There is a unique, community-affirming purpose to those Mid-Autumn Festival lanterns you have seen during these few weeks.
They are beacons which together light the path to success and prosperity, posted Minister for Education Chan Chun Sing about this past Thursday (Sept 28), when he presented scholarships at the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCCI).
In such a spirit of unity and community, this is how some of our MPs and Branch Chairs (BC) marked the Mid-Autumn Festival this year:
Denise Phua and Joan Pereira: High tea for the elderly
The good thing about traditions is that they always are invented somewhere — and one great one is happening in Central Singapore, where MPs Denise Phua (Jalan Besar GRC) and Joan Pereria (Tanjong Pagar GRC) have an annual Mid-Autumn high tea for over a hundred seniors living in rental flats.
The high tea meant authentic Chinese food for all, lantern riddles and songs.
There were goodie bags as well; chock-full of organic vegetables, biscuits, toothpaste, NTUC vouchers and mooncakes.
“Amazing food prepared by the amazing chefs and served by 27 staff volunteers who gave up their rest hours,” posted MP Phua.
Melvin Yong: No-frills mooncake packaging without the extra cost
Fancy mooncake boxes do look nice to look at, but often get thrown away afterwards; do we as consumers really need the extra cost they represent?
Our MP Melvin Yong (Radin Mas SMC) is also President of the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE), which has long called for returning no-frills mooncake packaging options to consumers.
“This Mid-Autumn Festival, I call on restaurants, hotels and confectioneries to make available no-frills options for consumers who want to enjoy their mooncakes without the elaborate and fanciful packaging. I hope this will help businesses rein in costs of production and pass the cost-savings to consumers so that they can enjoy their favourite mooncakes without burning a hole in their pockets,” posted MP Yong in the lead-up to the Festival (Sept 16).
Indeed, let’s ask ourselves: Does the elaborateness of a mooncake’s packaging really contribute to its deliciousness?
Lam Pin Min, Elmie Nekmat, Theodora Lai and Ling Weihong: Making mooncakes in Sengkang
Our four BCs in Sengkang, Lam Pin Min, Elmie Nekmat, Theodora Lai and Ling Weihong, have been a busy team there these few years.
They go about their outreach at markets, support neighbourhood shops, distribute groceries, listen to residents and generally being reliable and relatable parts of the community.
In fact, they spent a mid-September Sunday making mooncakes with a resident for a good cause.
“Learned how to make mooncakes from Auntie Mun Yong with Dr Lam Pin Min（蓝彬明), Theodora Lai and Ling Weihong. Auntie Mun Yong makes mooncakes by the hundreds to donate to charity every year when the mid-autumn season comes. Humbled to be able to learn from her and help make a few mooncakes with love (and a little laughter and fun together ), posted (Sept 18) BC Elmie afterwards.
And after that culinary interlude? Back to the ground, together helping Sengkang’s residents solve the everyday issues that matter.
Whether its elderly outreach, a clarion call for consumer protection or making mooncakes for charity, all these activities by our MPs are helping knit together Singapore’s social fabric for the journey forward.
Like Minister Chan also posted at the scholarship ceremony, “If we can light the way for others, we will build a more cohesive and prosperous Singapore for all of us.”
