New Paper: WP's new faces

Eye on election
Question time

The Workers' Party unveiled three likely candidates. DAWN CHIA and LOW CHING LING find out what makes them tick?


Potential candidate 1:
Mr Brandon Siow Wei Min, 30, married, no children. Sales manager with Singapore Airlines Cargo. Honours degree in Political Science from NUS. Joined WP in 2005, treasurer of the Eastern Area Committee.


Potential candidate 2:
Mr Abdul Salim Harun, 24, single. Sales co-ordinator with Wing Tai Holdings. NTC-2 certificate in wafer fabrication. Joined WP in 2005, member of North Eastern Area Committee.


Potential candidate 3:
Miss Glenda Han Su May, 30, single. Entrepreneur with a degree in Economics and Japanese Studies from NUS. Joined WP in 2004, deputy secretary of the Youth Wing

Pictures: CHOO CHWEE HUA, HEDY KHOO

Q Why do you think the Opposition has not revealed any new candidates until now?

Mr Siow: I don't think that we're not prepared. We've actually been walking the ground in the constituencies for some time now. It's just that we have not officially announced our candidacy in the media. The party will announce the official candidates when they feel it's the right time.

Q Why did you join the Opposition and not the PAP?

Miss Han: All of us generally have a consensus that you do need thoughts and rationales that represent the flip side of the coin. You can't have ideas, laws and rules coming from one angle. There has to be reasonable debate coming from another angle.

Mr Abdul Salim: If everyone decides to join the PAP, then why have elections in the first place? Everyone should have a choice. I believe in a two-party system - to check and balance.

Q If you had a choice, who would you want from the PAP to join your, say, GRC team? Why?

Mr Siow: Maybe Dr Vivian Balakrishnan. I think he's more open to new ideas, more receptive to criticism, more willing to hear out alternative ideas.

Miss Han: I can't answer that because I don't have a personal preference or dislike for any particular member.

Q Is it important to have a track record like a PAP candidate to be a credible Opposition candidate? Why?

Miss Han: I'm not all for that, because you do have to go through and experience things first-hand to really understand what people actually feel. If you're brought up in a comfortable environment all the time, you won't really understand what hardship means to some people.

Mr Abdul Salim: The most important thing is to have the passion to serve the people. Qualifications, in the Singapore context, do matter. But if you have the qualifications, and not the passion, dedication and sincerity to serve the people, then there's no point.

Q What's your favourite makan place and favourite hangout? What do you do in your free time?

Mr Siow: Changi Village, because it's near to my office. Borders because it closes quite late and it's always nice to spend some time browsing.

Mr Abdul Salim: KFC. Every time, I order a two-piece chicken meal, crispy, I'll request specially for both to be thighs. Because thighs are meatier. Esplanade. It's very peaceful. Sit by the waves and look at the stars. It's very beautiful and calming. I like to 'jalan jalan'. I like nature and greenery.

Miss Han: Home - I prefer home-cooked food. My favourite hangout is my cocktail bar, Les Chameaux - it means camels. In my free time, I like to go out for coffee with friends.

Q What do you wish you could change about your current life or past?

Mr Abdul Salim: Because my qualification is NTC-2, I wish I had worked harder in the past. But I have no regrets. Currently, I'm also looking into my future and planning to further my studies. I realise that to live in Singapore, you need qualifications. So I'm planning ahead and now I'm looking at my choices to take up studies in the near future.

Mr Siow: I wish I could have spent more time brushing up my Mandarin. I went to Catholic High and did CL1, and I had a difficult time because we spoke English at home. The only Mandarin I spoke was in school and with the tuition teacher. Now, it's important to converse not just in English, but also in Mandarin, so I wish I had used it more in my younger days.

New Paper: So, what moves you, Sylvia?

Eye on election

Workers' Party chairman Sylvia Lim talks to SYLVIA TOH PAIK CHOO about her days as a policewoman, turning 40 and entering politics


Picture: KUA CHEE SIONG

POLITICS is not for the faint-hearted.

And this former cop is one gutsy lady.

She remembers the day she got called out to a Geylang hotel.

