SINGAPORE - Two incidents similar to the one that disrupted the Meet-the-People session of Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam had taken place at Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo’s meeting with residents.
In a Facebook post on March 14, Mrs Teo, who is an MP for Jalan Besar GRC, said she did not want to bring up the matter publicly, but decided to do so after Mr Shanmugam posted a video of his exchange with two women belonging to the activist group on Facebook. The People’s Action Party had identified the women as being part of the activist group Monday of Palestine Solidarity.
In Jalan Besar GRC, Mrs Teo said both occasions were at her Kreta Ayer-Kim Seng branch office, with the first in November 2024.
At that time, Mrs Teo, who is Second Minister for Home Affairs, said two women attended her Meet-the-People session to voice their concerns about the Republic’s stance on the Israel-Hamas war.
Although such sessions prioritise residents, who have urgent matters that need to be addressed, she said she was prepared to meet the women after attending to her duties.
“For nearly an hour, I listened to their concerns. I also offered to write to the relevant ministries on their behalf, so that the authorities could hear their feedback.”
A few weeks later, an online article was published about what she had done, despite interactions during Meet-the-People sessions being confidential and MPs typically not publicly disclosing what was discussed, she said.
“Although the article acknowledged that I had engaged the two women empathetically, it was difficult to see any reason for publishing the piece other than to spread the word that they had successfully made a move at my MPS,” said Mrs Teo.
More recently, in January, a resident who had attended previous Meet-the-People sessions was accompanied by a “daughter”, purportedly seeking financial help, said Mrs Teo.
When it was their turn to meet Mrs Teo, however, the younger woman passed the older one a document to read out, with the contents unrelated to the financial help they said they were seeking.
Noting that it was clear they were not mother and daughter, she said volunteers had been supporting the older woman for some time by providing monthly groceries and weekly food rations.
She said: “To respect her privacy, we did not question how there was suddenly a ‘daughter’ accompanying her to (the) Meet-the-People session,” adding that volunteers continue to help her to this day.
Such incidents, which have been carried out by activist group Monday of Palestine Solidarity, have taken place at more than 10 Meet-the-People sessions, said the PAP in a statement.
The group would typically create a ruckus in the waiting area and disrupt the queue system, while also filming and raising their voices, affecting residents.
Volunteers would also be heckled by members of the group, said the PAP.
Mrs Teo added: “It goes without saying that my volunteers were perturbed and saddened by such incidents - especially when they respond to help-seekers with sincere intent, never expecting to be led to an ‘ambush’.”
She added that these incidents make it difficult for her and her team of volunteers to let their guard down, since they do not know if they might face hostility, or be secretly recorded and featured in articles that paint them in a bad light.
While she expressed her appreciation that residents are willing to raise concerns beyond immediate ones, she said she was saddened that the tone of Meet-the-People sessions seems to have shifted in her nearly two decades as an MP.
“My hope is for Meet-the-People sessions to return to their truest purpose - they are not protest platforms, but a channel for MPs to engage their residents openly and attend to their most acute needs.”
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Thanks for sharing!