Netizens split on police rejection of Chee Soon Juan’s “Walk-the-Talk” fundraiser

Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) Secretary-General Dr Chee Soon Juan updated on Facebook yesterday (June 24) that the application for the “Walk-the-Talk” fundraiser was rejected by the police.

The “Walk-the-Talk” fundraiser is a three-day event, where Dr Chee will traverse Singapore on foot to raise funds for SDP. In SDP’s Meet-the-Press session yesterday (June 24), Dr Chee called the fundraiser “the exercise that was going to drive our fundraising”. Dr Chee held the fundraiser once before, in 2015 after the General Elections.

The reason stated in the rejection was “Cause-based activities, even if carried out by one individual, might cause crowds to gather, and put the public and participants at higher risk of COVID-19 infection.”

Under the new measures set out for campaigning during COVID-19 by the Elections Department, walkabouts and door-to-door campaigning are allowed, provided that candidates keep to the necessary precautions like maintaining safe distancing and refraining from shaking hands.

Also under the new measures, election meetings, rallies, and gatherings of supporters at places like the Assembly Centres on Counting Night are not allowed.

In his post on Facebook, Dr Chee pointed out that his fundraiser would not be that different from holding a walkabout, and questioned the authorities about the decision to hold the elections now since they are afraid of crowds gathering. 

Additionally, Dr Chee also appealed to Singaporeans to donate or buy SDP merchandise to contribute to their campaign.

Some netizens agreed with the decision to reject the application.

Some also saw it as Dr Chee being unprepared to stand for elections, or as using the rejection to garner sympathy.

However, other netizens also questioned the logic behind rejecting the application.

Other netizens praised his determination and efforts in campaigning for the upcoming elections.