The hotel owner was worried about a guest who had overstayed and had not checked out.

"He had shot himself in the head with a carpenter's nail gun," said Ms Sylvia Lim (right), chairman of the Workers' Party.

"It was very sad. So sad, when we found he was listening to sentimental Thai songs at the time."

She has seen life in the raw, but it has not numbed her sensibilities.

Ms Lim later left the force to become a lawyer - like her father.

It was not a conscious move to follow in his footsteps.

"My father was a police officer who decided he wanted to be his own boss. He became a lawyer after 35.

"I did my master's (in law) in London, but got the sense that people do law for the glamour and the money.

"I wanted to gel law and public service."

From 1991 to 1994, she was a police inspector. The petite lady cop was never ribbed by male colleagues. In fact, it was her mother who made the point of remembering her "mata-mata (police, in Malay slang)" uniform.

"One time, shopping in Hong Kong, my mother told the salesman that her daughter is a policewoman. So what kind of bag to buy her?" she chortled.

The laugh-out-loud personality continued: "And that's the bag I lost when I got robbed."

This was after she'd left the police force. "I was walking along Claymore Hill when two men on a bike snatched it from me.

"It was dark, they had helmets and it happened so fast."

She had handed in her badge because she felt, "at the time, women officers were not being treated fairly".

"My contemporaries were promoted in two years, but I was told for women, it'd be five, six years.

"Of course, things have very much improved since."

To put it in common context, Ms Lim has moved from Law & Order to The West Wing.

She watches neither TV dramas, but has the entire set of Band Of Brothers.

"Leadership and camaraderie," she said.

Then, "Do you have the DVD of Women Warriors Of The Yang Family?"

No, but Cheng Pei Pei (lead actress) is my friend.

TRIPPY LADY

Ms Lim is one peppy lady.

She is still nursing an ankle injury from student days - "I fell into a drain" - which has cut back her jogging routine.

The old injury means taking extra care. Just last week she was in record shop HMV to buy a CD, "and I tripped and had to hobble".

Were you looking to buy Daytripper (Beatles)?

I had to hold on to her chair as she almost fell off laughing.

"Platters," the 41-year-old leader of the opposition party said. "My father's kind of music, great singing."

The readily likeable Temasek Polytechnic law lecturer turned 41 on Tuesday and looks 30.

We met in the Lemongrass restaurant in Siglap.

Happy birthday. You order, I'll pay, I said like a yaya papaya (show-off in Malay slang).

'Quick, take your picture, after that we can get messy,' she said to our photographer.

"Turning 40 was harder psychologically because it's a milestone."

The single girl continues to receive hongbao. "Fortunately, I don't have many relatives," she mused, at the annual so-when-are-you-going-
to-get-married recital from distant family.

"Not anytime soon" is her response.

There are two younger siblings, a brother with NUS and a sister in New Zealand.

What's a pretty career woman like her, with discretionary income, doing in the world of politics?

You've got to give 150 per cent of your time, with none to spare to stop and smell the Starbucks. "I can still commit the time," she said, seriously.

"Concerned friends quote that Chinese saying about opposition candidates 'die ugly death', but succeed or fail, I know I would have done my bit.

"To inject balance into the system."

She held a thought. "Or move on to the next glass of wine!" she chuckled.

Her family is supportive.

"We've always talked politics at home, so it's a natural step. They were not surprised.

"My father comes to the functions. My mother, being Catholic, prays for me. And my sister, who works for a bank, says send her the money and she'll put it in an account with a funny name!" she rocked with laughter.

"Would that I had any," said the heartlander who shops mostly in Tampines. "It's close, we are in the east."

Visiting residents and WP meetings take up most of her non-poly hours.

Win or lose, she has her teaching job, which is not all civil and criminal procedures.

Yes, students do get crushes on their teachers. "It's normal," she shrugged.

"They invited me to Zouk for a retro night, and I didn't even recognise one song!"

And she was off, to a church choir practice, rehearsing a musical.

TODAY: Compare apples with apples: WP's Low

General Election 2006

IF MY rival can do it, then so can I, indicated Opposition MP Low Thia Khiang in response to reports that PAP's Eric Low had promised to help Hougang residents privatise their HUDC estates.

