A Pikachu soft toy made an unexpected appearance in the Singapore Parliament chamber on Jan 14, after People’s Action Party Member of Parliament David Hoe brought it along for the Wednesday sitting.
Mr Hoe is the MP for Jurong East-Bukit Batok Group Representation Constituency. The soft toy was seen during the parliamentary session, drawing attention online after he later explained the reason behind the unusual item.
A promise made to his daughter
In a Facebook post shared on the same day, Mr Hoe explained how Pikachu ended up joining him at Parliament.
He wrote: “Typically, my daughter brings a soft toy to school. This morning, she brought a book and Pikachu instead.”
Before heading off separately for the day, his daughter made a request.
“Before we parted ways, she asked if I could bring Pikachu to Parliament, and I said yes.”
Mr Hoe said he decided to keep his word.
“So, keeping my word, Pikachu is joining me today… especially since we might be discussing social mixing.”
He added a light-hearted note to the post:
“Never too early to learn about keeping promises.”
Context behind the parliamentary sitting
Earlier on Jan 9, Mr Hoe had shared on social media that he planned to raise several issues during the parliamentary sitting.
One of the topics he intended to bring up was whether popular schools in Singapore could be periodically relocated to encourage better social mixing.
Mr Hoe is married and has two young children.
The Facebook post was taken down later
The Facebook post featuring Pikachu in Parliament was later removed.
In response to media queries, Mr Hoe explained that the post was taken down because it included a photo taken inside the Parliament chamber.
He said he had not realised that photos and videos are not allowed in the chamber unless prior permission is given.
“This rule slipped my mind and I am sorry for the lapse in judgment.”
He added that once he realised the mistake, he acted quickly.
“As I did not seek prior permission, I took the post down from my socials and informed the Speaker about this matter.”
No further action or comments were mentioned following the removal of the post.
