Campaigning for public office is tough when you’re not supposed to be out in public.
Braddell Heights rep Seah Kian Peng is in hot water after posing as a “safe-distancing monitor” to go strolling through a neighborhood market Sunday, visiting coffee shops and the wet market to chat with residents and take photos. He also donned a T-shirt representing his political ward.
It didn’t go over well with those sheltering at home as ordered.
“I thought that PAP already announced that all ground activities have been suspended? Why is this man breaking laws and his own political party’s policy?” a man named Den Gogh wrote on Seah’s official page. He was among those calling Seah out for taking a nonessential trip and ignoring his own party’s suspension of ground campaigning.
Seah’s politically motivated and nonessential trip out of the house came just two weeks after the ruling People’s Action Party called off such canvassing after another MP drew flak for a hawker center meet-and-greet.
Others accused Seah of impersonating one of the authorized, volunteer monitors who are allowed to go outside. Seah did not appear to be wearing an armband or carrying a pass indicating he was one of them.
“Where is your SDA pass? Shouldn’t it be displayed prominently so that people can identify you? And taking selfie on the job shows your lack of commitment in performing your duties, even if you’ve volunteered for it. You can’t blame people for thinking that you’re doing a walkabout disguis[ed] as an SDA, as your actions are creating exactly such an impression,” user Patrick Tay said.
Seah donned a mask during his walk but said people still recognized him.
“Even with a mask on, most people seem to be able to recognize me,” his post read. It came with hashtags that included “#walkabout,” which is usually used by politicians out glad-handing to boost their electoral prospects.
Later Monday, after this story was published, Seah responded to the criticism to say he had spent most of last week at home apart from a Thursday outing to check on a supermarket initiative and Sunday’s visit to the market “to sign some documents.”
It was during the latter trip when he “would pass by the kopitiams in estate and also the wet market too.”
“As I did this, I was also closely observing if residents and merchants were practising the safe distancing measures and as I said in my observations, I am happy that situation is very good and things are all in order.”
He added: “Thanks all for your concern and apologies if I caused some to be perturbed by my posting.”
Singapore’s next parliamentary election is expected to take place in the coming months but no date has been set.
In his post, Seah observed that most people were complying with COVID-19 measures by wearing face masks and scanning body temperatures.
A bill was introduced in Parliament earlier this month to provide special accommodation for voters under isolation orders to be able to vote.
Update: This story has been updated with Seah’s reaction to the criticism.
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