SINGAPORE: Did their inexperience and naiveness, or perhaps their under-estimation of the competition, contribute to the downfall of Aware's new guard team on Saturday night?
The first time round, the old guard and their supporters were caught sleeping, but at Saturday's extraordinary general meeting of the Association of Women for Action and Research, they were out in full force to turn the tables on the new Executive Committee that had pulled off a shock takeover a month ago.
The veterans came out with guns blazing, as they shot question after question that left Ms Josie Lau and her team on the defensive for the most part of the six-hour marathon session.
The new guard had come prepared with power point slides and introductory speeches — but the crowd would not listen. Their quiet, reserved voices were no match for the fiery passion of the other side.
They had no track record to fall back on — when they instead did a presentation of Aware's past achievements, this drew thanks from the Old Guard for highlighting their work.
As one veteran Aware member even told them, if the new team wanted to present their case, they should have, like the Old Guard, prepared supporters to take the microphone.
Instead, the new guard's main defender was self-declared "feminist mentor" Thio Su Mien, whom they introduced as someone who would "give a more balanced view".
Suffice to say, this did not go down well with the crowd. They barely listened to Dr Thio, showering her instead with jeers.
Did the young Exco lose the vote in part because they were not truly prepared for the showdown?
Were they over-confident of controlling the crowd? Did they believe they could set the agenda for the day without contest?
Perhaps, they underestimated the boldness of the other group, which had supporters such as Nominated Member of Parliament Siew Kum Hong, newly-proposed NMP and theatre director Loretta Chen, and Humanitarian Organization for Migration Economics president Bridget Lew.
Ms Rose Tan, a new Aware member and chairman of a public relations company, observed that the new guard team were "six nice ladies" but "inexperienced and not ready" to lead Aware.
Just look at the veteran civil rights advocates they were up against, she pointed out. Past presidents Dana Lam and Constance Singam; founding member and ex-journalist Margaret Thomas, just to name some.
It even seemed like members from the floor were giving the Exco a lesson on running a civil society group. Why, for instance, didn't the Exco seek pro-bono help in holding the EGM, instead of paying for everything?
Did they realise, when they installed CCTVs in the Aware headquarters, that this would hinder women going in to seek help and compromise the privacy of volunteers?
But perhaps, Saturday's outcome was already decided before the EGM.
Many who turned up were self-confessed supporters of Aware's "old guard" era.
Others came because they had read media reports on how the new team had "infiltrated" Aware with their allegedly anti-gay and religious stance, and wanted to tick them off.
One giveaway sign: Even before the arguments were made, some Aware members were already seen checking off their voting slips. - TODAY/fa
The first time round, the old guard and their supporters were caught sleeping, but at Saturday's extraordinary general meeting of the Association of Women for Action and Research, they were out in full force to turn the tables on the new Executive Committee that had pulled off a shock takeover a month ago.
The veterans came out with guns blazing, as they shot question after question that left Ms Josie Lau and her team on the defensive for the most part of the six-hour marathon session.
The new guard had come prepared with power point slides and introductory speeches — but the crowd would not listen. Their quiet, reserved voices were no match for the fiery passion of the other side.
They had no track record to fall back on — when they instead did a presentation of Aware's past achievements, this drew thanks from the Old Guard for highlighting their work.
As one veteran Aware member even told them, if the new team wanted to present their case, they should have, like the Old Guard, prepared supporters to take the microphone.
Instead, the new guard's main defender was self-declared "feminist mentor" Thio Su Mien, whom they introduced as someone who would "give a more balanced view".
Suffice to say, this did not go down well with the crowd. They barely listened to Dr Thio, showering her instead with jeers.
Did the young Exco lose the vote in part because they were not truly prepared for the showdown?
Were they over-confident of controlling the crowd? Did they believe they could set the agenda for the day without contest?
Perhaps, they underestimated the boldness of the other group, which had supporters such as Nominated Member of Parliament Siew Kum Hong, newly-proposed NMP and theatre director Loretta Chen, and Humanitarian Organization for Migration Economics president Bridget Lew.
Ms Rose Tan, a new Aware member and chairman of a public relations company, observed that the new guard team were "six nice ladies" but "inexperienced and not ready" to lead Aware.
Just look at the veteran civil rights advocates they were up against, she pointed out. Past presidents Dana Lam and Constance Singam; founding member and ex-journalist Margaret Thomas, just to name some.
It even seemed like members from the floor were giving the Exco a lesson on running a civil society group. Why, for instance, didn't the Exco seek pro-bono help in holding the EGM, instead of paying for everything?
Did they realise, when they installed CCTVs in the Aware headquarters, that this would hinder women going in to seek help and compromise the privacy of volunteers?
But perhaps, Saturday's outcome was already decided before the EGM.
Many who turned up were self-confessed supporters of Aware's "old guard" era.
Others came because they had read media reports on how the new team had "infiltrated" Aware with their allegedly anti-gay and religious stance, and wanted to tick them off.
One giveaway sign: Even before the arguments were made, some Aware members were already seen checking off their voting slips. - TODAY/fa
