Pritam Singh’s pays tribute to elderly WP supporter who passed away at 90

Singapore – Leader of the Opposition (LO) and Workers’ Party (WP) chief, Pritam Singh took to social media to share a heartwarming story of how a 90-year-old grandfather with dementia made it known that he wanted to vote for WP during the 2020 General Elections.

On Tuesday (Oct 13), Mr Pritam uploaded a Facebook post with the heading, “Never Forgotten.” He received news that a “lifelong WP supporter” had passed away. “Terence got in touch with me about the passing of his 90-year-old grandfather earlier today, a lifelong WP supporter but who had been a dementia patient for the last 15 years or so,” wrote Mr Pritam.

The family shared their concern on whether their grandfather would be able to exercise his vote at GE2020 according to his wishes given his progressively worsening condition, said Mr Pritam. They found a unique yet effective way of discovering their granddad’s vote.

The family drew a ballot slip and asked him to mark the box of his choice. “They did it again. And again. And all three times, granddad made his intention known,” said Mr Pritam. Attached in his post was a photo of the makeshift ballot with the WP hammer encircled. A blurred image of granddad sitting could be seen in the background.

“It was an honour and a privilege for me to attend Mr Liow’s wake. Thank you, Terence. Sincere condolences to you and your family,” added Mr Pritam.

With over 4,000 likes and 100 comments since posting, members from the online community extended their condolences to the family and expressed support for WP. “Once a WP supporter, always a supporter,” said Facebook user Don Low while another commented, “once a hammer, always a hammer.”

“Dementia every other thing, but not the WP,” said Facebook user Henry Kong who thanked the grandpa for “seeing the spirit of Lee Kuan Yew in the box he marked.” Facebook user Keith Er observed, “even grandfather who has dementia knows it’s time for a change for the future generation.”

Others were heartened by the story and wished Mr Pritam and the team all the best, as the WP “have certainly touched the late Terence’s granddad, and surely many of us too.”

Dementia is the umbrella term for loss of memory, among other thinking abilities that are severe enough to inhibit someone from their daily activities. Alzheimer’s is the most common condition caused by dementia.

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