Buying votes

I overheard a conversation at the coffee shop between a middle age man and a Malay stall holder. The man said " I will vote for the PAP because they gave me $800. If they did not give me the money, I will not vote for them:". He lived in a 3 room flat. The stall holder said that her mother stayed in 1 room HDB flat and received $1,000.  It seems to be buying votes - a bad reason for the political development of a country. What a questionable leadership and its bad influence on the people.