The Reform Party (RP) wants to contest Pioneer Single Member Constituency (SMC) – but not if it means entering a three-cornered fight, party Secretary-General Kenneth Jeyaretnam said on Wednesday (Aug 26).
The National Solidarity Party (NSP) was previously set to contest the SMC after a series of talks between most of the Opposition parties in early August. Mr Steve Chia – who took 39.27 per cent of the votes in Pioneer in the 2011 General Election – was originally expected to contest again under the NSP banner, but he has since pulled out of contesting the 2015 General Election entirely.
The People’s Action Party incumbent Cedric Foo will be defending his seat in the single-seat constituency in the coming General Election.
On Wednesday, Mr Jeyaretnam said RP had initially pulled out of Pioneer only because Mr Chia was contesting the SMC, but should now be given the chance to contest if NSP is unable to field a “strong candidate” there.
“We agreed to relinquish our interest in Pioneer only because Steve Chia from NSP said he would be standing again. We felt he was a strong candidate and had a good chance of winning, having done well in 2011. However he has now withdrawn entirely from the election,” said Mr Jeyaretnam.
“If NSP withdraw entirely or are unable to field a strong candidate then we feel that we should be given the chance to contest as we have many excess candidates. However, in the interests of unity and solidarity among the Opposition, we will not enter a three-cornered fight.
“We hope that NSP will clarify its intentions shortly.”
The RP chief said his party is declaring its interest publicly as it has been trying to contact NSP President Sebastian Teo and Organising Secretary Spencer Ng, but with no success.
Pioneer was formerly part of West Coast GRC, but was carved out for the 2011 General Election. RP is set to contest West Coast GRC again in the 2015 General Election, having done so four years ago. The party has been visiting residents in Pioneer SMC since 2011, RP said.
The RP added that in “similar spirit of Opposition solidarity”, they have contacted independent candidate Tan Lam Siong to offer him a place in one of their GRC teams or in an SMC to avoid a three-cornered fight in Potong Pasir SMC, but have been unable to dissuade him.
Mr Tan confirmed that RP tabled an offer for him to contest Radin Mas SMC, but he did not accept it.
Taking a leaf out of United States President Barack Obama’s playbook, several opposition parties unveiled a campaign badge carrying the words “Vote for Change” to signal their common goal in the Sept 11 General Election.
The seven parties – excluding the Workers’ Party (WP) and Singapore People’s Party (SPP) – also renewed their commitment to unity yesterday during the event, held at the Singaporeans First party headquarters in Tras Street.
The red badge was launched by representatives from the SingFirst party, Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA), Democratic Progressive Party, Reform Party and People’s Power Party (PPP).
“Vote for Change” was Mr Obama’s campaign slogan during the 2008 US presidential elections.
The National Solidarity Party and Singapore Democratic Party were also part of the effort but they did not attend the launch yesterday due to prior engagements, said PPP chief Goh Meng Seng.
It appears that another objective of the badge is to help raise funds. Mr Goh said some of the parties, including his, would be selling the badges for $5 each during their election rallies.
He added that the badge would be “a sign of unity among the opposition parties”, and that their supporters would wear it during the upcoming campaign period.
Mr Goh told reporters he hoped the badge would end the in-fighting and disagreements that have dogged the opposition parties.
“We will move on to the real battlefield, one that is based on our policy views,” he said.
Mr Goh added that invitations to this unity effort were extended to all nine opposition parties but the WP and SPP did not respond.
Clearer campaign rules could have been put out earlier to ensure a level playing field for political parties, said Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) chief Chee Soon Juan yesterday as the party introduced two new candidates at its headquarters.
Referring to new conditions introduced by the Singapore Police Force for the upcoming General Election (GE), Dr Chee, who spoke to reporters after the SDP introduced Ms Jaslyn Go and Professor Paul Ananth Tambyah as candidates, said the party would have no problem complying with them.
One of the two new permit conditions bar the concealment of faces on stage during election rallies. The other prohibits Central Executive Committee members and candidates of each political party from speaking at the rallies of other parties.
