General Election 2006
But WP chairman Sylvia Lim is happy to be one of the masses
TOR CHING LI
chingli@newstoday.com.sg
IT'S not everyday that an Opposition politician gets mistaken for a People's Action Party MP, but that was exactly what happened to Workers' Party (WP) chairman Sylvia Lim during a recent house-to-house visit.
Sharing this anecdote at a press conference held to introduce five new WP candidates yesterday, Ms Lim said: "I was visiting one of (Minister of State for Transport and Finance) Lim Hwee Hua's residents in Serangoon and this Indian lady who spoke only Tamil thought I was Mrs Lim. She said, 'You Madam MP?'"
Fortunately, WP Indian Cultural Subcommittee chairman and election candidate Gopal Krishnan had taught her some useful Tamil phrases, such as Paataali Katchi - or Workers' Party in Tamil.
To much laughter and applause from WP supporters present, Ms Lim recounted: "I said, 'No, no, no. Paataali Katchi, Paataali Katchi'. So thanks, Gopal, for that."
Chairing her first press conference in the absence of party chief Low Thia Khiang, Ms Lim gave reporters a glimpse of her wit and mettle well ahead of the hustings as she fielded a barrage of questions for some 15 minutes after introducing the five new WP candidates, including Mr Gopal.
When asked for her response to Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew's comment on Saturday that there are "hundreds" of lecturers around, the polytechnic lecturer retorted: "I've never claimed to be extraordinary and if his comment is that I'm just a run-of-the-mill, average person, then I will gladly claim that. We want to represent the people.
"So, it's okay - I am one of thousands!"
She drew first blood with the introduction of the first candidate, Dr Poh Lee Guan, calling him "a strong believer in team building, who will get us better organised to become a first-world Opposition". She was referring to Mr Lee's observation that Singapore lacked such an opposition.
When a reporter asked 26-year-old Ms Lee Wai Leng if her youth would be a disadvantage, Ms Lim said: "It's a question of what the country wants, and who they think can represent their interest best - whether you are 26 or 82."
The Minister Mentor is Singapore's oldest parliamentarian at 82.
Echoing the WP slogan, "You have a choice", Ms Lim deferred most questions about the WP's chances at the election to just that - the people's choice. "I'll leave it to the people to judge. Give us a signal in this election that you value the steps taken by the WP, for a credible choice."
HE'LL QUIT HIS DAY JOB TO BE A MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT
OOI BOON KEONG
COMMITTED: WP's Perry Tong.AT 1.9m tall, Mr Perry Tong is surely one of the most imposing candidates presented by the WP for the coming election.
Should the 35-year-old University of California, Berkeley, political science graduate succeed in his election bid – most likely for a seat in East Coast GRC – he said he would give up his $100,000 a year job as a management consultant with the US-based Hackett Group. "Being an MP is a demanding position that will require a commitment of more than 10 hours a day," he said.
Mr Tong has come a long way since he was a Normal stream student at St Andrew's Secondary who scraped through his O Levels with just three passes.
He worked as a waiter and bartender to put himself through the Santa Barbara City College.
When he moved on to Berkeley, California, 12-hour daily shifts as a bartender were the norm for the eldest son of a small-time businessman and housewife. Still, he graduated with first-class honours.
He returned to Singapore in 2000, and joined the WP in 2003.
Why enter politics under the WP banner? He said he was inspired by the late President Ong Teng Cheong, who was taken to task by the Government over the issue of national reserves.
"I hope to gain more transparency and accountability for the people of Singapore."
Mr Tong also wants to show other young professionals that there is nothing to fear in joining the Opposition. He lives in a five-room HDB flat in Jurong West with his wife. –
TOR CHING LI
SHE'S THE YOUNGEST CANDIDATE
OOI BOON KEONG
AGE IS NO BARRIER: WP's Lee Wai Leng.AT 26, WP candidate Lee Wai Leng is one cool newcomer.
While reporters grilled her, Ms Lee, the youngest candidate so far in the upcoming polls, never once paused before replying or showed uncertainty.
"I don't think age is a barrier because it's not the only determinant of how well you are able to serve your residents," said the co-owner of Lingo Whiz, a firm providing translation services.
Ms Lee, who joined the WP in 2002, has been active in grassroots activities in Hougang.
It was also in the party that she met her husband of one year, Mr Ong Wee Teck, 30, an Internet business entrepreneur. The couple have no children and live in a three-room flat in Hougang.
Ms Lee, who switched between English and Mandarin effortlessly, believes her bicultural background boosts her understanding of the ground.
She said: "I can relate to more segments of the population but ultimately, it is about working the ground, serving the residents and doing what is necessary to better their lives."
Ms Lee graduated with a Bachelor of Arts with merit from the National University of Singapore, where she was a member of the Democratic Socialist Club. -
ANSLEY NG
A 'VETERAN' POLITICIAN AT HIS SECOND GEDESPITE having contested in only one election, businessman Mohammad Rahizan Yaacob was described by party chairman Sylvia Lim as a "veteran" politician.
Mr Rahizan, 49, entered politics in 1984, joining the Singapore Malay National Organisation, or PKMS. He was elected its secretary-general in 1998.
In 2003, he joined the WP and now helps Ms Lim in the party's Northern Area Committee.
Mr Rahizan, who studied in St Patrick's Secondary School, holds a certificate in Organisational Management & Administration from the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia and has a certificate in Islamic Studies.
He hopes to help the party consolidate "Malay ground".
As for why he left PKMS to join the WP, he said: "I wanted to help mobilise Malay support for the WP, which has now become a mainstream Opposition party.
"I also believe in the party's philosophy of being compassionate to society." -
ANSLEY NG
ESTATE MANAGEMENT HIS FOCUSTHIS General Election will be Mr Gopal Krishnan's first fight in the political arena, though he joined WP in 1979.
In the early 1980s, the 52-year-old was a member of the Anson Constituency Working Committee and helped then-Anson MP and WP secretary-general J B Jeyaretnam organise grassroots activities.
Comparing politics then and now, Mr Gopal said: "Those days, (politicians) were more robust, passionate and hardcore." Asked why it took him so long to step up to contest, he said he was ready – "but there were other more important assignments for me then".
Mr Gopal, who is a senior housing maintenance inspector at the Hougang Town Council, said his work allows him to understand estate issues well. If elected, he would like to focus on a topic he knows best: Estate management.
"We would do a better job if we win another constituency because we have a lot of experience in that area." -
ANSLEY NG
A VOICE FOR HEARTLANDERSDURING the 2001 polls, Dr Poh Lee Guan garnered 26.3 per cent of the votes in a face-off with Senior Minister of State for Law and Home Affairs Associate Professor Ho Peng Kee in Nee Soon East.
"That was my first time. I am happy with it," said Dr Poh, who is the WP's first assistant secretary-general.
On his chances this coming election, he said: "I have done my part to learn to manage a Town Council, to reach out and to understand the parliamentary process."
The 44-year-old senior management lecturer in a private college is a divorcee with a nine-year-old son. He has been getting acquainted with Town Council operations in Hougang, where party secretary-general Low Thia Khiang is MP.
If elected, he hopes to be a voice for heartlanders. "I am a typical heartlander and will do my best to serve them, manage their living environment as well as possible," said Dr Poh, who lives in a four-room flat in Nee Soon Central. -
ANSLEY NG
