In such circumstances, what would you do? If your family can’t help and the banks refuse to, where would you turn? Resort to a loan shark perhaps?

Not in Singapore. There, you turn to your member of Parliament for a solution.

Tonight, the young couple has come to the office of Mohamad Maliki Osman, MP for the Group Representation Constituency (GRC) of the East Coast.

The GRC is one of many social engineering schemes in Singapore to ensure its ruling system is not accused of racial imbalance. Under this scheme, candidates contest a parliamentary seat as teams and not individuals. It is one way of ensuring the representation of minority races, namely the Malays and Indians, who make up about one-fifth of the population.

It’s Monday, and Maliki is holding his weekly “Meet the People Session”, more popularly known as MPS.

He listens as they tell him their problems and quickly becomes their personal financial consultant, armed with a calculator and notepad to jot down his calculations.

In space-constrained Singapore, nearly every family owns a home. Having previously held the housing portfolio, Maliki is used to navigating the intricacies of financing home ownership.

He explains the possibilities to the couple.

“And under this scheme,” he says, after a long explanation of pros and cons, “this is what you would be paying.” He turns the calculator towards them.

“If you are okay with that, come back and we can work something out.”

The couple thanks him and leaves, saying they will return.

It’s another routine evening shift for Maliki, who is also mayor of the South East District, one of the five “Community Development Councils” that were established to boost efficiency in local governance.

Unlike Singapore’s well-polished government offices, Maliki’s office, tucked in a typical public housing scheme, is dowdy. It looks like – and is only slightly bigger than – a commissioner of oath’s office, the kind hidden in small corners of Kuala Lumpur’s crowded city centre.

On his desk are a few files, a potted plant, and a big flask of tea that seems to be bottomless. Pride of place goes to the flag of the governing People’s Action Party (PAP), of which he is a member.

During the day, Maliki, a former academic with a doctorate in social welfare, is in grander surroundings, for he then deals with top leaders in the Cabinet of which he is a part.

Besides being an MP, Maliki is also senior minister of state at the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The title, despite the word “senior”, is similar to that of a deputy minister.

Maliki switches these hats with apparent ease, listening to gripes about illegal parking and noisy neighbours one moment, making national policy the next.

The MPS was started by Singapore’s founding father Lee Kuan Yew. They are held on a weekly basis at local constituency offices and staffed by party volunteers.

Constituents fill in forms and get their chance to vent their problems to their MP in person. The MP then writes to the relevant ministry or agency to appeal on their behalf.

Maliki admits that letters written by an elected MP like him have some clout.

“They are prioritised by the civil service.”

But there is no clear proof that MPS, despite the close encounter between politicians and ordinary citizens, is the reason for PAP’s continued dominance here.

S Iswaran, the minister for communications and information says, “MPS sessions are effective. Even the opposition has started running their own.”

But critics say MPS only works well for the ruling party, thanks to a parliamentary democracy that has long been perceived as unfriendly to the opposition, whose elected representatives struggle to get the same attention paid to their constituents’ problems.

“If MPS were so successful, there would be no need to gerrymander every election by first creating Group Representation Constituencies and then shuffling around disaffected voters by redrawing boundaries before each election,” said one critic who considers himself a “true blue Singaporean”, being born in the same year the island separated from the Malaysian federation to become an independent state.

The opposition Worker’s Party now holds only two seats in the 89-seat Parliament, in Hougang and Aljunied. This is much lower than the opposition’s achievement during the 2011 general election.

Still, it is considered a feat in Singapore where there are few complaints about the day-to-day efficiency of government services.

“The opposition scraped back to victory in these constituencies despite its members being unable to effectively solve problems raised at their MPS sessions,” the critic added.

For those in power, such as Iswaran and Maliki, MPS sessions are effective but hard work.

“It’s a commitment we made. It is an important part of our duty as a member of Parliament. But it’s not easy to find the time,” says Iswaran.

National Development Minister Lawrence Wong says, “Remember that MPs run the town councils. So they are not just there to shake hands and engage residents. They have an important responsibility too, to run the town council which impacts the living environment of their residents.

“So you have to show the report card – this is what I’ve done – and the electorate decides at the end of the day.”

The ripples from the change of government in neighbouring Malaysia are still spreading in Singapore. While government leaders are generally united in playing down the impact on local politics, they are not saying the same will never happen to them.

“We don’t take anything for granted, including election outcomes, for ourselves or for any others. Anything can happen in this world,” Wong adds.

So is it true that Singaporeans are more bothered about mundane matters than higher ideals? Possibly.

A government-commissioned feedback gathering roadshow called “Our Singapore Conversation” showed that housing, healthcare and job security were among the top areas of priority that Singaporeans want their authorities to address.

What about higher ideals such as freedom and liberty, which are at the heart of many modern democracies just as economically developed as Singapore?

The question draws an almost uniform response from government leaders.

Wong gives his assessment: “We embrace liberal ideals, but what exactly are they? And how do we feel about the trade-offs required to achieve these ideals?” he said, calling to mind the late Kuan Yew who had few qualms about being known as a benevolent dictator.

“A liberal ideal is for someone to be able to walk safely down the road in the middle of the night,” Wong continued. “But what steps are you prepared to take in terms of security in order to achieve that?”

Maliki, meanwhile, has little time to indulge in debating topics such as human rights or press freedom. In Singapore, that’s not part of the job.

MPs like him have to listen to mundane complaints about clogged drains and parking disputes from voters.

Then again, it’s always good to be seen to be earning your money. After all, the high salaries of Cabinet members in this tiny city-state is a topic more likely to rile up critics than concerns over human rights and press freedom.

Tonight, Maliki’s MPS is well underway.

Fan, a lorry driver, walks in, hoping that his MP will somehow help him get out of a recent traffic ticket.

“I will try to help you, but I cannot promise ah,” Maliki switches to the Singlish accent that he says is more suited to dealing with ordinary working class people. “You beat a red light lah, you could hurt someone, you know. But I try my best lor.”

After Fan left, Maliki said that chances for such appeals were slim as traffic violations were considered serious offences in Singapore.

Still, Maliki said he would try his best to help file an appeal for leniency.

He is aware that a Malaysian like me finds this a little too much, for a Cabinet member and mayor to be listening to petty grouses.

“Well,” he says, as he signs off a complaint form, “this is what we call politics here.”