Last night, the Workers’ Party’s CEC (Central Executive Council) met to decide on which candidates would accept the Non-constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) positions, following the results of General Election 2015. The press release on our decisions is here.
Before a vote was taken on the nominee from the East Coast GRC team, I asked the CEC to consider nominating Leon Perera and, if Parliament decides to open up the vacated seat left by Lee Li Lian, for Daniel Goh to fill it.
I am happy that the CEC unanimously agreed to this proposal. The East Coast team had earlier discussed this matter amongst ourselves and we agreed that Leon and Daniel would be the most suitable candidates as NCMPs. They have both taken leading roles in policy work within our Party, and I am confident they will be able to make very positive contributions to Parliamentary debates and speak up for not just residents of East Coast GRC, but all Singaporeans.
I am grateful to have had the privilege and opportunity to serve as an NCMP in the 12th Parliament of Singapore. It was a very fulfilling four years. I learned so much from the debates, the policy research that we did, and from my fellow MPs, volunteers, residents and the subject matter experts I consulted.
I am very thankful to all those who helped me fulfil my NCMP role, including the WP volunteers who gave up so much time to help me in policy work and ground outreach. Special thanks go to my wife and parents who stood by me through all the trying times, as well as my two young kids who were always understanding when I told them I couldn’t spend time with them because I was going out to a certain “Party”.
While I will no longer be an NCMP, I intend to continue serving residents on the ground in East Coast GRC and through my Party in the areas of policy research and media. I would like to thank all the residents of East Coast GRC who have supported me and WP in the past two elections which I contested, and I look forward to greater interactions with you over the next five years. For those who did not vote for us, I especially look forward to an opportunity to understand your concerns, hopes and dreams, and to be able to serve you better in the future.
Mohamed Fairoz Bin Shariff is certainly a man of action — and perhaps a bit of risk-taker.
He sure doesn’t look like one, though — he was a librarian, for goodness sakes — and previously with the Singapore Discovery Centre.
Every day, he tells us, he eats the same thing for lunch — nasi padang with assam pedas and sambal goreng. He likes it spicy, but that’s about it; it’s the same.
Photo on the right by Lim Weixiang for Mothership.sg. Image on the left from Disney blogs.
(although he does remind us a little bit of Jaafar, heh… Okay, we’re kidding!)
The 36-year-old had only been with the National Library Board (NLB) for 10 months when he decided he would leave the public service to stand with the Workers’ Party’s (WP) slate of candidates for the 2015 General Election.
And we’ll tell you why he looks like he’s going all-in, too — he’s already got three young mouths to feed (aged seven, five and 10 months), and his mum also stays with him and his wife, a senior staff nurse.
Yet, he says, the decision to stand was a collective one made by him and his wife.
“We are aware that, you know, we might just lose the elections and I might just be out of job for some time, but it’s okay,” he told Mothership.sg over Saturday dinner at Bedok Corner food centre, near where he lives.
In fact, he adds, it’s not at the risk of not being able to provide for his children that he is doing this, but conversely for his kids that he is standing, and it was his wife who pushed him to do so.
“You can say she’s my pillar — she’s the one who holds me down and says, ‘look, you gotta do this’. She’s the one who always reminds me if I’m stressed to keep calm and move on. So yes, this is something that we have discussed for some time, and we are aware of the risks, but at the end of the day, the way we see it, we both know that what I am doing is for our kids.”
He said no to standing for election twice
Photo by Lim Weixiang for Mothership.sg
He’s also got an interesting story to tell about how he was motivated to step up — he was first approached to stand in 2006, having been a party member since 2004, but turned the party down because he was about to get married. At the last election in 2011, he also said no because he didn’t feel ready.
“But what really made me feel that, ok you know what, I do need to step forward, was when in 2011 Pasir Ris-Punggol was contested by SDA and the Malay guy was my friend Shafni, whom my wife and I knew from NUS. We saw him, and I thought, ‘If Shafni is willing to step forward, why not, you know? Why not me?’ So that, in a sense, was when the process of discernment to stand really started.”
Fairoz knew his intention for standing could not come from this, though — that would be wrong and selfish — and so began a process of refining it that ended with his decision this year to say yes.
“My family, you can say, also played a role in my inclinations — my late grandmother has always been pro-opposition, I’m not sure why (laughs), and my whole family was brought up in this climate of ‘we need more opposition, we need more balance in our society’, so of course when I shared my intentions to stand with them, I had very strong support from my family… they’re very proud that I’m willing to step forward.”
He did face some friction from his in-laws, though, who reside in the west (“I think it’s an Easterner-Westerner thing!”) and who cautioned him against “getting involved”.
“They said if I was going to be a politician, join a party and stand for elections, I would risk losing my job and all that, and it took me awhile to convince them — but really it was my wife who helped to win them over. Now they’re very supportive and say they’re okay with it.”
