cHyOrK: >>
The first day of campaigning! I visited the Marine Parade GRC's rally, held by NSP.
It was a large turnout. It was estimated that there were 5000-6000 people, but it was still nothing compared to WP's 15,000 people in Hougang.
It was my chance to get to hear from all 5 candidates of this NSP team, who's trying to get my vote.
I heard Abdul Salim first, the Malay candidate for this GRC. I didn't manage to catch much of his English speech before his Malay speech.
Next was Cheo Chai Chen, an ex-MP. He spoke alot on social issues but I think he should have displayed a more powerful tone in the speech, so as to be more assertive, if he wanted to arouse sentiments.
Spencer Ng was the next speaker. He did speak well, with an assertive tone, and touched base with many issues too. By now, the crowd was warmed up and there were consistent cheers whenever the sentiment calls for it.
The star of the night was non other than Nicole Seah. The crowd cheered loudly for her and was chanting "Nicole Seah! Nicole Seah!". It was as if people came just for her. Cameras were whipped out and cheers and applause were given. She didnt seem like a rookie politician at all. She spoke with much gusto and force, was eloquent and drew the most attention and cheers.
"I want to ask the PM: WHO is funding your upgrading plans? I want to ask the PM: WHO is paying for YOUR salary? WHO is funding your Grow-and-Share packages!"
She spoke on 3 main issues, including one on the large influx of foreign talents, which drew some laughter. Something along the lines of "Now I feel like I'm on a holiday. No need to stamp passport!"
She was also the only speaker who gave solutions on what the party would do, which were also described in the party's manifesto, including the popular proposal of lowering GST.
However, after she ended her speech, large numbers of people began leaving. It was obvious that most people came to listen to her. In my opinion, her rise in popularity was really partly thanks to Tin Pei Ling. Imagine, if PAP fielded another matured female candidate, the same Nicole Seah would not have stood out, no matter the fact that she's eloquent and is a thinker. Nobody would have envisioned this rippling effect happening now.
Anyway, the Marine Parade team's leader spoke after Nicole. Unfortunately, a sizeable number of people had left, and didn't listen to this Chinese-educated candidate. This makes me think about how much will the popularity of Nicole Seah translate into real votes. Probably not very high.
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For the 2nd day of campaigning, if nothing goes wrong, I guess I should be attending WP's Aljunied GRC rally. Updates soon.
人生是黑白的.
12:55 AM <3
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