He said that if his constituents wanted their estates privatised, he would certainly fight for it as hard as Mr Eric Low had.

"Is he saying the Opposition MP can't fight for it in Parliament or is less effective in fighting for certain rights or interests? I think we are equally effective," said the Workers' Party (WP) chief.

Speaking to reporters after his meet-the-people session last night, Mr Low also touched on the issue of upgrading which, he acknowledged, could be important for residents.

"But when it came to improving amenities, MPs should be given similar resources, he said. "The current situation now is not like comparing which candidate is more capable but whose father is richer," said Mr Low.

"If the Government gives me the same amount of resources as the other PAP wards, I'm very sure that if I can't do a better job than PAP MPs, at the very least, I can do an equal job."

Mr Low also leapt into the lift upgrading debate started by Potong Pasir MP Chiam See Tong, who said his Town Council's proposal to stop lifts at every floor had been rejected two years back.

The HDB then stated that the previous Town Council Act had prohibited the use of residential sinking funds to upgrade the lifts to stop at every floor. The act was amended last year.

Mr Low claimed that his Town Council had a lift upgrading programme approved by the HDB six years ago, though he clarified that the money had come from the Town Council's surplus funds.

But one year after that, another application to carry out similar works also using surplus funds had been rejected, he said. The HDB said it was looking into Mr Low's remarks, made late in the day. - LOH CHEE KONG

TODAY: Not afraid to speak his mind

Yaw Shin Leong wants to do 'something' for S'pore and believes that political competition is the way to go

DERRICK A PAULO
derrick@newstoday.com.sg


WEE TECK HIAN
STRONG CONVICTION: Mr Yaw Shin Leong of Workers' Party says he decided to enter politics after 'Cheng San 1997'.

BARELY six months after joining the Workers' Party, an ambitious Yaw Shin Leong got into a heated argument with party chief Low Thia Khiang.

Mr Yaw had grand plans for the party after being appointed chairman of the WP's youth action committee in December 2001.

He wanted to have WP chapters in Nee Soon, Sembawang and beyond. But secretary-general Mr Low disagreed. A huge debate erupted.

"I said we should expand, we can't be so passive, we can't be so conservative, we need to have more. I was thinking: Why doesn't he see where I'm coming from?" he said.

"Within less than a few months, I realised where he was coming from. I tried (to expand). It wasn't as easy as I had thought."

These days, Mr Yaw, 30, is nonetheless as energetic and enthusiastic as before.

The secretary and co-secretary of WP's northern and eastern area committee respectively has been seen recently working the ground in East Coast, Sembawang and Ang Mo Kio.

He will probably stand in one of these GRCs at the upcoming polls.

He now agrees with Mr Low, the MP for Hougang, that the party must first consolidate and "build from the core" rather than scatter its resources - a sign of how important Aljunied GRC, which surrounds Hougang, will be at the General Election (GE).

It is not the first time Mr Yaw has changed his views on politics.

When he was about 12, he began reading books on "Maoism, Stalinism, communism
and democracy". He "particularly grew quite attached" to socialism and communism.

But came June 4, 1989 - the Tiananmen Square massacre - and his nascent political views came crashing down.

"I was deeply disappointed. How could paradise on earth, supposedly in the construct of communist utopia, end in the bloodshed of innocent lives? I began to question," he said.

"Of course, I was young and toying with ideas. I became more of a democratic socialist without realising it."

As a National University of Singapore undergraduate, he joined the Democratic Socialist Club and became its president.

After Speakers' Corner opened in 2000, Mr Yaw became a regular speaker. He also joined civil activist group Think Centre.

However, the event that stiffened his resolve to enter politics was "Cheng San 1997". "The chain of events leading up to Polling Day convinced me that I must do something for my country," he said, choosing his words carefully.

Probed further, he added, "There was a sense of political unjustness in terms of the political climate - how political campaigns were conducted at that point in time."

