'No one joins the opposition to play games': WP's Abdul Shariff Aboo Kassim

Workers' Party member Abdul Shariff Aboo Kassim has come out against comments that the opposition party is "playing games with voters".

Abdul Shariff and his team comprising Nicole Seah, Dylan Ng, Terence Tan, and Kenneth Foo, are contesting in East Coast GRC.

They are going up against the People's Action Party team of Heng Swee Keat, Maliki Osman, Jessica Tan, Cheryl Chan, and new face Tan Kiat How.

In a Facebook post today (July 7), Abdul Shariff touched on a conversation he had with a resident, who shared reports he'd read "about us 'playing games with voters".

That particular remark was made by DPM Heng with regards to the Non-constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) Scheme — a hotly-debated topic among this year's GE candidates.

Heng had said in a speech posted to his social media pages on July 5: "They are playing games with voters. Voters are entitled to know what the WP's stand is. They should not be made to think that the WP will refuse NCMP seats, the opposition risks extinction, and so vote for them.

"Then after the elections, the WP takes up NCMP seats that they are offered. And in this way, they can have their cake and eat it."

In his post, Abdul Shariff emphasised that joining the opposition "is a serious business of offering Singaporeans an alternative voice", and that the opposition is an "integral part of any democratic structure and is instrumental in ensuring good governance". 

[embed]https://www.facebook.com/abdulshariff.sg/posts/135527674844171[/embed]

He also shared his family's trepidations when he first decided to contest in this year's election.

He wrote: "When I first told my wife about my wish to contest in this General Election, for some time, she became quiet, worried about what will happen to me and our family. To compound the problem, I had to give up my job to stand as a candidate. 

"It took a while before she finally told me to go ahead and give my absolute best so that I will look back at my life with no regrets."

[email protected]