in at 130 to 140 blocks during the nine days of campaigning himself.
'If you don't go there, they may not be very happy. When you are going for very high percentages, you're talking of that kind of difference,' he said.
The visits come on top of almost two cycles of visits to every block which he has made since the previous general election.
While he is quietly confident of the outcome in Sembawang GRC - a mostly working-class ward of 142,426 voters with a proportion of non-Chinese residents that is higher than the national average - he feels that, generally, the 'ground is not as sweet' as it was in 2006.
'I don't think people are angry. That is not my sense. But 2006, it was a lot sweeter,' he said.
He noted how at the last election, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had prepared the ground very well and had 'sealed off' all possibly contentious areas so the opposition 'couldn't find a vulner-able spot'.
This time round, he said, 'a few things are still outstanding': 'The solutions are there, but it takes time to resolve. Housing is one example, and MRT. Increasing frequency, adding to the fleet, that takes time.'
But the Government did not have much choice when it came to the date of this general election, he said, since it did not want the election too near the presidential election, due by August.
And last year, 'the mood was probably worse than now' because of the effects of the financial crisis.
He does not want to be drawn into speculation on how his team will do this time. But he does not think the SDP's style, such as heckling Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong during the 2001 General Election, sits well with Singaporeans.
As to what the PAP's style is, he described the party - he is a member of its Central Executive Committee - as 'a long-term player' and one that is not 'populist'.
'Not that we're unaware of short-term needs, but the more important part of the programme is long term,' he said. 'How to make sure we continue to do well? It's not easy.'
The bottom line is the quality of the candidates, he said. 'If voters vote rationally, that ought to be the major factor. Are you getting a better candidate, a better team, who'll look after your interest both locally and nationally?'
He described the SDP line-up in Sembawang GRC as 'Division 3 players': 'We work even harder because expectations will be high and if you fight against Division 3 and your votes are just marginally better than national average, people may read quite differently the results.'
He added: 'We just do the same thing we've been doing the last five years. This is the last 10 days now and we'll put our best energy forward.'
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www.facebook.com/ST.Salma
IN GOOD HEALTH
'If elections were six months ago, I would have some problems. I won't be able to do all my blocks. Last GE, we tried to cover many, many blocks. You need a certain fitness level. But now I'm at that level. Typically, if there are no rallies, whole day long, should be able to do 15 to 16 blocks a day.'
Mr Khaw, on how his health has recovered, following his heart bypass operation in May last year
GETTING THE HANG OF SOCIAL MEDIA
'I'm beginning to find that it's kind of fun. And do it in a kind of way which doesn't lose too much of my time... I found a way to multi-task, which I think would be very intuitive for the young. But for my generation, it's not intuitive at all. I like to do things sequentially. (If) I start writing this essay, I like to complete it before I take on a new assignment.'
Mr Khaw, one of the first ministers to blog, on how it has taken him two years to get the hang of social media
In an occasional series on key election players, Salma Khalik reports how the Health Minister views the upcoming contest in his Sembawang GRC ward
AT THE 2006 General Election, Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan's Sembawang GRC team got the 'wows' as the highest-scoring PAP team.
It won 76.7 per cent of valid votes against the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), way above the PAP's overall tally of 66.6 per cent of valid votes.
So is there a chance the PAP might move him from Sembawang GRC to another one where it has less solid support?
He laughed at the suggestion and said: 'I don't think so. I see no need.'
He noted he was moved from Tanjong Pagar GRC to Sembawang GRC in 2006 because Dr Tony Tan had retired, 'and they thought I would be a good successor for him'.
In fact, he added, not only would he be 'upset' if he were to be switched to another GRC, he would be 'traumatised'.
During the interview on Friday at Beaulieu House, an eatery in Sembawang Park overlooking the Johor Strait, Mr Khaw was stopped several times by residents who were there enjoying the public holiday, eager to shake his hand and offer him some of their barbecued food.
