PAP's Marine Parade GRC candidate Edwin Tong slams vote-buying allegations over Joo Chiat Care & Share scheme

Edwin Tong, People’s Action Party’s candidate for Marine Parade GRC, has hit out at allegations that the Joo Chiat Care & Share Scheme is aimed at “buying votes”.

On Friday (July 3), former Singapore People’s Party member Jeannette Chong-Aruldoss made a Facebook post on how the “Call-To-Vote” flyer includes the line “one-time assistance of $500”, along with “the PAP logo, the candidate's photo and GE2020 media handles”. 

Chong-Aruldoss questioned: “Curious as to why the PAP candidate decided to mention this assistance sum of $500 as a sub-headline in his election flyer. Won’t voters be led to believe that voting for him in the coming GE2020 would come with such a benefit? Where does this money actually come from?”

[embed]https://www.facebook.com/jeannettechongaruldoss/posts/3109627682452826[/embed]

While Tong did not appear to directly address Chong-Aruldoss in his post, he slammed the “various vote-buying allegations” as “false, entirely unfounded, and clearly intended to mislead”. 

The Senior Minister of State stated that the scheme was meant to assist elderly residents of Joo Chiat and that funds were raised from well-wishers’ donations. 

He wrote: “The Care & Share Scheme is aimed at helping elderly residents of Joo Chiat who might be in financial difficulties, to help tide over the difficult Covid period."

He also added that "no funds from the Government, PA or PAP were used to do this” and that the money was raised from "well-wishers who made donations". 

He went on to explain that the scheme was conceptualised before the circuit breaker and launched “even before the GE was called”.

“Further, it is not only valid during the elections, as claimed. It is in fact valid regardless of any elections,” Tong stated, calling the allegations “cynical and scurrilous attacks, calculated to undermine the good work done at Joo Chiat”.

[embed]https://www.facebook.com/edwintongSC/posts/3048107571942001[/embed]

Others on PAP’s five-member team contesting Marine Parade GRC include Tan Chuan-Jin, Seah Kian Peng, and newcomers Dr Tan See Leng and Fahmi Aliman. 

The team will go up against the Workers' Party’s Yee Jenn Jong, Ron Tan and new faces Nathaniel Koh, Fadli Fawzi, and Azhar Abdul Latip.

candicecai@asiaone.com