Cheng San was the scene of the most heated contest in the 1997 GE. The rallies held by the WP team of Mr J B Jeyaretnam, Mr Tang Liang Hong, Dr Tan Bin Seng, Mr Huang Seow Kwang and Mr Abdul Rahim Osman drew huge crowds, and eventually, then-Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong had to step into the fray and up the stakes by putting his whole government on the line.

Mr Tang, labelled a dangerous Chinese chauvinist by the leaders, was sued for defamation and fled Singapore.

In 1999, Mr Yaw became a Potong Pasir grassroots volunteer for MP Chiam See Tong. But he later asked "Uncle Chiam" to terminate his membership due to his mother's objections.

"It was nightmarish for my mum," he said. "She used to pray and fast for me. She would tell me: 'Son, I don't mind you entering politics, but why don't you join the PAP'."

Mr Yaw still remembers the day his mother - who single-handedly raised him
and his younger sister after his father died when he was 13 - gave him her blessings
to join the Opposition: June 2, 2001.

Twenty days later, he joined the WP.

Explaining his switch within the opposition ranks, the e-business analyst, who is married, said: "WP gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling in terms of its ideological platform."

Mr Yaw and his party colleagues helped to conceptualise and vet the WP manifesto (www.wp.org.sg/party/manifesto_2006.htm).

For his part, he feels the political pillar is missing in Singapore's total defence - a concept in which he firmly believes.

"Political defence, in the context of political competition, enhances a country's survival," he said.

He hopes to inculcate a robust political culture here is via Project Breakthrough - a team-up between the WP and Singapore People's Party to open the communication lines between the two parties.

Though it is mostly younger opposition members who seem keen on this, he still draws inspiration from his veteran opposition colleagues.

Referring to his big debate with Mr Low, he gave his boss credit for allowing him to try new things. "We may sometimes have differences in approach, but that episode told me that if he has thought of it and disagrees, there must be valid reasons ... So I'd rather take a few steps back and understand why," said Mr Yaw.

"There is mutual respect."

TODAY: Low: SM may swing votes but ...

Workers' Party chief confident of retaining his seat

VAL CHUA
ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
val@newstoday.com.sg

HE admits that the presence of the Senior Minister will help his opponent, but the incumbent MP for Hougang, Mr Low Thia Khiang, says he is neither intimidated nor distracted by what is shaping up to be a highstakes battle in the single ward.

Speaking to reporters for the first time since Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong pledged to help PAP candidate Eric Low win the opposition ward, the Workers' Party chief said: "Why should I worry? At the end of the day, it's the voters who decide. Not the PAP."

Adding that he "welcomes" the visit of the Senior Minister - which will start this Sunday during a community walkabout - he added tongue-in-cheek: "He's not coming here to contest, right?"

Last Sunday, SM Goh was given the special assignment to help his PAP mates win back the opposition wards of Hougang and Potong Pasir.

Mr Low had held onto his ward with a 55 per cent win during the 2001 election.

Commenting on speculation that Mr Goh's presence would force the opposition leader to guard his home turf instead of helping his colleagues elsewhere, Mr Low said: "The PAP must know by now that I am not a person who can be easily intimidated."

But he admitted that the presence of SM Goh may swing some votes.

"Of course he will improve the chances of my opponent. There will definitely be some impact because he's the Senior Minister."

But he added: "I know I've done my best and I've not disappointed my supporters."

In fact, he said the harder the PAP works at wooing voters, the more residents gain.

"Where can you find free breakfast? Where do you find abalone porridge? It's the special privilege of opposition wards," said Mr Low, referring to the giveaways by Potong Pasir's PAP candidate Sitoh Yih Pin.

He said his opponent, Mr Eric Low, had done his job.

"I will not say he has done a good job. But he has done his part, and in so doing, residents in Hougang benefited. We have also free medical treatment here, we have a lot of free things here, which is against the PAP principle, but we have it here, so why not?"

Straits Times: WP wants to offer voters a chance to vote in AMK

THE Workers' Party (WP) team that wants to contest in Ang Mo Kio GRC just wants to provide voters there with a chance to vote.

