Open Letter To Mr Samir Neji

As a resident and voter of Bukit Batok, I have spoken to Mr Samir Neji and sent him a text message to withdraw his candidacy to give voters a chance to chose between two credible parties - parties that are run by Singaporeans for Singaporeans ie the SDP or the PAP.

Bukit Batok SMC now faces a three-cornered fight created by an independent candidate who sneaked in out of no where at the last minute.  What is disturbing about him is  the fact that he has absolutely no visible or verifiable grassroots or local civic involvement in Singapore .  Absolutely NOTHING .  All that is known about him is that he is the MD of Anaplan Asia Pte Ltd &  lives  with his family in an upscale condominium in Keppel Bay. Anaplan  does not have a website  ( there is only a static page and a short description about him  ) and numerous calls to his office  throughout the day  have gone unanswered.

 AT NOMINATION DAY

For the record, Samir came in on nomination day ( Sept 1 ) without meeting the basic requirements to allow him to stand for election. ( I was in the nomination hall at Kemming Primary School.) Nomination rules require that each nominee should have a proposer, a seconder and four assentors, whose names must appear in the register of electors for the constituency that the candidate  seeks election in.  Samir did not have the adequate number of people. I was in shock and utter disbelief when I saw  supporters from the PAP  who came forward to make up the requisite four assentors, thus ushering him into the election process.

Speaking at nomination centre Sept 1

TRULY BIZZARE

Samir has heaped praise on Singapore, for  giving him & a new and better life which he could NEVER have in Kerala, south India. He lives in an upscale condominium at Keppel Bay which most Singaporeans cant afford and has established his business here .  He could have shown his gratitude by giving of his time to worthwhile civic, charity causes  or engage himself meaningfully in grassroots activities . Instead, he has chosen to fight against the ruling party which has given him and his family a better life . ??  What is more bizzare is that without the support of  the PAP assentors ( who were in party  uniform ) he would have been disqualified as a candidate .

Furthermore, having lived here for 15 years, Samir should be aware of the resentment among Singaporeans regarding the huge influx of foreigners into Singapore. In fact overpopulation is the mother of all our problems. For him  to stand in as a candidate knowing full wel the sentiments of singaporeans towards the massive flow of foreigners &  to offer nothing but creating 'start ups' in  bukit batok is nothing short of  humiliating us.

ROLE OF AN MP

The role of an MP is one that is not to be taken lightly :  strength of character is an important virtue that a candidate should possess. For Mr Samir to come so ill-prepared to the nomination centre, & without any credibility or track record to show his sincerity in serving the people is akin to showing total disrespect for Singapore's electoral process, and to have assentors from the PAP  backing someone like him makes one wonder if there is more to it than meets the eye.

He  may have business acumen but does not have the character or  proven qualities to be an MP of Bukit Batok  and should withdraw from this contest. Residents of Bukit Batok  should be voting in candidates who will be their representatives and voice in parliament, and the only way voters can predict how a potential MP will govern is to examine what the candidate stands for  and whether the candidate understand the aspirations, needs and psyche of Singaporeans.. This requires careful and deliberate examination of the candidate's history, track record and test of character. Samir may have an acumen for business and he should stick to that. Bukit Batok is not his playground to further his business interests - he should approach SPRING, the EDB or other bodies for that .

START UP VILLAGE

Samir has  clearly taken advantage of  our country  and made a mockery of our electoral system .  Here is a new citizen, trying to springboard straight into parliament with a blank record as far as civic and grassroots involvement is concerned. This is in stark contrast to the incumbent party, the PAP and the alternative party (SDP )- both of which have  worked the ground, has a manifesto on how to improve Singaporeans' life as well as ample information about the party that is publicly accessible on the their respective websites and social media.  Samir  Neji has absolutely NONE of the above . All that he plans to do is to turn Bukit Batok into a' start up village ' - this he openly declares in his Twitter account which he uses to promote his business.

In an interview with TODAY newspaper as reported by Valerie Koh, Mr Samir says “I want Singapore to have in the next five years probably 10 Facebooks, Ubers — those kind of companies. .  He then goes on to say : This can be a start-up village for Singapore. The vision is build this place as a start-up entrepreneur (place) so that we drive more jobs and employment.”

Wow, ! More jobs and employment - what noble aspirations - this would be of great help to India - we do not have a problem with unemployment in Singapore  . The mother of all problems in Singapore is over crowding !!  There are other avenues provided by the Singapore government  where Mr Samir can approach with his 'start up ' ideas, but  one cannot but help wondering if  he is running as a candidate  to serve the residents of Bukit Batok or to promote his own business interests ?

Samir has no track record of service to the community while  the other two contenders in Bukit Batok have . Current MP Mr David Ong is a public figure - his work is open for all to see and there are many platforms where one can obtain information about him .   Mr Sadavasan of alternative party the SDP was a teacher, grassroots leader and unionist. He served in several capacities in grassroots organisations of Ayer Rajah Constituency under former PAP MP Dr Tan Cheng Bock.  During his teaching days, he was President of the Singapore Tamil Teachers Union. Samir is not in any way a worthy opponent against these two respected men & it is a shame he's contesting .

The electoral department should look into this policy of allowing new citizens to contest in parliamentary elections. The rules should be amended so that candidates who stand in for election MUST be born in Singapore - otherwise, we will see more new candidates  from India, PRC, Philippines, Myanmar etc

One facebook comment  puts this in its proper perspective : " Sonia Gandhi was not allowed to be PM as she was not born in India, but this joke is happening here . I  am feeling so disgusted "

Another facebook comment :  " But there are other dicey stuff emerging. ( about Samir Neji) .. by checking through LinkedIn it appears he's the nightmare PAP created through their crap immigration policies. I found out hat the top posts  in Anaplan Singapore are all Indians from his kampong.. all with qualifications from lousy source. So basically he's  hiring his own kind. Thats always the main strategy to game the system. If the core consists of true blue Singaporeans we would have called his bluff early ... so must gang up with country mates. So country mates also use high position to apply for PR and citizenship. PAP allows foreigers to con us in our own country.  "

Samir Neji does not have a credible track record or manifesto  to stand in as a candidate in Bukit Batok and he should withdraw his candidacy immediately. If he gets elected into Parliament through a freak result, it would make a mockery of Singapore and its electoral system and cause more resentment against the PAP for allowing this to happen .