Positive reaction to PAP fielding sons of ex-leftists
By Leong Weng Kam & Cai Haoxiang
Former supporters and leaders of the now-defunct Barisan Sosialis were not taken aback by the PAP's move to field the sons of former leftist politicians Ong Lian Teng (above) and Dominic Puthucheary in the next general election.
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ABOUT 50 years ago, they were strongly opposed to the People's Action Party (PAP).
But yesterday, former supporters and leaders of the now-defunct Barisan Sosialis were surprisingly generous in their comments about the sons of two of their former leaders being picked by the PAP as candidates in the next general election.
They said the two young men should not be burdened by the political baggage of the past, and were free to join any party they felt could best serve Singaporeans.
Businessman Teo Hock Guan, 76, a former Barisan assemblyman for Changi, told The Straits Times: 'There is no harm in children of leftists joining the PAP as they will be serving the people - just like their fathers did in the past.'
The two PAP candidates are National Trades Union Congress assistant secretary-general Ong Ye Kung, 41, and paediatrician Janil Puthucheary, 38.
They were in the first batch of candidates introduced on Monday.
Mr Ong's father is the late Barisan legislative assemblyman and MP Ong Lian Teng.
Dr Puthucheary's father is lawyer Dominic Puthucheary, a founding member of the PAP who helped set up Barisan in 1961.
Mr Ong Lian Teng, who died in June 2009, joined Barisan in 1961 and represented Bukit Panjang constituency between 1963 and 1966.
Mr Puthucheary, 77, was one of 113 people who were detained in a security crackdown on suspected leftists in February 1963. A Malaysian, he was released 10 months later but was barred from entering Singapore. The ban was lifted in 1990.
Former MP Lim Huan Boon, 82, was among the former Barisan leaders who were not taken aback by Monday's development.
He said: 'It has been 50 years since leftists in PAP left to form the Barisan over ideological differences. We are in a new century and the young, including children of former Barisan leaders, have minds of their own. They should be free to join the party of their choice. Some leaders like me have also changed in the beliefs we once held.'
Mr Lim, like the late Mr Ong, resigned his seat in Parliament in 1966 and retired from politics.
Agreeing, Mr Ong Chang Sam, 74, a businessman and the former Barisan assemblyman for Chua Chu Kang, said: 'The PAP today is doing well and if the offspring of former Barisan leaders are qualified and willing to go into politics and serve the people, why shouldn't they join the party?'
Both Mr Teo and Mr Ong Chang Sam were among the 13 PAP legislative assemblymen who quit the party in 1961 to form Barisan - which merged with the Workers' Party in 1988.
But can they and their children really forget the past?
Former leftist trade unionist Fong Swee Suan, 79, a Barisan founding member who was also among those arrested in 1963, took the view that 'the past is history'.
'They should not live in the past forever by carrying what happened to their parents into the future to affect what they want to do,' he said.
'If my son had wanted to join PAP, I would not stop him either.'
Another PAP assemblyman who crossed to the Barisan, Mr Teo Kim Leng, said it boiled down to how an individual responded to the past - emotionally or rationally.
Said the 79-year-old, whose company builds small ships and vessels: 'If former leftists and their children still hold strong feelings against what happened in the past, it will be difficult. But if they are rational and remember the Barisan and PAP today share the same objective of making Singapore a better place for all, then there will be no problem.'
Added former Barisan supporter C.C. Chin, 70, now a noted scholar on leftist history: 'The Barisan leaders broke away from the PAP over ideological differences, especially over the merger with Malaysia.
' But those differences no longer hold sway with Singapore's independence in 1965 and the decline of the leftist movement. In effect, the two parties actually share the same purpose - that of making Singapore a better place.
'I give credit to the sons of the former Barisan leaders for their willingness to join the PAP, and to the present PAP leaders for their open-mindedness in selecting them as election candidates regardless of their families' political backgrounds.'
By Leong Weng Kam & Cai Haoxiang
Former supporters and leaders of the now-defunct Barisan Sosialis were not taken aback by the PAP's move to field the sons of former leftist politicians Ong Lian Teng (above) and Dominic Puthucheary in the next general election.
View more photos
ABOUT 50 years ago, they were strongly opposed to the People's Action Party (PAP).
But yesterday, former supporters and leaders of the now-defunct Barisan Sosialis were surprisingly generous in their comments about the sons of two of their former leaders being picked by the PAP as candidates in the next general election.
They said the two young men should not be burdened by the political baggage of the past, and were free to join any party they felt could best serve Singaporeans.
Businessman Teo Hock Guan, 76, a former Barisan assemblyman for Changi, told The Straits Times: 'There is no harm in children of leftists joining the PAP as they will be serving the people - just like their fathers did in the past.'
The two PAP candidates are National Trades Union Congress assistant secretary-general Ong Ye Kung, 41, and paediatrician Janil Puthucheary, 38.
They were in the first batch of candidates introduced on Monday.
Mr Ong's father is the late Barisan legislative assemblyman and MP Ong Lian Teng.
Dr Puthucheary's father is lawyer Dominic Puthucheary, a founding member of the PAP who helped set up Barisan in 1961.
Mr Ong Lian Teng, who died in June 2009, joined Barisan in 1961 and represented Bukit Panjang constituency between 1963 and 1966.
Mr Puthucheary, 77, was one of 113 people who were detained in a security crackdown on suspected leftists in February 1963. A Malaysian, he was released 10 months later but was barred from entering Singapore. The ban was lifted in 1990.
Former MP Lim Huan Boon, 82, was among the former Barisan leaders who were not taken aback by Monday's development.
He said: 'It has been 50 years since leftists in PAP left to form the Barisan over ideological differences. We are in a new century and the young, including children of former Barisan leaders, have minds of their own. They should be free to join the party of their choice. Some leaders like me have also changed in the beliefs we once held.'
Mr Lim, like the late Mr Ong, resigned his seat in Parliament in 1966 and retired from politics.
Agreeing, Mr Ong Chang Sam, 74, a businessman and the former Barisan assemblyman for Chua Chu Kang, said: 'The PAP today is doing well and if the offspring of former Barisan leaders are qualified and willing to go into politics and serve the people, why shouldn't they join the party?'
Both Mr Teo and Mr Ong Chang Sam were among the 13 PAP legislative assemblymen who quit the party in 1961 to form Barisan - which merged with the Workers' Party in 1988.
But can they and their children really forget the past?
Former leftist trade unionist Fong Swee Suan, 79, a Barisan founding member who was also among those arrested in 1963, took the view that 'the past is history'.
'They should not live in the past forever by carrying what happened to their parents into the future to affect what they want to do,' he said.
'If my son had wanted to join PAP, I would not stop him either.'
Another PAP assemblyman who crossed to the Barisan, Mr Teo Kim Leng, said it boiled down to how an individual responded to the past - emotionally or rationally.
Said the 79-year-old, whose company builds small ships and vessels: 'If former leftists and their children still hold strong feelings against what happened in the past, it will be difficult. But if they are rational and remember the Barisan and PAP today share the same objective of making Singapore a better place for all, then there will be no problem.'
Added former Barisan supporter C.C. Chin, 70, now a noted scholar on leftist history: 'The Barisan leaders broke away from the PAP over ideological differences, especially over the merger with Malaysia.
' But those differences no longer hold sway with Singapore's independence in 1965 and the decline of the leftist movement. In effect, the two parties actually share the same purpose - that of making Singapore a better place.
'I give credit to the sons of the former Barisan leaders for their willingness to join the PAP, and to the present PAP leaders for their open-mindedness in selecting them as election candidates regardless of their families' political backgrounds.'