'The Workers' Party can provide a voice for the people. It will provide a kind of pressure and the PAP will take the people more seriously,' said Mr Yaw Shin Leong, 30, an IT consultant who was part of the disqualified WP team for Aljunied GRC in the 2001 General Election.

The Ang Mo Kio GRC is headed by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and viewed as a strong ward for the People's Action Party.

The WP team went on its first walkabout as a group yesterday, covering Cheng San market and surrounding coffee shops in Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10.

With Mr Yaw were other WP members who are likely candidates for the Ang Mo Kio slate. They are: businesswoman Glenda Han, 30; sales coordinator Abdul Salim, 24; translation company editorial executive Lee Wai Leng, 26; sales executive Melvyn Tan, 31; and property executive Gopal Krishnan, 54.

T. RAJAN

TODAY: WP checks out Ang Mo Kio

WHILE Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong was rallying support for the People's Action Party in nearby Yio Chu Kang, Workers' Party (WP) cadres were working the ground in Mr Lee's Ang Mo Kio ward - which they indicated they might contest.

Led by Mr Yaw Shin Leong, an ex-co member of the WP's Youth Wing, they covered some 15 residential blocks and the Cheng San wet market.

Said Mr Yaw, 30, an e-business analyst: "If it is in the national interest to come here, and if the WP leadership should so decide, my team mates and I are prepared to be fielded."

He said his party knew the area well. "A portion of Ang Mo Kio actually belonged to Cheng San GRC" - which the WP had contested in 1997.

And like the ruling party, the WP could field more female candidates. Ms Lee Wai Leng, 26, a member of WP's Central Executive Committee, said: "I hope to be called upon to contest. It would be the first time I'm contesting the elections. If the party is willing to send me, I'm prepared."

Ms Lee, a graduate running a translation company, has been active in WP grassroots activities in Hougang, Aljunied and Nee Soon East. - LOH CHEE KONG

Channel NewsAsia: No confirmation whether Workers' Party contesting in Ang Mo Kio GRC

SINGAPORE VOTES 2006

By May Wong/Farah Abdul Rahim

SINGAPORE : There is no confirmation as yet whether the Workers' Party is contesting in the Ang Mo Kio GRC, but its members were seen in the constituency on Sunday morning.

When asked of this, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong says he welcomes the challenge from the Workers' Party.

The Workers' Party has indicated that Ang Mo Kio GRC is one of its targeted areas in this coming General Election.

Its party member Yaw Shin Leong says it will not be surprising if the party decides to contest in this GRC.

However, he says taking on a GRC is no mean feat, as it requires a lot of planning and availability of resources.

Mr Yaw says: "The party leadership will decide. If it's in the name of national interest, to come here and if the Workers' Party leadership should decide upon that, my team mates and myself are prepared, we are prepared to be fielded."

The Ang Mo Kio GRC is under the PAP's team, headed by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

Mr Lee, who was in Ang Mo Kio meeting residents there, was asked if he knew the Workers' Party was doing a walk-about in his constituency.

He says: "I hope they come, they said they will come the last time but nothing happened, so this time I hear the thunder and I look forward to seeing the rain."

Apart from Ang Mo Kio GRC, the Workers' Party has said it is eyeing three other GRCs and three single-seat constituencies. - CNA/de

Sunday Times: WP: Opposition spurs PAP to give upgrading

By Zakir Hussain

VOTE for the opposition and you can still get upgrading.

That is the line from a Workers' Party (WP) member tipped to stand in East Coast GRC in the coming general election.

Senior bank manager Eric Tan, 51, argues that the opposition provides competition so the People's Action Party has to improve estates, and come up with programmes to help low-wage workers.

He said: 'Because we walk the ground, you are the beneficiaries and we are happy that you are the beneficiaries.'

He was speaking to reporters at a walkabout in Bedok South yesterday afternoon with three other prospective WP candidates in East Coast GRC.

They are: Mr Abdul Rahim Abdul Rahman, 66, a technician; Mr Brandon Siow, 31, an account manager; and lawyer Chia Ti Lik, 33.

While all have been on frequent visits to the GRC of late, meeting residents and handing out name cards, they were coy when asked to confirm if they would contest there, saying it was up to the party to decide.

