[Lillie_Steins]

Interview with Worker's Party candidate, Png Eng Huat by Zaobao

Translated from chinese interview with Png Eng Huat by Zaobao

Although the Hougang by-elections is a local election, it has attracted nationwide attention. WP Hougang candidate Png Eng Huat believes that Hougang is special as a part of Singapore’s journey towards democracy. If it is viewed purely as a location based election, the importance of the by-elections will be ignored. When interviewed by Zaobao, Png provided his own analysis, and stressed on his persistence in serving Hougang.

“Although Hougang is a small constituency, but it has tremendous implications.”

Workers’ Party candidate for Hougang SMC, Png Eng Huat believes that the by-elections cannot be purely seen as a just contest between him and Desmond Choo.

“It even goes beyond a mere contest between the Workers’ Party and the People’s Action Party. Hougang is a key opposition party stronghold. The people here have forsaken opportunities for HDB upgrades to ensure that there is an opposition voice in the Parliament. This by-elections will determine whether we still have a need to preserve this special place.”

In regards to DPM Teo statement about people can feel free to vote without having the fear of a lack of opposition representation in Parliament, since there are already five WP members, including Low Thia Khiang, in the Parliament.

Png states, “The reverse holds true, doesn’t it? The PAP already have 81 seats in the Parliament while the WP only holds 5 seats. So why do you still want to vote for them? Why not vote for WP?”

Fifty-year-old Png Eng Huat, dressed in the trademark WP blue long-sleeved shirt, while holding a notepad, a tablet PC and a small water bottle in his hands. His greying hair makes him look older than he actually is.

He has no other party members or assistants accompanying him, and the interview was carried out as such at the Hougang Town Council meeting room.

Png Eng Huat joined the Workers' Party in 2006, but was not chosen as a candidate to stand for election then. During the last elections last year, though he represented Workers' Party in East Coast GRC, but it was led by veteran Eric Low and coupled with the main efforts concentrated mainly on Aljunied GRC and Hougang, resulted in a lack of coverage of him from the press media.

In February this year when Hougang MP Yaw Shin Leong was expelled from WP, speculations on the likely replacement candidate centred on members who had attracted more media attention, including Gerald Giam, Yee Jenn Jong, Koh Choong Yong, and Lee Lilian. Who would have thought that Png will be the WP Hougang candidate instead?

Even Png himself was a little surprised at the selection.

“When Low Thia Khiang came to look for me, I even asked him if he’s really sure that I’m suitable to be WP’s Hougang by-elections candidate?”

However, the selection of Png as WP’s Hougang candidate is not without reason. He has been a member of the Hougang Constituency Committee since 2006, taking care of the welfare of Hougang’s poorer residents. Within the Workers' Party Central Executive Committee member, only him and Ng Swee Bee are the only long serving members of the Hougang Constituency Committee.

During the media conference to introduce Png, Low explained that Png is a mature and stable person who has a great ability to communicate with the residents and relate to them.

Maybe, Worker's Party feels that a reliable and trustworthy person like Png is much needed to pacify Hougang residents after the Yaw incident.

When asked about the future plans for Hougang, his answer was down to earth, focusing on a list of projects that include maintenance, paintwork, covered walkways, Home Improvement Programme (HIP) and Neighbourhood Renewal Programme (NRP).

Regarding the long list of plans that are announced by his competitor, Desmond Choo, Png welcomes them as long as the plans are beneficial for Hougang residents. Sometimes, he even recommends residents to seek help at Demond Choo’s employment assistance centre.

What preparations has Png done for this elections?

He reveals that he has been conducting walk-abouts for more than two months ago as the Chairman of Hougang Constituency Committee and basically understood the needs of residents. His notepad in his hand, documents the hardships and problems that residents are facing.

So what is the residents' attitude towards him?

He says, “Hougang residents are very approachable and enthusiastic. Some have given words of encouragement, while others have invite me to their house for desserts. But I can’t be sure if they will eventually vote for me.”

Hougang residents seem to be quite familiar with Png. When he went in the neighbourhood for the interview photoshoot, many residents greeted him along the way. Some addressed him Png, while others just shouted ‘Huat ah!’.

Even a young child in the neighbourhood came up to him to say, “I will tell mummy to vote for you.”

Png is also very friendly and engages with the community

He tells the reporter in a confident tone, “Hougang residents and WP share a special relationship, this is the result of 20 years of hard work in the area.”

He disagrees with DPM Tharman’s view that this is a local election.

“What is a local election? Can I help residents build a wet market? Can I just take the liberty to mark the roads as a zebra crossing? These projects have to go through HDB and LTA eventually. On top of that, the priority of Home Improvement Programme and Neighbourhood Renewal Programme is closely related to national policies.”

In fact, Png does not have the ambition to secure a high share of votes. He points out that Singapore elections take the simple form of “first-past-the-post” system, where candidates can become official MPs even by winning a small margin.

If Png should lose, he hopes that Desmond Choo will allow him to continue his activities in voluntary welfare organisations (VWO) in the community.

http://www.zaobao.com.sg/sp/sp120513_010.shtml
　“后港虽然是一个小选区，但是意义重大。”