A reporter asked the introduced candidates what we thought of the PAP introducing their candidates in coffeeshops and other heartland venues while WP was doing this at the party HQ. Dylan and Choong Yong answered, but before I could, an AFP reporter abruptly interjected with a question he thought was more important, and Redzwan and I didn’t answer the question.
No matter, but the question left me thinking. My answer would have been, with a bit of extra hindsight time, “So what? I live in heartland spaces every day; I get introduced as a candidate at the HQ because it is a special event. My normal reality is the heartland, the heartland is not a special event for me. My life is the heartland, the heartland is not my symbolic gesture.”
So this is what I did after the press conference. Choong Yong generously gave me a lift back and went to the coffee shop across from my HDB block to work. I went back, said hello to my neighbour who was doing some DIY work in the corridor, changed to tee-shirt and berms, played a game of Zingo! with my son, and shared what happened with the wife. My mum was on her way back from work, and I know my son would want to do gardening with grandma to maintain the potted plants outside, so I took the chance to head to the bank at Nex mall to get a cashier’s order for the election deposit.
Along the way at the void deck I said hello and spoke briefly to the “guardian angel” uncle who sits at the stone table in the mornings and evenings to watch the crowds. At the traffic lights, two schoolboys were playing catching around me, and I glared at one of them because he almost crashed into me with his cup of soft drink. In Nex, I politely declined promoters trying to sell me something and negotiated some kan cheong aunties at the escalators. Got my cashier’s order, and while walking back through the bus interchange I saw my phone notifications had went crazy due to the buzz about my candidate introduction on social media.
But the irony is no one recognised me in the heartland, because I fade into it with my unclely tee-shirt and berms. And there is nothing special about the heartland, just the banality of everyday life which we cherish for its persistence. I rarely take selfies but I thought I should just do one to register a moment. It would have been extremely uncomfortable for me if I was introduced as a candidate at the coffeeshop or some other heartland spaces, because it would be symbolic tokenism that appropriates our living space for my own political profit.
The Workers’ Party unveiled four more potential candidates for the 2015 General Election on Thursday (Aug 27).
The new faces presented at the press conference were Mr Luke Koh, Ms Cheryl Loh, Mr Firuz Khan and Mr Terence Tan. Also at the WP headquarters for the event were party Chairman Sylvia Lim and Mr Png Eng Huat.
Mr Terence Tan, 44, a litigation lawyer and entrepreneur, said: “I’ve been walking with Mr Yee Jenn Jong in Joo Chiat and the surrounding areas since 2013. I’ve witnessed WP’s genuine commitment to serve Singaporeans and benefit Singaporeans’ lives. It was while volunteering with WP that I witnessed true servant leadership.”
He added: “I believe there is much desire for responsible, reasonable and rational checks and balances for the Government. An Opposition that does not oppose purely for the sake of it.
“I really do believe that the Government has focused on too much short-term economic gain instead of long-term gain for us.”
He said he found that things were “not the same” when he came back to Singapore following a decade overseas.
“Singaporeans are less optimistic, they can’t make the CPF Minimum Sum … we need to have reasonable debate in Parliament so the Government can refocus its policies. We need to remind the Government: Please put Singaporeans at the forefront of their policies.”
Ms Cheryl Loh, 31, a sales consultant with a document management company, said her focus was on education: “The young are the future of Singapore, and I feel no young person in Singapore should be deprived of an education because of their family background.”
“The Workers’ Party has been around for more than five decades, which speaks volumes for our credibility. We are here to stay. We are here for a purpose: To better the lives of Singaporeans,” added Ms Loh.
“We are here to provide a voice for fellow Singaporeans in Parliament.
“If elected, I will come up with events so that the community will get together, I can talk to them, and understand their concerns and issues.”
Mr Firuz Khan, 48, a manager at a chocolate manufacturer, said he joined the WP in 2006.
“I had always wanted to help my countrymen. My journey to politics started when I returned from my studies in the UK in 1996, and noticed things were different. I look forward to contributing more for the people of Singapore,” said Mr Khan.
Mr Khan – a volunteer at the Paya Lebar division of Aljunied GRC, was also the principal of Pertapis Children’s Home from 1999 to 2001, as well as a member of the Singapore Malay Teachers’ Cooperative.
Mr Luke Koh, 41, managing partner of a private investment business, has been helping out at the grassroots level with both party Secretary-General Low Thia Khiang and Faisal Manap.
“Why vote for the WP? David Marshall dedicated his life to freeing Singapore from British rule. He founded the WP more than 50 years ago. He loved Singapore, and I too love Singapore,” said Mr Koh.
He said the campaigns of decades past to get people to stop at two children, as well as the Graduate Mothers scheme have led to an “ageing crisis” in Singapore.
“Singapore needs more WP Members of Parliament to prevent another crisis in the next 20 to 30 years.”
THE VOTE AS BARGAINING POWER
Said Chairman Sylvia Lim on the party’s “Empower your future” slogan, unveiled on Wednesday: “We have always seen the vote as a bargaining power citizens have with the government, so people can express their views on the performance of the government.
“We do see the vote as instrumental to the people being empowered to bring the country to the right direction.
“Because of the more complex environment, even the Government admits that it doesn’t have the answers to everything. The Government monitors votes very carefully, so people are empowered in our negotiations with the Government.”
The party has declared that it will contest 28 seats – 5 more than the 23 candidates it fielded in 2011 – but has said they will only announce the constituencies the candidates will contest on Nomination Day on Sep 1.
As the incumbent, the Workers’ Party is expected to defend its seat in Aljunied GRC, Hougang SMC and Punggol East SMC. WP chairman Sylvia Lim earlier said that all the same teams will defend their constituencies.
On Wednesday, the party unveiled four potential candidates: NUS Associate Professor of sociology Daniel Goh, engineer Redzwan Hafidz Abdul Razak, Ruckus Wireless Singapore software engineer Koh Choong Yong and banker Dylan Ng.
Workers’ Party (WP) potential candidate, National University of Singapore sociologist Daniel Goh, has denied allegations that he had an extra-marital affair with a former student.
Several press in Singapore have received a letter on Thursday night from a “Max Chan” who alleged that Dr Daniel Goh had an affair in 2008 with a post-graduate student from NUS.
In the e-mail that was also sent to Workers’ Party secretary-general Low Thia Khiang and chairman Sylvia Lim, the writer questioned Dr Goh’s character and morals. He also claimed that the woman’s boyfriend, whom he referred to only as J, had found out about the alleged affair through her phone messages.
Dr Goh said he was advising the female student in her master’s thesis from 2007 to 2009. After she graduated, the student left Singapore to get a PhD.
Dr Goh was introduced as the WP’s potential candidate on Wednesday. He has been seen walking the ground in East Coast and is expected to stand as WP’s candidate in East Coast GRC
He is married to a full-time time housewife, 39. They have a three-year-old son.
Hello everyone, thank you for your amazing support thus far. Thanks for encouraging me to stand strong. Someone wrote a poison pen letter to WP and to the media to smear me with the allegation that I had an affair with a former student of mine whom I supervised for her thesis. And the media is going to run the story online and in print. The timing is sensational.
I categorically refute the baseless allegations and I question the timing of the poison pen letter coming immediately after the candidate introduction. I have been in the public eye, involved with WP, for over two years, and if the intention is to alert the party to alleged moral failings, it would have been done earlier and directly to the party leaders. I have always maintained a professional relationship with my students. This is very hurtful and unfair to my family.
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.
