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More dirt dredged out in hearing of MP threat case
March 18, 2009 by admin
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By Eugene Yeo
It was meant to send a strong message of deterrence to Singaporeans not to “mess around” with their PAP MPs, but it is turning out to be a protracted farce promising to dredge out more dirt to embarrass the PAP.
Unlike MP torcher Ong Kah Chua who was deemed “mentally unfit” to claim trial and was remanded indefinitely in the Institute of Mental Health at the minister’s pleasure, rag-and-bone man Ng Kim Ngweng who was charged with intimidating his PAP MP got the chance to tell his side of the story in court. (read ST report here)
And he did not minced his words as he recalled his tortuous encounter with his MP Denise Phua at the Meet-the-People session:
1. He was made to
wait 4 hours before he got to see her.
2. When he saw her, instead of showing empathy to him,
she was smiling and “looking proud”.
3. Apparently the aid given to him was paltry which prompted him to tell her off:
“Don’t forget, you just care that you have eaten enough and don’t bother whether other people are alive or dead”
4. As he was leaving,
a beefy residents’ committee member shouted at him and looked like he was going to hit him.
If you were in Mr Ng’s shoes, will you be angry? Won’t you feel oppressed and insulted?
Of course I do not condone Mr Ng’s action of calling the REACH hotline to protest against his treatment, but we cannot turn a blind eye towards these external migitating circumstances which play a contributory role to his unwarranted outburst against Ms Denise Phua.
MPs and grassroots volunteers are supposed to serve the residents. They should not be conducting Meet-the-People sessions at all if they have no interest in helping distressed Singaporeans with their problems in the first place.
From Mr Ng’s statements above, it seemed that there is a lack of empathy and compassion on the part of Ms Denise Phua and her helpers.
Ms Denise Phua should be aware that no Singaporean in their right mind will spend 4 hours waiting to see her if he does not have any genuine concerns requiring her assistance.
Instead of showing care and consideration to Mr Ng, she appeared to be aloof and stuck up. Such condescending behavior is unbecoming of a public servant.
Who pay for her monthly MP allowance of $12,000 or more?
As Mr Ng has put it aptly, “Don’t forget, you just care that you have eaten enough and don’t bother whether other people are alive or dead”
What prompted Mr Ng to say such harsh words to her? Had Ms Denise Phua been more diplomatic and courteous to him, will Mr Ng be so pissed off?
More disturbing is the “sam seng” behavior of Ms Denise Phua’s helper who shouted at Mr Ng. Is this the kind of service Singaporeans are getting from their PAP MPs and grassroots leaders?
There is one mantra of the service industry - “the customer is always right“. In this case, Mr Ng is the client asking for help from her MP, a service provider. Even if Mr Ng is in the wrong, there is no need for Ms Phua’s grassroots leader to dish out such demeaning treatment to him.
Are the Resident Committees (RCs) really grassroots organizations serving the people or are they the “eyes and ears” of the ruling party to monitor us?
Now, nobody asked Denise Phua to stand for the elections to serve us. She stood on her own accord. If Ms Phua dislikes attending to “lesser mortals” like Mr Ng and listening to their endless complaints and grouses, she should quit her MP post and focus on her full-time job.
It should be an honor and not an obligation for her to be given the noble task of helping the people. She should not force herself to do something she has no passion in and neither should Singaporeans deserve MPs who treat them like some blood-sucking parasites.
