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Seventh-month dinner snub for Show Mao
Tue, Aug 23, 2011 | The New Paper
By Benson Ang
Controversy has broken afresh online after Members of Parliament (MPs) from the opposition ward of Aljunied had their invitations withdrawn from at least one ghost month dinner.

Workers' Party (WP) MP for Aljunied GRC Chen Show Mao wrote on his Facebook page yesterday that he felt "a little wistful" looking at his calendar entries.

He explained that he had been scheduled to attend such a dinner last week, but the organisers had called to let him know that they could not have him show up as originally hoped.

Ghost month dinners are commonly held as part of the Chinese Hungry Ghost Month celebrations. Often, grassroots leaders are invited to these community events.

But in this case, organisers had - according to Mr Chen's post - been told by the Paya Lebar Citizens' Consultative Committee (CCC, under the People's Association) that, as a condition for receiving CCC approval to use a planned venue in the HDB estate, they "may no longer" invite the Aljunied opposition MPs.

Mr Chen wrote: "The organisers were profusely apologetic. It pains me that they felt so embarrassed to pass me the news."

It was not the first time it had happened, he added.

Another organiser also had to withdraw their invitation, and Mr Chen attached a scanned copy of the apology card to his Facebook posting.

While the names were removed, netizens can plainly see that the writer had attributed the retraction to some "disagreement" with the Paya Lebar CCC.

Mr Chen described the card as from "another distraught organiser who applied to use a different venue in the same ward".

When contacted, WP chairman Sylvia Lim said the dinners were organised by groups of residents, who were asked to apply for the use of certain sites through the CCC.

She replied in a text message: "We understand that they (the residents) were told they should not invite WP MPs or they would not be approved to use the site in subsequent years."

Mr Chen said that it was okay whether residents wanted to invite him or not - and acknowledged that perhaps some would not want him at the dinners - but "there is really no call to force our residents into a quandary over whom they may invite as guests to their own events".

Role of CCC

However, Mr Lee Bak Lee, a vice-chairman of the Paya Lebar CCC, told The New Paper on Sunday last night that the CCC does not approve the use of common spaces.

The retiree, who has been involved in grassroots activities for more than 20 years, said: "The CCC's role is to help the residents who are in need of financial help get in touch with social workers, and agencies like the Community Development Councils."

"It does not give approval for residents to use venues. In any case, seven-month dinners are private gatherings organised by residents.

"The CCC cannot impose on them who to invite and who not to invite."

Mr Zaqy Mohamad, a People's Action Party MP for Chua Chu Kang GRC, told TNPS that it is usually the town councils that give approval for residents to use common areas for functions like dinners, weddings and funerals.

To his knowledge, there are no restrictions on whom the residents can invite or cannot invite.

TNPS sent an e-mail to Mr Chen last night, but did not receive a reply by press time.

The organiser of the dinner in question also would not comment.

By 11.30pm last night, there were more than 400 comments on Mr Chen's post.

Many were reacting to what they perceived as "unfair treatment" and some were upset at the perceived non-neutrality of the grassroots organisation.

One poster, who went by the name Josephine Tan, however, opined that Mr Chen should have gone through proper channels to resolve the problem rather than "incite anger among the people".

Many others simply encouraged Mr Chen not to be disheartened and to keep up his work.

This article was first published in The New Paper.