GE2020: A day on the campaign trail with PAP's Grace Fu

The road to Polling Day isn't easy and candidates are busy running about (some literally) to garner support for GE2020.

If you've ever wondered what a day on the campaign trail is like, then Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Grace Fu is here to give you unobstructed access to what it's like to be on the ground.

In a video posted on Fu's Instagram earlier today (June 4), viewers were invited to go on a trip with Fu as she campaigned in Yuhua SMC. The video was recorded the day after Nomination Day, as pointed out by Fu.

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Fu started her day at 6.30am. She explained that some of her residents wake up early to get to work and from the time she's spent talking to them, she knows where to catch them while they're commuting to work.

"So it's my third campaign and I won't say that I'm nervous because this is a very familiar ground for me. But obviously this campaign is quite different from the past because the things that we used to do in the past two campaigns, we're not able to do," she added, possibly referring to large-scale physical rallies which have been banned due to Covid-19.

The lack of physical touch with residents is a "big difference", Fu said, as she pointed out that residents usually shake her hand or give her a hug to show their support.

By 7am, Fu reached the sheltered walkway at Chinese Garden MRT and distributed brochures to the working crowd for the next hour and a half. She revealed: "Sometimes when we do this here, we try to get a sense of the response of people. Depending on the issues on the ground, sometimes people are not very happy [and] it shows in their attitude towards us."

However, if anyone was displeased that day, they didn't show it as they greeted Fu warmly and accepted the brochures. A volunteer with Fu also checked if anyone had discarded them, but no one did.

Fu also hit up the Yuhua Village Market and Food Centre, which she described as "the heart of Yuhua", and one resident even confidently stated that she's got his vote. The PAP candidate explained: "I've been doing my grocery shopping for some time. I come here weekly, that's how I got to know them [the residents] better."

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At 10.30am, Fu dropped by the HDB blocks for a visit and chatted a little with the residents. She also said this is usually a good time to check in on the elderly, especially those who are living alone.

"Over the years, we've collected information from our various house visits. The families that have only a single elderly, we will mark it out so there's also a chance for us to just check on them."

House visits have been a weekly routine for the past 14 years, said Fu, who found that she's been able to build deeper bonds with her residents over the years as an MP.

She said: "[For] many of them, I've spent time talking to them, getting to know their family circumstances and really getting to know them as a friend. So this relationship is something that's built up over time so when I see them now, they know me."

Then it was off to the PAP HQ in East Coast GRC for a dialogue session before Fu headed back to Yuhua for her evening round of block visits. This is so Fu can catch up with "working people returning home". However, she added that there was something "slightly more peculiar" about Yuhua.

"There are many extended families who have their meals together. So sometimes you'd go to one flat and you'd see children with grandchildren coming back for dinner. So I look forward to catching them at the grandparents' house."

The evening block visits lasted for at least two hours — from 7pm to 9.15pm — and it marked the end of the day for her.

In the caption for her Instagram video, Fu wrote: "I am heartened by the words of encouragement from so many of you, and I promise to do my utmost to ensure that Yuhua continues to progress.

"I look forward to meeting even more of you in the days to come!"

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bryanlim@asiaone.com