Chapter 30 Chapter 30 Non-stop visits to constituencies

The officials who accompanied me in the constituencies I visited gradually developed a strong team spirit.They have painstakingly made many visits.After listening to my explanations and advice on how to improve the lot of the people of Singapore, they began to agree with me.Together, from November 1962 to January 1963, we faced an apathetic, unresponsive, and sometimes hostile crowd.As I gradually break through and get on well with the people, they see that as their achievement as well. December 1962 to September 1963 was the busiest period of my life.Apart from the constant arguments with Tan Siew Sin and other Tunku ministers in Kuala Lumpur, Lim Yew Hock in Singapore, the Rakyat Rakyat and Barisan Barisan, the threat from Indonesia was growing.In the meantime, I have to get the voters to support us in the next election, which I have decided cannot be delayed until after the merger.When the communists parted ways with us, they destroyed our party branch, and they also destroyed the People's Association and the Jianguo team.It will take at least two years to restore the PAP's strong organization; Goh Keng Swee and I have settled on a simple strategy, believing that it will not take that long to get the grassroots back to support us.

From the Registrar of Societies, we found the staff lists of all grassroots mass organizations, from clan associations, charity organizations to the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce, from retailer groups to sports groups, from chess groups to military port libraries, and so on.We excluded all pro-Communist organizations, such as the Chinese School Alumni Association and the Chinese Music Association. Immediately after the referendum, I made a series of visits to various constituencies.The initial focus was on the constituencies with the most blank votes, which were rural constituencies such as Jurong, Thomson, Kampung Kelangan and Jalan Kayu.At the beginning, I went to a constituency for a full-day visit every month, and then gradually increased to one every two weeks and one every week.As the day of Malaysia approached, it was increased to two, three and four per week.In the end, in order to visit the 51 constituencies, I went there almost every day, and sometimes even visited two or three urban constituencies a day until late at night.

Prior to the visit, government officials accompanied the district councillor (or, in the case of an opposition constituency, representatives from other constituencies) to the local area to mobilize shopkeepers, known community leaders and leaders of all local organizations to assist them in developing their plans.These people would then welcome me to their constituencies and join me in discussing their problems and needs.I went there in an open jeep with a speaker mounted on the car and a microphone in my hand, speaking to the crowd.I stipulated where to stay, and they had already gathered there to wait.Our plan worked.As soon as the communists lost the referendum and the people knew they had won only 25% of the blank vote, everyone cheered up.They are now ready to stand up for us.

Shopkeepers and grassroots leaders would welcome me with large, heavy wreaths.Wreaths are marigolds, plumerias, and sometimes even orchids, paper flowers for poorer groups.These garlands are decorated and tied with wire.Representatives of the Chinese community presented me with silk banners embroidered with names and golden words of support for us.I gathered dozens of pennants and hung them where they last invited me to the open-air dinner.The dinner was a table of 10, at least 20, sometimes as many as 50, and the successful owners paid for me and the leaders of their constituencies. The visit was very successful.I made an argument against the unreasonable demands of Tan Siew Sin and Tun Razak, and people supported me.More and more people have visited, and more and more people with status.The leaders were eager to welcome me and show me their support for the PAP government.The officials who visited the constituency with me followed up and listened to people's demands for paving roads, opening ditches, supplying electricity, installing street lights, water taps, and setting up clinics, schools, and community centers.Ask them to deal with the easy ones immediately; if it is difficult, I promise to study and satisfy them.Contact offices were useful for disseminating information to counter Communist propaganda.We start building.It was a simple wooden building with an asbestos ceiling, a concrete floor, electric lights, a ceiling fan, a ping-pong table, a recreational ball table, and a black and white TV.