According to the WP website, the party has made at least nine visits to the GRC since last December.

On their chances in East Coast, Mr Abdul Rahim said: 'Before, people were scared of openly supporting the opposition. Now, people feel a little more comfortable supporting the opposition, that is an advantage for us.'

However, retired crane operator Ares Abdul Gani, 55, thought otherwise.

He said: 'Although we have not voted in the past two elections, the estate has improved a lot recently and we have lifts on every floor. I think they will have a tough time.'

Straits Times: WP chief: JBJ will give voters more choice

By Ken Kwek

VOTERS will enjoy more choice if Mr J. B. Jeyaretnam runs in the upcoming polls, said erstwhile party colleague Low Thia Khiang last night.

All opposition parties aim to provide options, and "Mr Jeyaretnam is also trying to do the same thing", added Mr Low, the secretary-general of the Workers' Party (WP).

He also said that the WP is prepared to negotiate with the veteran opposition figure should he decide to contest in Sembawang GRC on an independent slate.

"I believe some of my party colleagues are in touch with Mr Jeyaretnam, so when the time comes we will see what we can do about it," he said.

Sembawang GRC is one of four GRCs that the Workers' Party "reserved" as possible seats to contest.

This is part of an opposition pact to avoid three-cornered fights in the elections.

Opposition leaders of various parties reached the pact at a meeting last Friday.

Mr Low's comments - his first since the pact was reached - are significant given the rift between the two men.

Mr Jeyaretnam led the WP for 30 years until 2001.

Mr Low, his one-time protege, replaced him as party chief in May 2001.

Later that year, Mr Jeyaretnam and several others quit the party after accusing the leadership of not standing by him in his various defamation suits.

Mr Jeyaretnam intends to contest the coming election but must first discharge himself from bankruptcy.

He has a court hearing on March 28 to do so, after failing to raise enough sums at an earlier hearing this week.

Mr Low, who spoke last night after meeting residents at his weekly Meet-the-People session at his Hougang ward, said he was optimistic the coming General Election would pose fewer problems for the opposition "administratively".

He was referring to the last election in 2001, when the WP was disqualified from contesting in Aljunied GRC after an error was made in its statutory declaration.

Procedures for candidacy have been simplified and that ought to help, he noted.

TODAY: MP: What exactly is your vision, Ms Sylvia Lim?

IS IT ENOUGH to want to act as a check on the Government?

This was the poser given by People's Action Party (PAP) MP Irene Ng last night when asked for her views on opposition leader Sylvia Lim.

Speaking at a dialogue with young women, Ms Ng suggested that the Workers' Party chairman lacked a clear stand on issues.

"I've not engaged (Ms Lim) before in any discussions, so I'm not sure about her stand on issues, but from what I read in TODAY, her position is that she wants to be a check on the Government," said Ms Ng.

"But it strikes me that if you want to be elected by the people, you must want to have programmes that you can implement for them and a vision of Singapore that is better than what is present today."

"I don't get a sense of what her stand is on issues. Does she want to see more young women step forward in politics? Because for me, as a woman MP, I see that as one of my important roles.

"I don't hear from her any concrete programmes, ideas or issues that she wants to raise other than that she wants to be a check on the Government. And that's up to the people to vote, and I hope the voters will choose wisely."

When contacted, Ms Lim was unruffled by the comments and said: "The Workers' Party vision is in our manifesto and I stand by that. We are still waiting for the PAP's manifesto."

The dialogue last night was organised by the National Youth Achievement Award as part of a leadership for women series.

The 70 participants, mostly female undergraduates, were mostly in consensus that there should be more women in Parliament. Currently, there are 10 elected female MPs and three female Nominated MPs.

One participant, however, sparked a mini-debate when she described the present situation as fine and that it was a choice Singapore women are making. She added that men are more pragmatic while women are more emotional.

As others responded, pointing out that the stereotype did not mean women are weak, the general sentiment emerged that disengagement is a feature in Singapore society, and that political education in schools does not imbue people with a sense that they have a role.

