Welcome and Thank you for coming to our rally, my friends and fellow Singaporeans. Thank you for coming down to Serangoon Stadium this evening. Today, I am going to speak to all of you here directly from the bottom of my heart. Fellow Singaporeans – we have come to the tail end of a long journey, a journey which started not 9 days but 1,460 days ago on 6 May 2006. Your voice and your eagerness to hear what we have to say have brought us thus far. Your vote for the Workers’ Party this coming May the 7th will set Singapore on her next lap, a lap where the baton is passed from one Singaporean to another.
In a contest as long and difficult as this campaign has been, the spirit, perseverance and the determination of every Workers’ Party member commands my respect. In the eyes of every Workers’ Party member, I see courage and a consuming determination to bring about the breakthrough that Singapore needs. From Uncle Ee Ping, the veteran and long-time stalwart of the Workers’ Party to Bernard Chen, my most faithful election agent, who has selflessly walked with me on this long journey, I salute each and everyone of you. Thank you. Thank you.
The Workers’ Party and Singapore is stronger today because of these individuals and their efforts. I thank all of you for contributing to the nation-building efforts of this young and beautiful nation which you and I call home.
In the eyes of every volunteer, I see nothing but pride, pride to recognise themselves as a true blue Singaporean, where the meaning of the pledge resonates in their hearts, where the spirit of our anthem is played continuously as they take every step with me. Majulah Singapura! Majulah Singapura!
I owe my campaign to many people. People whom I did not even know 2 months ago like Marcus, Simon, Binson, Leandra, Sandeep, Azam, my uncle, my family and my husband, are now my closest team mates in this campaign (forgive me if I have forgotten any one). They have stood by me, shared my laughter (my short temper? sometimes) and my worries. They motivated me and reminded me constantly of the responsibilities that I have to shoulder as a candidate.
In you, I see courage, courage to stand with the Workers’ Party, and courage to hold our flag high. Two words. Two words continue to be proclaimed through the evening sky. Two words which have given my colleagues and me so much encouragement and strength. Two words which have brought you from the four corners of this island to stadium after stadium, open field after open field. Be it wet or dry, you came.
Today, as we gather in Serangoon Stadium once again, these two words will continue way into this Thursday night and into Cooling Off Day.
These two words are “Workers’ Party”!
Throughout the campaign we have tried to convince you that elections matter, that we are a credible party with credible alternatives to a PAP that only knows how to threaten you and apologise at the last minute.
We stand before you, proud to be a Singaporean, proud to represent you, proud to be of service to you, proud to stand with you, and proud to call you my fellow brothers and sisters.
This is a watershed election and I am proud to be a small part of it. Come 7 May 2011, I hope that Singapore will make its first step towards a First World Parliament. And we can do this, if you vote for us. Vote Workers’ Party.
Tonight, when you depart from this stadium, remember that we have come a long way since 1965. As a young Singaporean I supported the PAP, I believed that they were the best thing for our society but I stand before you as a 33-year old woman who has had enough of them. They don’t care about rising costs, they give themselves big fat salaries, they have lost the moral integrity needed in any leader.
They have become our managers, our bosses, here to tell us what to do, how to think, but they have forgotten how to lead. Why do I say this? Because they no longer know how to listen to the people, to ordinary people like you and me. They listen to each other but you have heard our leader, Mr Low, tell you how lonely it is to be an opposition in a Parliament where there are 82 of them and 2 of us.
On 7 May 2011, as you walk to the nearest polling centre, take a glimpse at the pink card that you hold in your hands, the card that identifies us together under one common citizenship, living up to the words of our pledge, “We, the citizens of Singapore, pledge ourselves as one united people” I
You hold the future of our nation in your hands.
I trust you, fellow Singaporeans, and I know you will do the right thing by your opposition.
This election is more than just upgrading, upgrading and more upgrading! It is a vote to bring into focus again the real needs of ordinary Singaporeans. We bring you a whole range of talent – From business expertise to social work know-how to teachers in both secondary school and tertiary sector, we bring many skills. And we bring you the heart that is sorely missing in the PAP until the last minute or until it is election time.
In this election, there is only one agenda that will REALLY matter - your agenda. We say to you: for you, your children and Singapore, it cannot be business as usual. What specific policies have you heard from the PAP. Last night at Ubi, Mr Low went through a list of these and i summarise:
1. What plans do they have for our HDB flats since PAP keeps telling us that “the PAP had enhanced our assets”. We don’t want to work our whole life just to pay for our flats.
2. What concrete plans do they have for our youth who have to borrow from the bank for their tertiary studies?
3. What is the point in asking retailers to hold their prices while ministers’ salaries are increased?
4. What plans are there to help people who are in the 50s, unemployed and who cannot draw their CPF to pay for their medical bills?
If you think it’s time the PAP gave you some straight answers, give us a chance on Saturday, vote for us and let us show you what we can do.
My name is Lee Li Lian, the Workers’ Party candidate for Punggol East SMC.
On 7 May 2011, vote for me, Vote Workers’ Party, Towards a First World Parliament.
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