I had to stop now and then along the way, delaying time, and the welcome committee would wait for hours.Old ladies and little girls would ask me to deal with personal issues.Indians would take me to the temple.Drop flowers in the aisle I'm going down and put a dot of color on my forehead.That's a sign of respect for the guest of honor.The Chinese would also take me to their temples and welcome me by beating gongs and lions in front of the gate.It is a good thing for their believers that the prime minister visits their places of worship.I would burn incense in front of an altar, some of which were dedicated to Buddhist deities and some to Taoist deities.The Malays would greet me with a drum band of 12 to 14 young men with tambourines and tambourines; on the leader's head.

Barisan supporters would boo and boo me on some roadsides, booing and taunting me.One day I passed Huaqiao High School, forty or fifty students covered the lower part of their faces with handkerchiefs and held up placards accusing me of betraying the people.One afternoon in Whampoa, Barisan gangsters with black society gangster tattoos on their forearms surrounded me and tried to push me into a big ditch.Security officials intervened quickly and dealt with them firmly, allowing me to leave.Pro-Sosisan union members hurled abuse upstairs in the clubhouse.One night, they threatened me loudly in Hong Lim District and displayed protest banners on the rooftop.I asked the TV crew to point the lights at them and filmed their shots, and they disappeared automatically when they turned off the lights.I asked them to show up, come down and argue with me, and they wouldn't.I pointed out to thousands of people around me that when the masses openly confronted the Communists, they turned off the lights and hid in the dark.

These visits are tiring and draining.On Sunday mornings I start at eight o'clock, and on weekdays not long after lunch.Afternoons are always hot and humid.At each stop I give a 10 to 15 minute speech, maybe half an hour to an hour in two or three languages.Sometimes I give speeches 10 times a day, each time in Malay, English, Hokkien or Chinese, and I always sweat profusely.I would have three or four vests and shirts with me, and now and then I would sneak into the toilet or the back of the store to change into dry clothes.I also brought a small towel to wipe the sweat off my face.There are hundreds of handshakes if not thousands of times every day. From time to time, someone would hold my right hand so hard that it was bruised and painful.His back was also bruised and sore from hitting the metal rung of the jeep.In order to let my right hand rest, I learned to stretch out my left hand, and at the same time put my tiger's mouth close to the opponent's tiger's mouth to prevent my fingers from being squeezed.The Jeep's rungs were later wrapped in thick towels to soften the crash.

I was young at the time, less than 40 years old, full of energy.I was encouraged by the overwhelming response from the people.I speak Hokkien and Mandarin, which convinced the Chinese that I am not a British puppet, but a fighter for their future.The Malays supported me because they saw me fighting the Chinese communists.The Indians are small in number and feel intimidated. I am relieved to find that I mingle with all ethnic groups, speak Bazaar Malay and English to them, and even say hello to them in Tamil. An exquisite ivory sculpture Each visit is more successful.Word spread quickly through conversations in coffee shops, newspapers and television coverage.Enthusiasm was running high, especially among shopkeepers and community leaders.I became a political "pop star".Many shopkeepers who were against the young communists and had to donate money to them now had the opportunity to show who they really supported - me and the government.When I was on the podium, they not only delivered the wreaths and banners themselves, but also brought souvenirs from the display cabinet at home, wrapped them with a red ribbon, and added a red card with their name and address written on them, wishing me good luck.One gift that I will not forget was a fine old ivory sculpture of a galleon held on a black-lacquered board in a glass case.This is the most precious artwork of the owner.He was a shopkeeper, about fifty years old, with gray temples.He wished me a long and happy life in Hokkien.This work of art still sits in my drawing room today as a cherished gift.It reminds me of the exhilarating times when people warmed to me and accepted me as their leader.The trust these small shopkeepers place in me inspires me to keep fighting.

