Want N-Day Rally seat? Tell PM Lee

Want N-Day Rally seat? Tell PM Lee

In a first, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has asked his social media followers to let him know if they are keen to attend this year's National Day Rally, and if so, why.

He has set aside some seats at the year's most important political address, for some of his followers.

In a post on his Facebook page yesterday, Mr Lee wrote: "Each year, I invite leaders and representatives of different groups to the Rally. This year, I have decided to reserve some seats for you - the ones following me on social media."

He has close to 400,000 followers on Facebook alone.

A video, with instructions for those who are interested, was also uploaded.

They are to post their reasons for why they think they should be invited to the Rally on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, using the hashtag #InviteMetoNDR.

They should then e-mail the link and their identity card number to ndr@pmo.gov.sg.

Mr Lee also said that in this year's Rally, which will take place on Aug 17, he will speak on the challenges that Singapore faces, how they can be addressed, and map out the vision for the country's future.

His post racked up more than 1,000 likes and 200 comments within a couple of hours.

Among those who are taking Mr Lee up on his offer is Mr Borhan Saini, 53, who last attended the Rally back in 2006.

"This is a good move by the PM, a new way he's engaging all layers of the public," said Mr Borhan, who is self-employed.

Dentist Nicholas Tan, 28, who has never attended a Rally before, has always looked forward to watching it on television and thinks it would be a privilege to be there in person this year.

He said the General Election in 2011 was a "turning point" in the way the Government reached out to the people. Since then, it has formed more focus groups to get a better sense of sentiments on the ground, paving the way for better policies in areas such as health care and transport, he said.

"We have just passed the halfway mark on the elected term of this Government, and I would love to hear PM Lee's reflections on what went well, what could have been better done and what's in store for Singaporeans," he added.

asyiqins@sph.com.sg


This article was first published on July 27 2014.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

This website is best viewed using the latest versions of web browsers.