Aug 15, 2005
NATIONAL DAY CELEBRATIONS
No need for lavish constituency dinners
THE Upfront report 'Grassroots dinners go big, with 620 tables' by
Peh Shing Huei (ST, Aug 
gave me
much food for thought.
It seems National Day constituency dinners, a major part of the
celebrations, are getting out of hand. They get bigger with each
passing year, putting pressure on grassroots leaders to find buyers
for tickets and manage the logistics, and on corporate donors whose
budgets must be spread ever so thin.
While these dinners strain resources, the citizens consultative
committees (CCCs) seem hellbent on outdoing each other in
organising the largest dinner, which makes no sense.
According to one CCC chairman, 'it's a loss-making business', but
it seems the show must go on regardless. But must it?
Such dinners are usually rather impersonal affairs. Thousands turn
up to dine for a couple of hours under a cacophony of chatter and
inapt music. They dig into their hastily prepared dishes, almost
never get into a good conversation with each other, and, after
dessert (and often before), leave as unceremoniously as they
came.
Many attend the dinners not because they want to but because they
have been coerced to buy a ticket. Thus they come nonchalantly,
taking little interest in the proceedings. Some don't even bother
to show up, resulting in empty tables and chairs.
Where the gathering is large, it is sometimes difficult to hear the
speeches amid the din. Disrespect for the speakers is common and
irksome to watch.
Is this any way to celebrate National Day?
However, I'm pleased to note that some CCCs have replaced or
supplemented dinners with other crowd-pulling activities such as
concerts, art competitions and school performances. I hope this
will become a trend so constituency dinners are eventually a thing
of the past.
Indeed, Hong Kah GRC MP Ang Mong Seng said it all in his
observation that people nowadays don't want to come to the dinner,
preferring to donate money instead. Grassroots leaders should take
note.
Lee Seck Kay