The success of the visit led Lim Yeow Hock to question in Parliament how much the self-governing state had paid for it.But I can answer that there is no misuse of public funds, because the expenses for reception and snacks are all paid by the people themselves.The credit should go to the organizers, who are proud to have won the support of the people for me.Local leaders love to see themselves on TV welcoming me and sitting with me on stage or at the dinner table.The situation has changed and I feel it. The officials who followed me to visit constituencies gradually developed a strong team spirit.They have painstakingly made many visits.After listening to my explanations and advice on how to improve the lot of the people of Singapore, they began to agree with me.Together, from November 1962 to January 1963, we faced an apathetic, unresponsive, and sometimes hostile crowd.As I gradually break through and get on well with the people, they see that as their achievement as well.These included Malay drivers of jeeps.He had to sit still and listen to me speak hundreds of times in a language he didn't understand, until I spoke Malay before his spirits lifted.There are Veterinary Department officials, Public Works officials who manage roads and ditches, Utilities officials who supply water and electricity, and radio and television crews.

They all cheered for me, including Liang Jingbing, a Chinese female recorder of the TV station.Her husband, Pu Dehua, was the Singapore correspondent of London's "Observer".Pu Dehua described her experience in one of his books: "Sometimes we will arrive in the pitch darkness, and suddenly the lights will be brightened, some will cheer, some will boo. In the midst of the noise, he will cheer up and push Walking through the crowd, smiling at the lion dancers around him, not paying attention to the slamming firecrackers, not being afraid - he got burnt on his face once, but ignored it. We really feel Being a team, like a force, being proud of him. It can't be helped."

The most important contributor to my success is Tse Ching Chih, the senior host of the radio Hokkien program.He volunteered to be my teacher, noticing the serious mistakes I made in my speeches, and sitting down with me the next day, pointing out the mistakes, teaching me the correct phrases, and sometimes a few powerful idioms.But that wasn't the only way he improved my oratory.Talking too much and being too tired often made my voice hoarse.One night in Tiong Bahru, speaking in a raspy voice, he handed me a packet of sliced ​​American ginseng, printed on the paper with the trade name of the neighboring herb store.Under his persuasion, I stopped taking throat lozenges, but put a piece of American ginseng in my mouth, and it took effect immediately, my tongue became saliva, and my throat became cool.Since then, I have always carried a packet of sliced ​​ginseng in my pocket during my visits. Television has also greatly enhanced the effectiveness of my speeches. While in London in September 1962, Alexosi had arranged for Hugh Burnett of the BBC to give me a mock TV interview to review my performance on screen.I watched a show that was filmed earlier, and I was taken aback at how fierce I looked.Burnett reassured me this time by saying I looked natural.I just need a few pointers: always look into the camera, never cover your mouth or nose with your hands when speaking, and always lean forward in your chair, as leaning back makes you look slouchy.His main piece of advice was: "Be natural, direct, and never artificial." I was relieved.Television was introduced to Singapore in February 1963 and it has become a powerful weapon for us, especially against the Communists.Their technique is that of a mass meeting, with orators snarling, grimacing, and exaggerating gestures intended to be seen by those behind the crowd.Captured with a zoom lens, the orator appears ugly and menacing.They had done themselves a great disservice by not having Burnett to offer an opinion. While I am making great efforts to gain popular support, there are disturbing things happening in this region. On January 20, 1963, Indonesian Foreign Minister Dr. Subandrio declared the need to confront Malaysia because Malaya made itself a tool of colonialism and imperialism.A few days later, Philippine President Macapagal also denounced Malaysia as a neocolonial power. Ten days later, Subbandrio told foreign correspondents that if hostilities between Malaya and Indonesia spread to the three Bornean states, things could happen, including actual conflict.The next day, President Kennedy publicly expressed his full support for Malaysia, seeing it as "the best hope for security in the region."Sukarno stepped up his aggressive rhetoric. On May 1, he turned his full attention to the three Borneo states, insisting that they should be independent first, and again denouncing Malaysia as a new form of colonialism. To these criticisms, the Tunku's initial reaction was to recall the ambassador from Jakarta, and then Malaya announced the immediate strengthening of the armed forces.Then the commander-in-chief of the British Far East announced on May 3 that he had enough troops, warships and aircraft to deal with any emergency in Borneo.The situation is getting more and more ominous.