Commenting on the doubts over women's role in politics, Ms Ng said: "I think it's a fair question. It reflects the question in the minds of some people in the public - and the point is that we do (make a difference) because we reflect the views of 50 per cent of the population." - CHEOW XIN YI

TODAY: No need to quit TP to contest GE

Policy amendment means WP chairman Sylvia Lim won't have to leave poly job

DERRICK A PAULO
derrick@newstoday.com.sg


GOOD NEWS: Ms Lim welcomed the news but said GRC operations may require all her time.

WORKERS' Party chairman Sylvia Lim will not have to leave her job at Temasek Polytechnic (TP) to contest the coming polls. But she might not return to work after that.

Her employer announced yesterday that it was changing its human resource policies for staff who enter the political arena.

TP employees previously had to obtain approval to participate in political activities and had to retire from service if they wanted to stand for elections.

Both requirements have now been dropped. However, the reason for the change is not due to Ms Lim's expected candidacy at the General Election, according to the polytechnic.

It said in a press statement that the policy was removed to ensure consistency in HR practices with that of other polytechnics.

"TP's policies are reviewed whenever there are changes in the policies of the civil service, or following discussions or regular reviews with the other polytechnics," a spokesperson told TODAY.

"The last check with the other polytechnics was earlier this year. Upon finding out that TP's policy on participation in political activities was not consistent with that of the other polytechnics, TP decided to review this policy."

A check with Ngee Ann Polytechnic revealed that it too has revised its rules, which had been similar to TP's, after a review earlier this year, as the policy was found to be "outdated" and "inconsistent" with its counterparts.

Singapore Polytechnic and Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP), which counts MP Zainudin Nordin (Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC) as one of its staff, have never had such a policy.

"All staff are free to choose whether to participate in politics and stand for GE," said NYP public affairs officer Dawn Ho.

Ms Lim, who lectures on law at the Temasek Business School, welcomed the news but said she would probably not return to her job if she gets elected.

"The likelihood is that I'll run for a GRC seat. To manage operations at a GRC level would require a lot of my time. I owe it to the party and the voters to devote my energy to them," she told TODAY.

Mr Zainudin, who is the manager of the Electronics Design Centre at NYP, also welcomed the move.

"It's a positive development. My view is that a review of HR policy would make sense in the present times. People are more active and want to be involved in shaping decisions," he said.

Although he did not have any restrictions, he did inform his employers when he stood in the 2001 GE.

According to TP, when it was established in 1990 its HR department adapted policies and practices of the Government and other statutory boards.

Its spokesperson told TODAY: "The general practice of TP has been to adopt and adapt from the Government Instruction Manual when policies are not mandatory for TP to follow and when the non-mandatory policies are relevant and appropriate for adoption."

According to the Public Service Division, civil servants cannot participate in political activities, such as holding office in a political organisation, speaking publicly or writing to the press on any political matter and canvassing for political purposes.

They may join a political party as a member, but will have to resign should they wish to stand for election to Parliament.

But there is more leeway for statutory boards like polytechnics.

"Statutory boards are not bound by civil service guidelines as they have the autonomy to decide on their own rules, taking their own circumstances into consideration," said PSD's director of personnel policy, Ms Ong Toon Hui.

Since the last GE, two TP employees have sought approval to enter politics, one of them, of course, being Ms Lim.

TODAY: WP works the ground at Sembawang GRC

General Election 2006

DERRICK A PAULO
derrick@newstoday.com.sg

TWO days after the Opposition hammered out a near-unanimous agreement on where to contest in the coming polls, the Workers' Party (WP) went a-knocking at the doors of one of its reserve constituencies: Sembawang GRC.

With two PAP MPs - including anchor MP, former Deputy Prime Minister Tony Tan - touted to step down, the Group Representation Constituency (GRC) might be the scene for an intriguing battle.

But the ward may also pose the biggest challenge to the WP because of its size. With almost 185,000 voters and about 60 polling districts, Sembawang has the largest electorate size.

"It's a massive task. In an ideal situation, we would need two polling agents per district (on Polling Day). For the day-today campaign, it's all right," said WP Youth Wing exco member Yaw Shin Leong, 30.

