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http://www.straitstimes.com/ST+Forum/Story/STIStory_338063.html
No reason for PM's wife to set aside her career
MR ALBERT Tye's letter on Wednesday, 'Ho Ching in better position to support PM', fielded the view that Ms Ho Ching should not take up a new post after leaving Temasek Holdings but stay by the side of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
While I appreciate Mr Tye's acknowledgement that behind every successful man is a successful woman, I cannot agree with his overly simplistic judgment that Ms Ho can better contribute to PM Lee's effectiveness by giving up her own career.
# First, Mrs Lee Kuan Yew ran a successful law practice. Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew himself acknowledged that his wife's successful career gave him peace of mind to risk life and limb to fulfil his vision for Singapore. He knew that if anything happened to him, his wife could look after the family. Without his wife's career, Mr Lee's own effectiveness would have been compromised by his anxiety for his family. Mr Lee could be fearless because he had a fearless wife.
# Second, in this fast-changing world, a woman who is isolated from the workforce for a few years finds her skills, her mindset, her ability to analyse happenings in the world somewhat compromised. It is possible that Ms Ho's role as corporate head honcho gave her insights and information that have been invaluable to PM Lee's success at making Singapore a business-friendly place. In leaving her career, she may isolate herself and detract from her effectiveness to offer sound advice.
# Third, Mr Tye's letter interferes with a woman's right to choose the best for her family. The viewpoint that a woman's place is to support her husband is too simplistic in this complex world. There are Singapore women who earn much more than their husbands. They contribute best to the family by staying in the workforce. There are men who cook far better than their wives, and who have a far more intuitive understanding of how children function.
In such families, the division of roles should follow the relative strengths of each partner, and is no business of an external party. Women need to be role chameleons. We should be allowed to choose our roles according to the needs profile of the family, which may vary over the years.
# Finally, in choosing to be prime minister, PM Lee chose to live with a fair amount of public expectations and knew his personal freedom would be somewhat constrained. However, Ms Ho did not specifically choose to be a prime minister's wife. She married someone she loved, and then later discovered that he has become prime minister.
I do not see why any member of the public should have any expectations on whether she quits her job. It really is none of our business what she chooses to do with her career.
Kay Ren Tse (Mdm)
___________________________________________
and maybe this is the same person:
http://www.nbs.ntu.edu.sg/nbsresearch/display_particular_student_record.asp?id=KAYR0001
and a post by her in local forum:
http://politics.sgforums.com/forums/1502/topics/98558
No reason for PM's wife to set aside her career
MR ALBERT Tye's letter on Wednesday, 'Ho Ching in better position to support PM', fielded the view that Ms Ho Ching should not take up a new post after leaving Temasek Holdings but stay by the side of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
While I appreciate Mr Tye's acknowledgement that behind every successful man is a successful woman, I cannot agree with his overly simplistic judgment that Ms Ho can better contribute to PM Lee's effectiveness by giving up her own career.
# First, Mrs Lee Kuan Yew ran a successful law practice. Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew himself acknowledged that his wife's successful career gave him peace of mind to risk life and limb to fulfil his vision for Singapore. He knew that if anything happened to him, his wife could look after the family. Without his wife's career, Mr Lee's own effectiveness would have been compromised by his anxiety for his family. Mr Lee could be fearless because he had a fearless wife.
# Second, in this fast-changing world, a woman who is isolated from the workforce for a few years finds her skills, her mindset, her ability to analyse happenings in the world somewhat compromised. It is possible that Ms Ho's role as corporate head honcho gave her insights and information that have been invaluable to PM Lee's success at making Singapore a business-friendly place. In leaving her career, she may isolate herself and detract from her effectiveness to offer sound advice.
# Third, Mr Tye's letter interferes with a woman's right to choose the best for her family. The viewpoint that a woman's place is to support her husband is too simplistic in this complex world. There are Singapore women who earn much more than their husbands. They contribute best to the family by staying in the workforce. There are men who cook far better than their wives, and who have a far more intuitive understanding of how children function.
In such families, the division of roles should follow the relative strengths of each partner, and is no business of an external party. Women need to be role chameleons. We should be allowed to choose our roles according to the needs profile of the family, which may vary over the years.
# Finally, in choosing to be prime minister, PM Lee chose to live with a fair amount of public expectations and knew his personal freedom would be somewhat constrained. However, Ms Ho did not specifically choose to be a prime minister's wife. She married someone she loved, and then later discovered that he has become prime minister.
I do not see why any member of the public should have any expectations on whether she quits her job. It really is none of our business what she chooses to do with her career.
Kay Ren Tse (Mdm)
___________________________________________
and maybe this is the same person:
http://www.nbs.ntu.edu.sg/nbsresearch/display_particular_student_record.asp?id=KAYR0001
and a post by her in local forum:
http://politics.sgforums.com/forums/1502/topics/98558
