Blast from the past: PSP reaches out to older voters via Wang Sha Ye Feng skit

With the battle for votes shifting online this general election, how are political parties reaching out to Singapore's older folks?

The Pioneer Generation, who may not be as tech-savvy as their younger countrymen, might be missing out on the campaign messages.

Hence, the Progress Singapore Party (PSP) has rolled out a skit filled with familiar faces — comedy duo Wang Sha Ye Feng from the 60s — to speak to elderly Singaporeans.

True to the original skit, PSP's Craig Teo and another member delivered the messages in fluent Teochew, interspersing it with Malay and Mandarin.

The pair kicked things off with a reminder of safe distancing measures during the Covid-19 situation.

They sounded some of the difficulties that seniors have keeping up with the times, such as the change of figures in the political scene.

[embed]https://www.facebook.com/craig.teo/videos/10157921305555172/[/embed]

Bursting into Hokkien song, "If I Had $1 Million", the duo then discussed some struggles that Singaporeans across the age spectrum are facing, such as bread and butter issues of seniors as well as unemployment and job instability of the middle-aged and the young.

That led to the introduction of party chief Dr Tan Cheng Bock, who they noted as someone that will help Singaporeans find solutions to these problems.

"Share with your Ah Gong, Ah Mah and all Pioneer Generation Singaporeans who don't speak English," Teo urged in a Facebook post on Wednesday (July 1).

lamminlee@asiaone.com