The SDP has said it will contest the GRC again this year, and its slate will comprise Mr James Gomez, Mr John Tan, Mr Mohamed Isa Abdul Aziz, Mr Sadasivam Veriyah and Mr Jarrod Luo.
Mr Khaw, 58, admitted that losing two heavyweight MPs to other constituencies - Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam and Senior Parliamentary Secretary (National Development) Mohamad Maliki Osman - was a blow to the GRC.
'How to replace them?' he asked, noting that between them they had 'more than 30 years of bonding' with residents in this GRC that frames the northern tip of the island.
The GRC now has five members, down from six. Dr Lim Wee Kiak has moved to Nee Soon GRC, while Senior Parliamentary Secretary (Manpower and Health) Hawazi Daipi and lawyer Ellen Lee remain. The new faces are trader Ong Teng Koon, 34, and lawyer Vikram Nair, 32.
'The moment they were announced, we pushed them out to block visits,' said Mr Khaw. He views home visits as a crucial prong of the campaign and expects to drop in at 130 to 140 blocks during the nine days of campaigning himself.
'If you don't go there, they may not be very happy. When you are going for very high percentages, you're talking of that kind of difference,' he said.
The visits come on top of almost two cycles of visits to every block which he has made since the previous general election.
While he is quietly confident of the outcome in Sembawang GRC - a mostly working-class ward of 142,426 voters with a proportion of non-Chinese residents that is higher than the national average - he feels that, generally, the 'ground is not as sweet' as it was in 2006.
'I don't think people are angry. That is not my sense. But 2006, it was a lot sweeter,' he said.
He noted how at the last election, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had prepared the ground very well and had 'sealed off' all possibly contentious areas so the opposition 'couldn't find a vulner-able spot'.
This time round, he said, 'a few things are still outstanding': 'The solutions are there, but it takes time to resolve. Housing is one example, and MRT. Increasing frequency, adding to the fleet, that takes time.'
But the Government did not have much choice when it came to the date of this general election, he said, since it did not want the election too near the presidential election, due by August.
And last year, 'the mood was probably worse than now' because of the effects of the financial crisis.
He does not want to be drawn into speculation on how his team will do this time. But he does not think the SDP's style, such as heckling Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong during the 2001 General Election, sits well with Singaporeans.
As to what the PAP's style is, he described the party - he is a member of its Central Executive Committee - as 'a long-term player' and one that is not 'populist'.
'Not that we're unaware of short-term needs, but the more important part of the programme is long term,' he said. 'How to make sure we continue to do well? It's not easy.'
The bottom line is the quality of the candidates, he said. 'If voters vote rationally, that ought to be the major factor. Are you getting a better candidate, a better team, who'll look after your interest both locally and nationally?'
He described the SDP line-up in Sembawang GRC as 'Division 3 players': 'We work even harder because expectations will be high and if you fight against Division 3 and your votes are just marginally better than national average, people may read quite differently the results.'
He added: 'We just do the same thing we've been doing the last five years. This is the last 10 days now and we'll put our best energy forward.'
[email protected]
www.facebook.com/ST.Salma
IN GOOD HEALTH
'If elections were six months ago, I would have some problems. I won't be able to do all my blocks. Last GE, we tried to cover many, many blocks. You need a certain fitness level. But now I'm at that level. Typically, if there are no rallies, whole day long, should be able to do 15 to 16 blocks a day.'
Mr Khaw, on how his health has recovered, following his heart bypass operation in May last year
GETTING THE HANG OF SOCIAL MEDIA
'I'm beginning to find that it's kind of fun. And do it in a kind of way which doesn't lose too much of my time... I found a way to multi-task, which I think would be very intuitive for the young. But for my generation, it's not intuitive at all. I like to do things sequentially. (If) I start writing this essay, I like to complete it before I take on a new assignment.'
Mr Khaw, one of the first ministers to blog, on how it has taken him two years to get the hang of social media
