People's Association peddling political influence during Edusave Awards presentation ceremony

By Emily Riot

“I will be the last person to ever allow the People’s Association to be politicized” – Chan Chun Sing during the Committee of Supply debate in parliament, 14 April 2016.


Was a lie told in Parliament? Over the weekend, my son who is studying in Primary 2 attended the Edusave Awards presentation ceremony organized by People's Association (PA), where he picked up his Edusave Merit Bursary. Two unsavoury encounters stood out:


1. During registration PA staff implored us to follow chairman of Eunos ward Mr Jagathishwaran Rajo's social media accounts; he was there to present certificates and take group photos with award recipients. My son asked whether he is the Member of Parliament (MP) in charge of our constituency, to which I replied no. Mr Pritam Singh is.


2. Towards the end of the ceremony when we were about to exit the premises, folks stationed at a PA booth slithered up to us, badgering me and my husband to no end to volunteer with PA. Because this was supposed to be an occasion to solely celebrate students’ achievements, naturally it rankled.


If I may suggest, that for such future events a high-level Ministry of Education (MOE) offial instead take charge of meting out the accolades, so as to ensure things remain harmoniously apolitical.


To the government as well as ruling People's Action Party (PAP), we must do better!


Silver lining: Beyond the physical certificate accorded, my son was also gifted $120 worth of Popular Book vouchers. One niggling question though - who actually might be funding these generous disbursements?


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