"The harvest might be ripe but the labourers are few," the business analyst told TODAY.

Indeed, even if the Opposition parties could field as many as 52 candidates - which means the ruling PAP will not be returned to power on Nomination Day - it remains to be seen if they could find enough suitable candidates.

Among the Opposition parties, the WP is described as the most prepared, having worked the ground since the 2001 polls.

It is eyeing the four GRCs of Aljunied, East Coast, Sembawang and Ang Mo Kio, and the three single wards of Hougang, Nee Soon East and Joo Chiat.

Yesterday, a 10-strong team from the party ardently worked the Sembawang ground, visiting food centres and homes at Chong Pang. They distributed party pamphlets and Mr Yaw's postcard-sized namecard.

So, if the WP stands in Sembawang, will Mr Yaw - who was part of WP's Aljunied team that was disqualified on a technicality in the 2001 General Election - be one of the candidates?

Although he tactfully deflected the question, Mr Yaw has been involved in the party's "outreach" efforts in the GRC since last July. He profiled Sembawang as an area where a "significant proportion of the residents belong to the new poor", referring to a phrase coined by the WP to describe the economically disadvantaged.

Other issues the WP might raise at the coming polls may range from elitism, health care costs and reduced Central Provident Fund contributions - as noted on Mr Yaw's name card.

A resident who gave his name as Mr Ong, invited Mr Yaw to join him at the coffee shop. The 60-year-old asked about the WP's plans for Singapore and was told: "We want to sharpen the competitive edge in politics. We want to sharpen the decision-making process."

Mr Ong, whose son has been out of a job for six months, said more needs to be done to minimise foreign employment and the cost of living. Would he consider giving the WP a chance at the ballot box? "I have to see what they say, but yes, I would vote for them," he said.

Straits Times: Heated words over 'hoodwink'

MIND YOUR LANGUAGE: Mr Khaw took offence at Mr Low's words, saying 'I'm not one to hoodwink people.'

There was a short but heated exchange in Parliament yesterday, between opposition MP Low Thia Khiang and Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan.

Mr Khaw: 'In their earlier manifestos, the Workers' Party (WP) wanted to abolish Medisave. 'Phase out the Medisave scheme as soon as possible', they said. Luckily, they did not succeed.

'...The WP has since achieved some enlightenment. The latest manifesto no longer wants to phase out Medisave. But they have replaced the medicine with another. They propose that Medisave be used for a 'comprehensive public health insurance scheme'.'

'When I read the manifesto, I was reminded of... a very interesting cartoon (in Lianhe Zaobao).

'(Taiwan) President Chen Shui-bian wanted to suspend the reunification council, so there was a cartoon that showed Chen leading the way and there's a big manhole and (he's) about to walk into the manhole.

'If we go the Workers' Party's way, I see this cartoon, maybe Mr Low Thia Khiang waving Singaporeans into this hole.

'And you will find this hole is crowded. There are many people there trying to get out. So I think let us beware.'

Mr Low: 'I would like to ask him (Mr Khaw) whether he purposely distorted the Workers' Party manifesto for political purpose to hoodwink the voters.

'What he has said was not what we published in the 1994 manifesto. We highlighted the inadequacy of Medisave. We did not say we want to abolish it.

'We believe more in risk pooling of insurance schemes rather than direct payment through Medisave, because you never know how much you need to save... That was the basis on which the Workers' Party felt that insurance would be a better solution.

'Why was there a need for him to look at MediShield insurance scheme, to revamp it? That is exactly the concept which the Workers' Party manifesto has enshrined in 1994.

'...I would say that without the revamp of the insurance scheme, probably the Ministry of Health has a bigger hole for the people to drop inside.'

Mr Khaw: 'You claimed that I lie, although you didn't use that word, it was in your old manifesto when you talked about abolition of Medisave...

'...So I must object to this use of word that I tried to hoodwink Singaporeans. Singaporeans have seen me by now, I've been in public service for many years.

'I didn't enter politics to score political points. I entered politics because I thought that's one way to do some good for Singaporeans... I'm not one to hoodwink people.'