He’s an only child with an “extended” family
Fairoz was about five years old when his birth parents divorced and his father left the family. His mother remarried, he gained two half-brothers, and then divorced and remarried again to his current stepfather, who lives with her and his family.
All that said, though, he says he dislikes the term “broken family” because he completely does not see his as one.
“Even though my mum and my two dads are divorced, all our families are on very good terms. My dad comes over during Hari Raya and my mum goes to visit his side too; there’s nothing wrong in our family, and I really wouldn’t call it broken — I’d instead use the term ‘extended’.”
As a matter of fact, he credits the support from his family as the source of his ability to succeed in school and to stay on the right track.
“I do get asked this question quite a bit — how I am so successful (academically and professionally) despite being from a broken family, and I say the key is family. The word is family. If we have strong support from our family, then there is nothing to stop that child of a whether it is a divorce family or single parent family to really excel. That is the base. That family support is the key to a child’s success.”
What’s his plan A and plan B?
Photo by Lim Weixiang for Mothership.sg
With all this in mind, we asked him what his plan A is (if he is elected) and plan B would be (if he isn’t).
“Plan A — if I get elected, I will definitely be a full-time MP. Plan B… I haven’t really thought about it, but there are a few areas I’d be quite interested to pursue. I hope to go back to lecture at UniSIM, because I really love teaching, or even the NLB, if they’ll take me back, but alternatively, my wife and I might go into reviewing children’s books!”
And finally, we asked for his assessment of Singapore’s political opposition now. He thinks it comes in three steps:
1) Allowing everyone to vote — and this, he feels, has been attained, so he’s glad;
2) Build up a base of credible people — who aren’t just good enough to stand for election but who are also backed by solid volunteers. He feels this is in progress, but also assesses this is moving in the right direction.
The last? And this, he admits, is some years away, but it would be
3) To have an opposition party that is able to contest all the seats in parliament and form an alternative government.
“So it’s a very long process. I think our situation has come about because of the way our political environment has been, you know, for the past 50 years. But I’m glad I’m part of that process.
And I hope Singaporeans will continue to support us as we move in the right direction, because I feel that if for whatever reason Singapore doesn’t support us, we’ll just go back to square one and then… I do not know what kind of Singapore we are going to leave for our children.”
Thank you for serving us the past 5 years. My friends and me in East Coast can see our future in promises made by WP and everyone seems to agree that PAP will lose.
There is a tide of democracy sweeping through this country and many people feel that the PAP needs to be checked in parliament. I kinda believe in that too because the PAP has allowed the influx of foreigners without proper planning and infrastructure. I feel like a foreigner in my own country now and I think WP deserves a chance to prove themselves.
You have been a friend to the Malay-Muslim and East Coast community. Even though you are also a Minister of State, you have taken much of your time to spend with us in various community and religious events. It is always sad that someone who has worked tirelessly and who has a good heart is cruelly pushed aside. But alas, that’s elections.
Come Sep 11, whatever the result, I hope to still see you in East Coast and my house will be open to you. After the elections, we should mend our differences, no matter which side we have voted for. Take good care and stay strong. If you really have the heart to serve, you will still serve us even if you are not my MP.
#eastcoastwillfall
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<Warkah Buat AP Dr Maliki Osman>
Salam Dr Maliki,
Terima kasih kerana khidmat anda selama lima tahun yang lepas. Namun, saya serta rakan-rakan di East Coast semua setuju bahawa masa depan kita akan lebih cerah dengan perubahan dasar yang telah dijanjikan WP. Kami juga berpendapat yang PAP akan tewas.
Negara kita ini sedang dilanda arus demokrasi – ramai setuju yang PAP harus dipantau di parlimen. Saya sendiri bersetuju dengan falsafah ini. Satu lagi masalah ialah PAP telah membenarkan pemindahan rakyat asing ke negara ini tanpa perancangan yang rapi dan infrastuktur yang mencukupi. Sekarang, saya rasa seperti pendatang asing di negara sendiri. Justeru, saya percaya yang WP harus diberi peluang untuk membuktikan keupayaan mereka di parlimen.
Anda merupakan rakan kepada masyarat Melayu/Islam dan masyarakat umum di East Coast. Walaupun anda menyandang jawatan Menteri Negara, anda telah banyak meluangkan masa bersama kami di acara-acara keagamaan dan kemasyarakatan. Memang menyedihkan bila seseorang yang telah bertungkus-lumus membanting tulang dan mempunyai jiwa kemasyarakatan diketepikan dengan tidak berhati perut. Namun itu lumrah pilihanraya.
Walau apa pun keputusannya pada tanggal 11 Sep ini, saya harap masih dapat lihat anda terus bergiat di East Coast. Rumah saya sentiasa terbuka kepada anda. Selesainya pilihanraya ni, kita harus perbaiki semua perbezaan kita, tidak kira parti mana yang telah disokong. Jaga diri dan terus kekal kukuh. Kalau anda betul mempunyai jiwa untuk berkhidmat, anda akan terus bergiat walaupun bukan AP lagi.