Party chief Chee Soon Juan said the SDP has no intention of doing so, but other opposition parties may have wanted to speak at one another’s rallies. He also said the party had printed posters for the elections, but new requirements were issued that it now has to address, without going into detail.
The SDP also wanted to have decal advertisements on a rented private bus to transport candidates during the nine days of campaigning, but it has dropped the idea of a “campaign bus” after the lack of clarity on the applications needed and a shortage of time. “These are things that (are) just not helpful at all to conduct truly free and fair elections,” Dr Chee said.
Prof Tambyah and Ms Go were introduced by SDP chairman Jeffrey George. Both candidates have been active before the 2011 GE, although Prof Tambyah joined as a member only in the past fortnight after leaving human rights group Maruah. Ms Go, who runs a construction company with her husband, joined the party in 2007.
Prof Tambyah, 50, has been active with the party for a decade and spoke at the SDP’s rally in Boat Quay in 2011. He said he could not contest then as his father died that year. Ms Go, 43, said she was not ready in 2011 and has since walked the ground to understand concerns of the public. Representing the party at conferences and events has also helped build her confidence, said the mother of two, who was an emcee at the SDP’s rallies in 2011.
Mother-of-two Jaslyn Go began working during the school holidays from the age of 12, travelling from her home in Bukit Merah to a Paya Lebar garment factory to earn S$5 a day.
She began working part-time from Secondary Two at McDonald’s, but juggling work and studies took its toll. She ventured into the working world after her O-Levels, doing sales and marketing mainly in the automobile industry.
Ms Go said yesterday that she has also personally experienced challenges facing small and medium enterprises, running a construction company with her husband since 2004 that now hires 30 people and has an annual turnover of S$2 million.
Her children are aged 12 and 10, and Ms Go said she feels strongly that education policies should encourage children to enjoy the process of learning.
“Do we actually want our kids to grow up in this kind of stressful environment (today)?” she said.
There is now also an overemphasis on paper qualifications, she feels. “In my generation, we are still able to make it without the paper chase. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for the younger generations,” she wrote in her biography published on the SDP’s website.
Her son will be taking his Primary School Leaving Examination this year and she is counting on her supportive husband to look after the children in her absence.
Ms Go joined the Singapore Democratic Party in 2007, drawn by concerns over the cost of living, she said.
“I felt strongly about it as a new mother. I was worried for my children, how they were going to … pay for a decent house and having to compete for places in schools, and (for) job opportunities,” she said.
Jaslyn Go Hui Leng, 43
Sales director of a construction company co-founded with her husband
Fact file:
• Has a certificate in early childhood education and a diploma in sales and marketing
• Began working part-time from the age of 14 to help her family financially
• Oversees sales, does training and develops profit targets at the construction company set up with her husband in 2004, that now has 30 staff and annual turnover of S$2 million
She said:
“Attitude in life surpasses academic qualifications … The twists that life throw at you can be turned into valuable lessons, they are experiences that books can’t teach you. They certainly brought me to where I am today.”
Ten years ago, if anyone told you the Workers’ Party would one fine day be attracting lawyers, young professionals and even an academic to join their ranks, you would have wondered, “What’s a worker’s party?” and “Is it like a Zouk thing?”.
Now, take a look around you in 2015.
Besides noticing how much things have changed since those days when social media was Friendster and democracy meant one opposition member in parliament, it’s hard to overlook the fact that the Workers’ Party has gotten big enough it is producing its own gravity and sucking in some potentially bright stars.
And here’s one of them: He Ting Ru, 32, a Cambridge-educated lawyer who looks set to contest in this coming general election after being spotted on walkabouts with the party recently.
Back in Singapore since 2011 after an overseas stint studying and working, she witnessed the General Election that year first-hand and like many others felt a tingle down her spine.
But unlike many others, she decided the time is ripe to get involved with the WP by volunteering with them.
