Inspired by Dr Chee Soon Juan in his ardent endeavour in running in the Bukit Batok by-election, producer and director Tay Bee Pin (of Wormwood Films) reached out to the Singapore Democratic Party chief.
The motive? Have him sing classic Hokkien song ‘Ji Pa Ban’ in a music video dedicated to all those who’ll be heading to the polling stations this May 7.
A classic Getai tune, the song about the struggles of the working class takes on a more subdued tone in the context of Dr Chee, whose troubles with bankruptcy (due to defamation suits) held him back from politics. With him on guitars and vocals, the music video presents little vignettes of Bukit Batok and its residents’ dreams and hopes if they do get a million dollars. A sobering fact even gets brought up by a man who says “To be honest, $1 million in Singapore is not enough”. Sad, but true.
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