The Workers’ Party’s (WP) team for East Coast Group Representation Constituency is hoping that the “tremendous” support from residents during the hustings will translate into votes come Polling Day, said team leader Gerald Giam.
Speaking to reporters today (Sept 9) at a walkabout at New Upper Changi Road, Mr Giam noted the warm reception and said he expects East Coast GRC to be “one of the closest contested wards” in this election.
“So we’re trying to reach out to as many residents as possible… We hope that many of them will come to our rally tonight to hear what we have to say,” he said. WP is holding its final rally at East Coast GRC tonight.
Mr Giam added: “We hope that residents will also be able to share with their families and friends the message we have for them which is to entrench an opposition presence in Parliament and (for) a group of MPs who can hold the Government to account and give them (Singaporeans) bargaining power.”
In the 2011 General Election, WP received 45 per cent of the vote in East Coast GRC, while the People’s Action Party garnered 55 per cent of the vote. Mr Giam said he felt that the response from residents has been “better” this time round. He added that his stint as a Non-Constituency Member of Parliament after the previous GE has helped made it easier for him to connect with residents, as more of them were able to recognise him. “I am very proud to have a good team with me,” he said.
He said: “The people in Singapore have demonstrated a desire for greater Opposition presence. Many of them have come up to us and told us that they want to see a greater Opposition presence in parliament, but not just any Opposition. They want an opposition that is credible, responsible and can speak up for them and raise issues that matter to them — that what we hope to be if we’re elected.”
Mr Giam also reiterated the WP’s stand on foreign workers. While the WP supports the current tightening by the Government, it wants greater predictability to be given to businesses, with clearer targets and timelines on reducing the foreign worker dependency ratios. This should be done “independent of electoral cycles and other things that will be affected by political considerations”, Mr Giam said. “There is no choice (but) to tighten the inflow because of the excesses of the previous decade, where a lot of foreigners were brought in and there wasn’t sufficient planning done,” he said.
SAMBUTAN ramai terhadap Parti Pekerja (WP) sejauh ini amat memberangsangkan, kata salah seorang calonnya, Encik Mohamed Fairoz Shariff.
Malah, beliau secara peribadi berharap dapat melihat “politik yang membina” daripada semua parti, dan bukan mengutuk antara satu sama lain.
“Apa kata kita semua sama-sama menumpukan perhatian pada isu-isu yang menjadi keprihatinan rakyat.
“WP merupakan sebuah parti yang rasional, yang percaya dengan politik yang membina.
“Sekiranya ini dapat dicapai, maka kita dapat membina sebuah negara yang makmur sedang negara ini terus maju ke hadapan,” katanya lagi.
Bapa tiga anak berusia tujuh dan lima tahun serta seorang lagi yang baru berusia 10 bulan itu berkata berdasarkan lawatan yang diadakan sejauh ini, beliau sendiri berasa kagum dengan sambutan yang diberikan ramai penduduk setempat terhadap parti tersebut.
Malah baru-baru ini sahaja, beberapa penduduk telah membelikan beliau dan pasukannya minuman semasa mereka sama-sama berkempen di sebuah pasar.
“Kami telah bekerja keras sejak beberapa tahun lalu dengan hasrat mendapatkan maklum balas mengenai keprihatinan mereka.
“Meskipun sambutan menggalakkan, pucuk pangkalnya terpulang kepada para penduduk siapa yang mereka akan pilih pada hari mengundi kelak,” katanya yang berminat membincangkan hal-hal pendidikan dengan golongan dewasa.
Dalam satu lawatan beramah mesra dengan penduduk di Bedok baru-baru ini, Encik Fairoz telah menimbulkan isu pengurusan kerja fleksibel bagi pekerja dalam syarikat yang mempunyai lebih 20 kakitangan.
Beliau berkata skim sedemikian akan membantu warga Singapura menikmati kehidupan bekerja yang harmoni.
“Seorang pekerja yang gembira akan lebih produktif,” katanya seperti yang dilaporkan dalam akhbar The Straits Times.
Mengenai dirinya sendiri, Encik Fairoz, 36 tahun, yang mempunyai sarjana dalam pengajian Asia Tenggara daripada Universiti Nasional Singapura (NUS), berkata beliau berharap dapat mempertingkat keyakinan diri tatkala berhadapan dengan khalayak ramai.
“Saya gementar setiap kali berdiri di hadapan ramai, seperti semasa memberi ucapan di rapat pilihan raya baru-baru ini.
“Itu saya sedang atasi.
“Tapi saya yakin lama-kelamaan masalah ini akan dapat diatasi,” jelas mantan pegawai Lembaga Perpustakaan Negara itu lagi.
Dua lagi karyawan Melayu berkelulusan sarjana dalam WP ialah Encik Redzwan Hafidz Abdul Razak, 30 tahun, seorang jurutera; dan Encik Firuz Khan, 48 tahun, pengusaha coklat, ChocolateXcellence, yang berpangkalan di Wales, Britain.