Mothership.sg caught up with He to talk about whether she knows what’s she is getting herself into four years on since GE2011, how she never got to meet Chen Show Mao for the first time after standing around for two hours, and also, the sport kendo, plus, her eight cats.
1. First things first, the most important question: Did you know that people on online forums say you look like Rui En?
Ting Ru: No, actually, but I’m very flattered. However I do believe that as with anyone you meet, judge them based on the strength of character, not on their surface or outward appearance.
2. So, do you think you look like Rui En?
Ting Ru: I’m not quite sure I really see the similarity myself! Eventually I hope people can see me for who I am and what I stand for, as well as my efforts to effect some kind of positive change.
Photo by Lim Weixiang for Mothership.sg
3. Okay great. For the benefit of our readers who can’t listen to you answer these questions: Why do you lapse into a British-sounding accent?
Ting Ru: I spent almost 10 years in England after my junior college years. I studied in Cambridge for my undergraduate degree. I then moved to London for law school and trained as a lawyer with Clifford Chance. I qualified as an English solicitor and worked with the same firm in London and Frankfurt, Germany before coming home.
4. So you are those really smart kind who went overseas on a scholarship?
Ting Ru: No… I was from Raffles Junior College, and there was the question about whether to apply for ‘S’ papers to qualify for scholarships.
My dad was adamant about me not applying for a scholarship, though, because he said he was able to save up enough for me to study wherever I gained acceptance to.
He strongly believes scholarships should be for people whose parents may not be able to afford to pay for their children to go to top universities even though they gained entrance to these places.
5. With all that time spent there, can you still speak Mandarin?
Ting Ru: I’ve spent the last four years doing Meet-the-People Sessions, so I have to be conversant in Mandarin. I’m comfortable with that and I’m pleased to say that the residents understand me.
6. Now tell us why does it seem like more young people like yourself, be it professionals or captains of industry, are joining the Workers’ Party?
Ting Ru: I can’t speak for all young people, but based on the people I’ve spoken to, they have expressed an interest in what the Workers’ Party is doing.
Some of them are very supportive and a lot of them are interested to listen to what our party has to say and it is not just because they are sympathetic.
In 2011, people actually did sit up and notice Chen Show Mao. It was a point of interest for me that someone who was obviously very successful in his professional career would actually feel that he believed enough in what the WP had to offer and what the future of Singapore should be in order to be able to stand up as a candidate and serve as a MP.
But what I would like to see is people from a diverse range of backgrounds who would listen to what we have to say and support us and work with us.
An energetic start to the #sg50 festivities! While out and about in Geylang Serai today, one of the shop owners…
7. Did you have to explain to your friends and family why you decided to join the WP?
Ting Ru: Of course people are curious but I say to them that, ultimately, I believe each one of us has a role to play and I’m just very fortunate to be able to volunteer and work with the WP to do the work I’ve done in four years.
Some of my professional background has been very helpful, too — I volunteered for a few years in a free legal clinic in a very deprived and dangerous area while I was in London and worked with the residents there, some of whom are refugees. That training made me quite well-equipped.
8. Besides real work, what are the other things you do to spend time?
Ting Ru: I enjoy cycling and walking. While I was in university, I discovered team sports and played football as well as rowed in the college women’s team.
I also practise kendo, but I’m still very much a beginner, having only done it for roughly a year.
(Why Kendo and not normal fencing?)
What I found interesting is the philosophy of kendo. A lot of it can be carried into everyday life.
9. How do you see kendo playing a part in the upcoming election?
Ting Ru: One thing I find very important about kendo is the absolute respect you must have for your opponent, so if you look at the kendo rules, you will see that you are not allowed to cheer when you win a fight.
(That sucks.)
Ting Ru: No, listen, let me finish! You have to acknowledge the fact your opponent has spent the same amount of effort and same amount of training work as you have, and you are not allowed to crow over your victory.
And I think this amount of respect is unfortunately lacking in Singapore politics. I do believe, also, that the country as a whole benefits when the public sphere, the political sphere, is a lot more respectful.
