Should Mr Chiam really be running for elections?

By now most of us have seen Mr Chiam See Tong on television.  If you have not, check out the interview TOC did with SPP while they were on a walkabout (in Toa Payoh I believe).  It can be observed that Mr Chiam is definitely physically impaired somewhat – he moves slowly, has a very significant hunch, and mumbles when he speaks.  I have heard it said that the mainstream media is intentionally showing much of Mr Chiam on TV to leave a lasting impression on voter’s minds on how frail he looks and hence discourage them for voting for Mr Chiam.  And then there was this article on Straits Times (print edition) which sort of said that Mr Chiam is kind of suffering from Parkinson’s Syndrome, and that he is exercising regularly to stave off the effects of Parkinson’s.

Before I continue, can I make a request if there are any doctor’s or medical experts reading this to help shed some light on Parkinson’s Syndrome?  I tried to do some research, but I am hardly a medical expert and I find information on the internet to be not very conclusive.  What I found:  when Parkinson’s is caused by a stroke, it is a special kind of Parkinson’s known as “Vascular Parkinsonism” which can cause the patient to degenerate very suddenly, unlike normal Parkinson’s Syndrome which is typically a gradual decline.  I cannot find anywhere that says regular exercise helps to stave off or is useful for the treatment of Vascular Parkinsonism.  Also, it appears that while tremors (the trembling of arms) is the most commonly known symptom of Parkinson’s Syndrome, only 30% of patients display tremors on onset, and usually develop it later as the condition degenerates.  The lack of tremors is the defense used by Mrs Lina Chiam that her husband has yet to have Parkinson’s Syndrome.  Question for the medical experts:  does it look like Mr Chiam have Parkinson’s or not?  If so, does regular exercise do anything to help?  Is his condition expected to get worse?  I understand that his doctors have cleared him to run for elections, but does that include serving another 6 year term as a Member of Parliament and all its associated duties?

The article is quick to point out that Mr Chiam’s mind is still “sharp and lucid”, and that his mental capacities are still fully functional.   Even if we grant that to be true,  his ability to communicate is surely hampered by his speech condition and this would affect his ability in running his estate and conducting MPS for his ward.  Furthermore,  his ability to make speeches in Parliament is also affected, as can be seen by his recent Parliamentary performances.  The point I want to make is obvious by now – certainly Mr Chiam’s ability to function as an elected Member of Parliament (for a full term of up to 6 years) is very much hampered if not totally compromised by his physical condition.  If that is the case, should he even be running for elections?  Should the people really vote for Mr Chiam if they are not certain if he able to represent them as a fully functioning Member of Parliament?

However, as it is often the case with politics, there is more than meets the eye.  Mr Chiam has assembled a very interesting team to contest Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, including ex-government scholars Mr Benjamin Phwee and Mr Jimmy Lee.  Why Mr Phwee and Mr Lee would choose to ally themselves with a clearly ailing Mr Chiam is an interesting discussion (and probably worth a post in itself), but it is clear to opposition supporters that they welcome this move and believe Mr Phwee and Mr Lee would be worthwhile candidates to put into Parliament.  In particular, I have been impressed by Mr Phwee, who has benefitted from all this airtime given to the SPP, which is truly ironic if the airtime was intended to make Mr Chiam look bad.

But even more ironic is this:  the teaming together of Mr Phwee and Mr Chiam is like an inversion of the teaming together of Ms Tin Pei Ling and SM Goh Chok Tong.  I have observed that even some ardent PAP supporters feel that Ms Tin is not a suitable candidate to put into parliament, but she rides on the popularity of a capable candidate like SM Goh to get elected.   (Although I know many will disagree, for the purpose of this argument, let us assume that SM Goh is a capable candidate for now.)  An incapable candidate (Ms Tin) rides on the popularity of a capable candidate (SM Goh) to get elected.  This is the famous “coattails” argument.

Compare this to Mr Chiam and Mr Phwee.  Mr Phwee is considered to be a capable candidate, while Mr Chiam is (in my opinion) not so capable anymore.  Nevertheless, Mr Chiam is still hugely popular (notice how people ranging from aunties to RI boys want to take photos with him) due to his years of opposing the PAP government, and is an  opposition figurehead seen to represent all who feel unhappy towards the PAP for any reason.  In this case, Mr Phwee, a capable candidate, is riding on the popularity of Mr Chiam (a popular but not so capable candidate) to get elected into Parliament.  This is an ironic inversion of the GRC system!

What I think the SPP is trying to do here, is taking a page out of the PAP book.  Surely Mr Chiam cannot function fully well as an MP, but the SPP will use his popularity to try and get Mr Phwee and Mr Lee and other members of SPP voted into Parliament.  It matters not that Mr Chiam is being “used” in this sense, or that the residents may not get an MP who cannot serve them as well; but what truly matters is that the SPP get into parliament.  The ends justify the means.  This, ladies and gentlemen, is the kind of pragmatism that the PAP is so proudly famous for.

Should the SPP successfully defeat DPM Wong Kan Seng and Dr Ng Eng Hen in the battle for Bishan-Toa Payoh (at the moment it does not seem quite so likely),  not only is this a significant victory for Mr Chiam, SPP and the opposition in general, Chiam can look MM Lee right in the eye and say “right back at you”.