Low satisfied with Chen's background
WP chief says lawyer cleared all doubts and party did 'due diligence'
By Kor Kian Beng
WORKERS' Party (WP) chief Low Thia Khiang yesterday defended its 'star catch' Chen Show Mao, saying that while he had initial doubts, he was satisfied with the top corporate lawyer's answers.
The Hougang MP said the party did its due diligence and has a clear conscience in fielding Mr Chen in the general election, even though the Beijing-based rookie politician has been away from Singapore since 1982.
'To be honest, I also had the same questions. But I've asked those questions, we went into the details, we are satisfied and we decided to field him as a candidate,' he said, adding that the party's candidate selection process is rigorous enough.
Queries about Mr Chen, 50, surfaced this week, with several Forum letters from Singaporeans and Education Minister Ng Eng Hen - writing in as the People's Action Party (PAP) organising secretary - asking why Mr Chen decided to enter politics now, after having spent some 40 years of his life overseas.
Mr Low, who was speaking at the WP's first introduction of candidates, said he understood why there were questions about Mr Chen.
They were on his mind too, when the lawyer first showed up at the WP's open house in 2007.
But the WP chief said: 'Let's be fair to him. Had he been given an opportunity to study medicine, I believe he would not go into his career in the United States... (and) in capital markets, you have to be based in US and Hong Kong, not Singapore.
'It's the nature of his work that he has to travel. You have to ask him yourself, but I believe if he had a choice, he would not want to be out of the country for such a long time because his parents are here.'
Mr Chen was born in Taiwan and came here when he was 11. He topped his 1979 cohort in the A-level examinations but his application to study medicine at the National University of Singapore was rejected.
He left Singapore in 1982 to study economics at Harvard, before taking up the Rhodes scholarship in 1986 to study modern languages and history in Oxford. He completed a law doctorate at Stanford in 1992. He has been based in New York, Hong Kong and now, Beijing.
In recent interviews, he has pledged to return home for good with his wife and children, regardless of whether he wins or loses in the election. He said he wants to use the 'second half' of his life to 'do the job' of building a multi-party system he feels will be more stable than a one-party system.
Mr Chen's emergence as a WP candidate has aroused interest here as his profile and credentials are rare in the opposition camp.
But Mr Low stressed that even the party's prize catch was subject to its selection process, as the WP does not field 'just anyone who comes to us'.
The WP whittled down an initial list of about 50 names to a slate of 23 candidates, gathered from recommendations and 'high-profile individuals' whom the party courts proactively.
Those shortlisted are put through interviews with an informal selection committee comprising Mr Low, party chairman Sylvia Lim and several key leaders.
Among those who made it through are a quartet introduced yesterday.
They are sales trainer Lee Li Lian, 32; freelance counsellor Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap, 35; IT consultant Gerald
Giam, 33, all three rookies; and fund manager Eric Tan, 55, who contested the 2006 election in East Coast GRC.
The quartet are among a slate of 23 WP candidates set to stand in four single wards - Hougang, Joo Chiat, Sengkang West and Punggol East - and four group representation constituencies in Aljunied, Moulmein-Kallang, East Coast and Nee Soon.
Mr Low declined comment about where the four candidates unveiled yesterday will contest, saying it was the WP's practice not to reveal these details until Nomination Day.
'The WP is not secretive,' he said. 'The candidates are here and on the ground. You've seen us on outreach.'
Mr Low admitted the party was not able to cast a net as wide as the PAP had done in producing a diverse slate of new candidates, saying the WP did not have access to grassroots organisations, and 'the civil service and government scholars'.
'We don't have so many to select from, let's be frank with you,' he said.
He acknowledged that every candidate the party fields will carry some form of risks.
But he was confident that the process was stringent and challenged anyone who has dirt on Mr Chen to make it public.
Said Mr Low: 'So when we select a candidate and decide to field the person as a candidate, we're prepared to say we've looked at him carefully, unless you have something which we do not know. Then let's publish it.
'But if you keep on asking questions, what do you want us to answer?'
[email protected]
Additional reporting by Fiona Low
LOW THIA KHIANG'S TAKE...
On Education Minister Ng Eng Hen's Forum letter this week asking the Workers' Party (WP) why its 'star catch' Chen Show Mao wanted to contest the next election and whether he could identify with Singaporeans:
'Mr Chen will have ample opportunities to respond himself. In fact, he has responded extensively through interviews with Lianhe Zaobao, The Straits Times and other media. I really don't understand why Ng Eng Hen is asking those questions. Perhaps he has not read the Zaobao report or he couldn't understand Chinese? But I'm sure his ministry will have a lot of people who can translate for him, right?'
On whether the WP's candidate selection process was rigorous enough:
'We've done our due diligence. We make assessment, we make judgment, we keep our conscience clear. We don't field just anyone who comes to us.'
On the consequences of making a wrong judgment about its new candidates:
'If the WP makes a wrong judgment, it may not be that bad. But if the PAP makes a wrong judgment, you get the wrong person to be Prime Minister, we are all in trouble. This is my advice to Singaporean voters.
'Relatively speaking, if the PAP makes a wrong judgment, the consequences will be more serious than the WP. But of course for any political party, if you make a wrong judgment and field the wrong candidate, there will always be consequences.'