We are not here to create trouble or oppose for the sake of it. There’s a lot of common purpose in that respect for the good of Singapore.
Photo by Lim Weixiang for Mothership.sg
10. We heard Chen Show Mao made you wait more than two hours the first time you went to meet him. What happened there?
Ting Ru: I came back to Singapore in 2011 just before the general election. What really struck me at that time was that Singaporeans seemed really very, very interested about politics, they were obviously very patriotic and cared deeply about what would happen to Singapore.
I paid attention to the rallies and listened to what the people had to say. When WP won Aljunied GRC, like a lot of Singaporeans, I was very pleased and very glad that there’s been a natural development of our democratic process.
At the same time I realised, they probably needed a lot more resources and help going from one seat to six in parliament, so I thought, hey, why not let’s help out with the WP. I didn’t think of it as a political statement or a career, I just wanted to use my skills to help residents.
So, I wrote in to the WP right after the election and I suppose, as the party at that time was completely swamped, I didn’t get a response. I then decided to make a trip down to the nearest Meet-the-People Session, which happened to be Mr Chen’s at Paya Lebar.
It was chaotic at the time and the whole system was just getting set up and there were a lot of non-residents who turned up at the MPS with Show Mao, but I went with the intention of wanting to volunteer. And I decided to stay behind to wait to speak to him.
At that time the person in charge thought I was a fan girl who wanted to meet Show Mao, so he ignored me and told me to wait. And I stood there for about two and a half hours just observing what was going on. And after that, the WP rep realised I was still there and talked to me about case law, and I told him about my legal background — he was convinced, and I even managed to see my first case that night.
Come to think of it, I never actually did talk to Show Mao that evening. It didn’t really bother me…
(That’s what you say now. Heh heh heh.)
[Laughter all around]
11. Why did you look for Chen Show Mao initially then?
Ting Ru: I saw that he had a similar background to me, we were working overseas and we did law. But I guess it was (chiefly) because his MPS was the closest to my house.
12. How would you have reacted 10 or 15 years ago, if someone told you then that one day you would join the Workers’ Party?
Ting Ru: I wouldn’t have believed you. I think I mentioned before I never saw myself to be a person who is involved in politics. It was not something I set out to do even when I started volunteering. But over the years, I’ve worked with some very dedicated and sincere people who are very good at what they do.
Together we do actually make a difference in the lives of residents and advance Singapore’s political and democratic system.
13. We hear you have eight cats (this is the actual purpose of our interview with you). How did you come to have so many!
Ting Ru: My family likes cats so we adopted some. Initially, the thinking was that a cat would help keep the rats at bay. But we found out that’s not true.
So all those years ago we went to the SPCA and adopted a ginger as a kitten. Since then we’ve always had a cat, and a total of about 12 or 13 cats have passed through our household.
Of the current eight, one was from SPCA, after my previous cat died, the second one was rescued as a palm-sized stray. There was a pair of cats that found their way into our house and before we could get them sterilised they had three kittens. We wanted to give them away but thought better of it, and never managed to re-home them so they’re still with us (embarrassed laugh). And my mum found a white longhair in a drain a few streets away, who remained there for more than two months (he was definitely abandoned), so we also took him in, and he is still here.
(Your house sounds like a halfway house for cats.)
Photo courtesy of He Ting Ru
It’s not a halfway house! They just tend to not go (laughs). We didn’t start out as a multi-cat household, but we ended up becoming one.
14. And we ask this question to every person we’re interviewing for this GE — if you were a Singapore hawker food dish, which would you be and why?
Hainanese pork chop. Firstly because my dad’s Hainanese, and food is very important to Hainanese. It’s yummy, but also because I believe the dish was created using both Western and Asian influences, and for someone like me who has lived in both Asian and Western countries it’s quite an apt description, hopefully it’s the best of many worlds but uniquely local.
(Got chilli?)
It’s curry — Hainanese curry! I’ll bring you to the one at Tiong Bahru, my grandfather used to go there and it’s very authentic.
