SINGAPORE – Despite occasional encounters with unfriendly residents, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong said he still engages them.
“In fact, I do, and I will continue to do so, because it’s our responsibility as MPs to look after all residents, even if they might have difficult issues,” he said on March 23.
He was responding to a question about a video that had surfaced from a walkabout the day before in Marine Parade GRC, where he is currently an MP.
The video had spliced together Mr Tong’s interactions with residents at a coffee shop in Marine Terrace, a part of the newly-renamed Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC.
It had been reposted by online media sites that questioned how Mr Tong would be received by residents in East Coast GRC.
It showed Mr Tong greeting and chatting with people at the coffee shop, some of whom did not engage in conversation with him.
When asked about the incident at the end of a walkabout in Bedok, Mr Tong said that the reception he had at the walkabout in Marine Parade the day before was warm.
The video was taken by some sites and used in a way that thrust him in a negative light, he said.
“I think it is obvious (that it was) to push an agenda, I think, quite clearly for a political objective,” he said.
He pointed out that the person who had uploaded the original video on Facebook has since clarified that the video had been used out of context.
The person who had posted the video said in his caption that it was “disappointing that some people have taken my video out of context and twisted the truth”.
Mr Tong said: “Since that has been clarified by him, I think we can let that clarification speak for itself, although it’s unfortunate that it’s happened.”
He added that he had told his team not to get distracted by such incidents, and to focus on the real work on the ground, connect with people and continue to win their confidence.
Mr Delane Lim, a volunteer with Mr Tong who was also captured in the video, posted his account of the incident on Facebook on March 22. He has been volunteering with Mr Tong for a few months.
He said that Mr Tong had been briefed by a volunteer that a particular table at the coffee shop seemed unfriendly, and asked if they should still go over.
Mr Lim said Mr Tong’s response was that as residents, they must be engaged and their concerns heard.
Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
Thanks for sharing!