WP chief says lawyer cleared all doubts and party did 'due diligence'
By Kor Kian Beng
WORKERS' Party (WP) chief Low Thia Khiang yesterday defended its 'star catch' Chen Show Mao, saying that while he had initial doubts, he was satisfied with the top corporate lawyer's answers.
The Hougang MP said the party did its due diligence and has a clear conscience in fielding Mr Chen in the general election, even though the Beijing-based rookie politician has been away from Singapore since 1982.
'To be honest, I also had the same questions. But I've asked those questions, we went into the details, we are satisfied and we decided to field him as a candidate,' he said, adding that the party's candidate selection process is rigorous enough.
Queries about Mr Chen, 50, surfaced this week, with several Forum letters from Singaporeans and Education Minister Ng Eng Hen - writing in as the People's Action Party (PAP) organising secretary - asking why Mr Chen decided to enter politics now, after having spent some 40 years of his life overseas.
Mr Low, who was speaking at the WP's first introduction of candidates, said he understood why there were questions about Mr Chen.
They were on his mind too, when the lawyer first showed up at the WP's open house in 2007.
But the WP chief said: 'Let's be fair to him. Had he been given an opportunity to study medicine, I believe he would not go into his career in the United States... (and) in capital markets, you have to be based in US and Hong Kong, not Singapore.
'It's the nature of his work that he has to travel. You have to ask him yourself, but I believe if he had a choice, he would not want to be out of the country for such a long time because his parents are here.'
Mr Chen was born in Taiwan and came here when he was 11. He topped his 1979 cohort in the A-level examinations but his application to study medicine at the National University of Singapore was rejected.
He left Singapore in 1982 to study economics at Harvard, before taking up the Rhodes scholarship in 1986 to study modern languages and history in Oxford. He completed a law doctorate at Stanford in 1992. He has been based in New York, Hong Kong and now, Beijing.
In recent interviews, he has pledged to return home for good with his wife and children, regardless of whether he wins or loses in the election. He said he wants to use the 'second half' of his life to 'do the job' of building a multi-party system he feels will be more stable than a one-party system.
Mr Chen's emergence as a WP candidate has aroused interest here as his profile and credentials are rare in the opposition camp.
But Mr Low stressed that even the party's prize catch was subject to its selection process, as the WP does not field 'just anyone who comes to us'.
The WP whittled down an initial list of about 50 names to a slate of 23 candidates, gathered from recommendations and 'high-profile individuals' whom the party courts proactively.
Those shortlisted are put through interviews with an informal selection committee comprising Mr Low, party chairman Sylvia Lim and several key leaders.
Among those who made it through are a quartet introduced yesterday.
They are sales trainer Lee Li Lian, 32; freelance counsellor Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap, 35; IT consultant Gerald
Giam, 33, all three rookies; and fund manager Eric Tan, 55, who contested the 2006 election in East Coast GRC.
The quartet are among a slate of 23 WP candidates set to stand in four single wards - Hougang, Joo Chiat, Sengkang West and Punggol East - and four group representation constituencies in Aljunied, Moulmein-Kallang, East Coast and Nee Soon.
Mr Low declined comment about where the four candidates unveiled yesterday will contest, saying it was the WP's practice not to reveal these details until Nomination Day.
'The WP is not secretive,' he said. 'The candidates are here and on the ground. You've seen us on outreach.'
Mr Low admitted the party was not able to cast a net as wide as the PAP had done in producing a diverse slate of new candidates, saying the WP did not have access to grassroots organisations, and 'the civil service and government scholars'.
'We don't have so many to select from, let's be frank with you,' he said.
He acknowledged that every candidate the party fields will carry some form of risks.
But he was confident that the process was stringent and challenged anyone who has dirt on Mr Chen to make it public.
Said Mr Low: 'So when we select a candidate and decide to field the person as a candidate, we're prepared to say we've looked at him carefully, unless you have something which we do not know. Then let's publish it.
'But if you keep on asking questions, what do you want us to answer?'
[email protected]
Additional reporting by Fiona Low
LOW THIA KHIANG'S TAKE...
On Education Minister Ng Eng Hen's Forum letter this week asking the Workers' Party (WP) why its 'star catch' Chen Show Mao wanted to contest the next election and whether he could identify with Singaporeans:
'Mr Chen will have ample opportunities to respond himself. In fact, he has responded extensively through interviews with Lianhe Zaobao, The Straits Times and other media. I really don't understand why Ng Eng Hen is asking those questions. Perhaps he has not read the Zaobao report or he couldn't understand Chinese? But I'm sure his ministry will have a lot of people who can translate for him, right?'
On whether the WP's candidate selection process was rigorous enough:
'We've done our due diligence. We make assessment, we make judgment, we keep our conscience clear. We don't field just anyone who comes to us.'
On the consequences of making a wrong judgment about its new candidates:
'If the WP makes a wrong judgment, it may not be that bad. But if the PAP makes a wrong judgment, you get the wrong person to be Prime Minister, we are all in trouble. This is my advice to Singaporean voters.
'Relatively speaking, if the PAP makes a wrong judgment, the consequences will be more serious than the WP. But of course for any political party, if you make a wrong judgment and field the wrong candidate, there will always be consequences.'
