New Paper: Are you nervous about facing off against PAP?
Eye on election
Question time
The New Paper's NG TZE YONG, our post-65 representative, puts 10 burning questions to three Worker's Party candidates
Mr Yaw Shin Leong, 29, business analyst
Ms Lee Wai Leng, 26, businesswoman
Mr Eric Tan, 50, general manager of a financial services company
BLUE is calm.
Blue is confidence.
And blue is the colour of the Workers' Party.
Fifteen new WP candidates were introduced over the past few days.
Decked out in sky-blue, they came across as calm, cool and confident.
Among the 15 is a lawyer, a union leader, even a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, a top US university.
Fielding questions from the media, they spoke confidently about their beliefs and plans.
Gone, it seems, is the era of opposition candidates heckling PAP politicians with loudhailers.
But aren't these WP newbies worried about facing off against the PAP? Why are they so confident?
We posed this question to three of the 15 candidates.
Mr Eric Tan, 50, the general manager of a financial services company, laughs off the question.
"You have to be confident in the first place to join the opposition," he said.
But on a more serious note, the father of three daughters added: "We are confident not because we think we will win. We are confident because we have a tremendous conviction in our beliefs."
Ms Lee Wai Leng, 26, a businesswoman who runs her own translation company, said: "We are a bunch of rationally-minded people. We are offering serious views on policies." She's married with no children.
For Mr Yaw Shin Leong, a business analyst, the confidence can be summed up with a Mandarin idiom: "You Bei Er Lai". It means "to come in prepared".
The 29-year-old co-owns an e-business consultancy and is married with no children.
He said: "We have prepared for five years and we have worked to the best of our abilities."
"We offer voters a choice and we will accept their decision," Mr Tan said. "Win or lose, our convictions won't change."
Q Why should I risk upgrading because of you?
Mr Yaw: If voters only want upgrading, then vote for the PAP. Don't vote for us. But if they have a sense of justice and want things to be better, then vote for the Workers' Party.
Mr Tan: You will not be risking upgrading by voting for us. If we win a GRC, the PAP will not dare to ostracise a GRC. They will want to win it back. And we will want to retain it. So you will get your upgrading.
Ms Lee: Voting is not just about upgrading. It is also about checks and balances. We should not be too materialistic. There is more to life than upgrading.
Q Talk is easy. What are you prepared to sacrifice for your beliefs?
Mr Yaw: I will give my life. I believe in national defence and I will fight for my homeland if need be.
Mr Tan: I don't call them sacrifices because I am happy to strive for my ideals.
Ms Lee: It would be my monetary sacrifice. If you compare me to my friends, I won't be embarrassed to tell you I'm the poorer one. But if I'm not going to do it, who will? If you want to be in politics for the long haul, you will have to put in the time and commitment.
Q What did your family and friends say when you told them you were joining the opposition?
Mr Yaw: They were shocked. Even my best buddies didn't expect it even though I was involved in student politics before. But I told them there there are issues that needed to be addressed. And then they supported me.
Mr Tan: Some were supportive and some were not. People have grown used to the system and they have their own loyalties. And then there's the fear among civil servants.
Ms Lee: My family reacted calmly and coolly. They are the traditional type so silence actually means consent. My friends were surprised because they thought that people our age would be more interested in our careers.
Q If you want to change policies, wouldn't it make more sense to join the PAP where the chances of you pushing through your notion is higher?
Mr Yaw: Even company audits are subject to external checks, right? The best system is really a balance between the internal and the external. It is hard to change things from the inside.
Mr Tan: I joined the opposition because of my character. The PAP's role is more administrative. It takes a top-down approach. The opposition's role is in creating value and helping the political system evolve. Ours is a partnership approach.
Ms Lee: You make a more active contribution in opposition politics. Changes that come from within the system are usually just cosmetic. Here at the Workers' Party, we do not do cosmetic changes. Even if the system needs an overhaul, we will do it.
Q What is the most outrageous thing you have ever done?
Mr Yaw: Completing 26 blocks in a walkabout in one day! It took twelve hours straight. It was crazy.
Mr Tan: While backpacking as a student, I attended this rock concert in Barcelona in front of a grand cathedral. We were young, we were drunk, the sky was blue and we were happy. We slept on park benches until the police chased us away in the morning.
Ms Lee: When I was in NUS, I once went for two days and two nights without sleep. I was rushing two essays for my Sociology class. I never knew that I had the stamina to do such things until then! But I did it by keep gulping down cups of tea.
Q If you could have one superpower, what would it be?
Mr Yaw: To be able to be at many different places at one time. There are so many things I want to get done!
Mr Tan: I want to speak many, many languages because I want to reach out to people.
Ms Lee: I want to know all the languages of the world. Languages help you cross barriers. When you learn the language of a country, you find out about their culture and understand their history.
Q If your son told you one day he was gay, what would you do?
Mr Yaw: There would definitely be silence at first. I'd need to absorb the shock. But then, I'd tell him: "Son, I know you know best."
Mr Tan: I would accept it. In any case, I shouldn't be shocked if he is my son. I am not a blind parent.
Ms Lee: I would accept it because I encourage diversity. To me, it is just another sexual orientation and it is nothing to be ashamed of.
Q Do you think the Progress Package was a form of electioneering? If so, what are you doing with your share?
Mr Yaw: Incumbent MPs will not admit it is electioneering but I do. I received $500 and I donated all of it to the Workers' Party because I believe in it.
Mr Tan: If the opposition did not exist, would we have received the Progress Package? I received about $1,000 or less. I am thinking of giving it to charity.
Ms Lee: If it is not electioneering, why would they give it out just before the elections? I received $600. I will combine it with the $900 my husband received and buy a laptop for our translation business. I did not think about rejecting the money because if the Government wants to give, why not keep it?
Q Among world leaders, who's your hero?
Mr Yaw: You don't need to look outside of Singapore. I admire J B Jeyaretnam. After so many years, he is still here. He's a stayer, not a quitter.
Mr Tan: Pope John Paul II. He lost his family when he was 18 or 19 and grew up poor. You would think that he would be angry and bitter at life and at God. But he was not. I was touched by it.
Ms Lee: I admire Aung San Suu Kyi. She stands up for what she believes in even though she knows how tough it is going to be.
