SINGAPORE — Candidate for Mountbatten Single-Member Constituency (SMC) Lim Biow Chuan fended off accusations by his rival that he is incapable of speaking against his party.

At a rally last night, Mr Lim also questioned Mrs Jeannette Chong-Aruldoss of the Singapore People’s Party (SPP) for her absence on the ground and for her changing allegiance to various political parties. The two are vying for the Member of Parliament’s (MP) seat at the SMC.

“My opponent has made statements that I am bound by the party whip and cannot speak my mind, but this is far from the truth. In my nine years in Parliament, never once have I been asked not to speak my mind,” said Mr Lim.

Mr Lim shared how he had been unafraid to speak up on contentious issues, like when he criticised the policy of pegging the salaries of ministers and civil servants to the top income earners in 2011.

Going on the offensive, Mr Lim charged that Mrs Chong-Aruldoss had not served residents on the ground.

Mr Lim also brought up Mrs Chong-Aruldoss’ switching of loyalties to different political parties. Mrs Chong-Aruldoss started from the Reform Party before joining the National Solidarity Party as its secretary-general and, most recently, the SPP.

“As a politician, what are the principles which she stands for? If she has changed three political parties in five years, will you be reassured that she will stay with SPP after this General Election?” asked Mr Lim.

Mr Lim added that he is a proactive MP and has been looking out for and eliciting feedback from his residents.

After working closely with government agencies such as the Land Transport Authority, he pushed for a bus service to provide greater accessibility for residents in the Tanjong Rhu private estate.

“So politics is not a game where you can come once in four years and claim to be able to champion people’s rights when you don’t even visit them enough to know what they need,” he challenged, urging Singaporeans to look at his track record of community service since 1990.

He also stressed on how his direct access to ministers could help shape policies, thus giving him an edge over Mrs Chong-Aruldoss.