The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has pitched a Harvard graduate to be among the slate of candidates it and the Singapore People’s Party (SPP) will be jointly fielding in Bishan-Toa Payoh Group Representation Constituency.
Ms Nadine Yap, 46, graduated with a sociology degree from Harvard College in 1992 and went on to complete a Master of Arts from Harvard University three years later.
In an interview with TODAY, the Eurasian of Chinese-German mix said she wants to contest in the coming elections because she believes there needs to be more diverse types in Parliament.
Referring to the People’s Action Party’s team for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, the mother-of-two described them as “people who walked a very narrow path to success”.
“The current set of PAP candidates, they look like very good … capable people. But they are two civil servants, a doctor, a banker, and CEO of a REIT company,” said Ms Yap. “Although I think one might look at my credentials and say ‘you look like one of them’ … I am an entrepreneur; a technologist. I am trained to think outside of the box. I am not averse to failure. So I think Bishan-Toa Payoh, and Singapore in general, needs more voices like this.”
Ms Yap spent years in the United States working for three technology start-ups as well as e-commerce giant Amazon, as a technical product manager. In 2006, returned to Singapore and joined technology company Yahoo!, also in the area of products.
She now works as a vice-president of product at Temasys, which develops platforms for next generation real-time communications applications.
Ms Yap, who joined DPP as a member in December last year, added that she is not “virulently anti-PAP”. Rather, she believes the greater Opposition presence in Parliament has brought about good change.
“The PAP is making changes, and part of it is because of an increasingly credible opposition. If the PAP ends up improving because of this, then sure, why not be part of it?” she said.
As for issues that she is looking to champion, Ms Yap pointed to education. One of her two daughters, both in primary school, is dyslexic, and she believes greater support is needed.
She believes that she would appeal to the many families who have moved to the constituency for the many reputable schools there, as well as Professionals, Managers, Executives, and Technicians — a group that her party chief Benjamin Pwee has identified form a big proportion of swing voters.
Meanwhile, Mr Pwee said he has presented 10 potential candidates — including Ms Yap and himself — for the SPP to consider to field in the five-member Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC. The DPP’s list includes architect Juliana Juwahir, party chairman Hamim Aliyas, and businessman Chia Ser Lin.
“We are still waiting for (SPP chairman) Lina Chiam to decide how many candidates from her side and how many from our side … then we will sit down and both sides will talk. All five must be able to work as a team for the long haul,” he said.
Source: www.todayonline.com
