Inside the Meet-the-People (and their troubles) session @ Pasir-Ris Punggol PCF

The PAP has a system for those who require non-conventional aid to appeal to the highest levels of government without going through the bureaucracy. These meet-the-people sessions (MPS) are held one night every week under the auspices of the PAP Community Foundation (PCF), where the constituency’s Member of Parliament comes down to meet his voters and aids them by appealing to the relevant ministries or statutory boards. Here’s an inside peek into this process at Pasir-Ris Punggol (West) GRC under MP Teo Ser Luck.

From left: Sim Shinwei, MP Teo Ser Luck, Benjamin Low

It starts with a constituent – emphasis on constituent – presenting his IC to the volunteer staff and registering their issue at a registration booth. They will then be ushered to a representative of the MP known as a ‘writer’, who listens to their grievance(s) and examines their supporting documents before crafting a plea which typists print out before the MP reads. If he sees the case as genuinely requiring attention, he signs and sends it out. Not every case can be helped, and not every appeal is successful. While the same case may be sent to higher levels of authority in the hope of success, there are practical limits to what can be done.

Take for example the following case. Names are not mentioned in respect of the residents’ confidentiality.

Mr. M has just served time for substance abuse, and is now trying to find a job that will accept his low education qualifications. His ex-wife and son still have a backlog of debts owed to the HDB for failing to pay rent. He hopes to work in the security industry because of its better pay. The application got rejected, and so he appeals to the MP.

As it is, most of their savings have been depleted trying to make ends meet while he was in jail, and they can at best sustain a subsistence standard of living for a few months. His son is too young to work, while his ex-wife’s mother is too old to do so. There are thus two dependents.

While it is understandable that Mr. M would like to take a job that allows him to quickly stabilize his financial situation, his fresh criminal record obviously does not stand him in good stead with the security industry. His arms are also branded with multiple tattoos, making him less marketable in an industry that needs to present a professional and reassuring front.

Short of giving outright cash, there was nothing the writer could do except to refer him to a job-matching scheme known as Project Success. While his plight is understandably difficult, there is little that can be done aside from charity – which government policy disallows. Encouraging a “crutch mentality” was never seen as desirable.

Mr. M’s genre is not uncommon. Most of the issues encountered were with regards to financial difficulties. Most of these were either due to fines that the lower income could barely afford to pay or HDB rentals that threaten the roof over their heads. When asked what he would best advise the public, writer Mr. Joey Ng says, “Think before you act. Don’t regret it later.” And this makes sense, for the hefty fines of impartial justice can destroy the poor man’s savings.

It is under the repeated emotional stress of handling such issues session after session that the writer begins to become ‘numb’ and does his work mechanically - Listen, ask, and write – sometimes rudely or insensitively. The writer is not there to chide the residents who are already in a messy situation, nor is he there to promise results. Under such conditions, the writer (already tired out from his day job) is expected to exercise critical thinking to ask for the necessary facts that go into crafting an informed plea and not become irrational with the residents’ plight and present a skewed understanding of the situation.

Since both the writer and the residents are under stress the task of motivation and creating an atmosphere that speaks of something other than depression falls on the MP. Mr. Teo does this through leadership by example. Contrary to the popular belief that the MP is never around, Mr. Teo makes it a point to come for every session. He doesn’t sit in the office but walks around listening and asking about the residents’ complaints while also checking up on the writers. Such actions reassure the residents – and voters – that their MP actually hears what they have to say. Even though he is not obliged to do so, Mr. Teo also attends to PRs and foreigners who knock on his door but only after fulfilling his obligation to his constituents. The care extends beyond the MPS. PAP Brach Chief Mr. Sonny Tan reveals that when the MP goes on his walk-about he makes it a point to visit some of those who have sought his help.

This however doesn’t mean he is immune to the drab and deadening routine. Mr. Teo mentioned a case where an able-bodied man came in and demanded a HDB flat outright. He refused to disclose his income level and any other details, to which a slightly angered Mr. Teo walked off. Mr. Teo later remarked that this slightly impassioned encounter made him feel more human, which is a sentiment expressed by some of the other more experienced writers.

“Re-humanisation” comes in other forms too. Sometimes one may chance upon a case which fills one with pity:

Mr. F is a ‘store-keeper’ in his mid-forties who has fallen in love with a domestic worker from Myanmar. He has dated her for two years and they have decided to get married. There is a problem though, for he is intellectually-challenged and has an income that barely exceeds $1000 per month. His bride-to-be, Ms. R, only has a primary level education from a state not exactly known for a high quality of education. Mr. F also faces a cognition barrier which limits his ability to upgrade himself. In fact, his pastor had to come and speak on his behalf. The government is thus worried if they can sustain themselves on their meager income especially when there is the obvious risk of a child being born.

While it is understandable that the government would not want to take the high risk of incurring social leeches from their union, it is lamentable that natural human sentiments and passions are thus denied out of macro-social necessity. The best the writer can do is to keep trying on his behalf (8 times and counting) and not dampen his spirits – he already knows, at least on an intuited level, that the odds are not in his favour. There is no need to break his heart any further by calling it useless and throwing out his case. Keep trying, and maybe someone higher up may find a better way.

By now, one may think that the MPS is a chamber bearing the echoes of sorrow - which isn’t too far from the truth – but since it is so reflective of modern life, there is also a lighter side. Take this for instance. The government encourages active ageing, but here is a sturdy matriarch of a senior citizen who takes it a step further and ages with activism:

Mdm. K came in and sat down at our table, arms folded upon an upright umbrella that doubled as a walking cane. She is an old ‘customer’, having come in 7 times before. The same issue arises: her campaign for a sheltered link-way.

She says that on rainy days, she and other older folk have to take a longer sheltered route from a nearby bus-stop to their flat. Older folk found this most inconvenient due to their limited stamina and so she came to the MPS to ask for a more direct sheltered link-way.

The MPS conveyed to her the Town Council’s polite rejection, “We have taken your comments into consideration”, which she promptly dismissed and renewed her campaign asking for a definite yes or no reply. The Town council then sent a second reply, “We have deliberated over your concerns and accede to your request for a sheltered link-way” but still she came back, now asking when it will be done for the Town Council did mention that it had numerous projects queued.

Each time she came, she would somehow blame the writer (somehow always Mr. Joey Ng) and scold him in Chinese for the Town Council’s replies. Her vehemence and persistence, while rightly deserving admiration and respect, seem almost comical when thus expressed. When I spoke to her, she righteously recounted that when she was 10, MM Lee had asked what her family and others in the area wanted. They said that they wanted water supply, which he built “very fast” (很快的) and commented on how today’s PAP leaders fail to match up. She doesn’t seem to realize that times have become more complex, hence the bureaucratic delay, though this isn’t an excuse for tardiness. She made the scene seem more like a typical channel 8 drama than a serious political establishment, and we couldn’t help but laugh once she left. This could be the stuff of plays: The Campaign to confer the Public Service Star on Madam K.

However, it is alarming to note that the demographic trends observed within this time and space is not reflective of national demographics as a whole. About half of the residents coming in are from the minority groups.

All in all, volunteering at MPS allows one to see the side of life that isn’t usually reported in the papers. Fellow NYJCian Sim Shinwei notes, “The whole experience was a real surprise and eye-opener for me. It’s amazing how much we’ve learnt within our short attachment there.”

It is an ideal experience for anyone who desires first-hand knowledge of the common man’s concerns and a strong reminder that the price of meritocracy is that not everyone has a nice slice of the economic pie.

By Benjamin Low (guest writer)