In the wee hours of yesterday morning, Ms Tin Pei Ling, 27, became an MP-elect, the youngest candidate from People's Action Party in GE 2011.
Her Marine Parade GRC team won with 56.65 per cent of the votes against a National Solidarity Party team.
But within minutes of her victory, cyberspace was abuzz with a fresh stream of criticisms against her.
Some even called for her place to be "traded" with outgoing Foreign Affairs Minister George Yeo, who lost his Aljunied GRC seat.
On Facebook, a "I Do Not Want Tin Pei Ling in Parliament" page garnered about 45,000 "likes".
The New Paper spoke to Ms Tin yesterday afternoon, after the Marine Parade GRC team's thank you parade around their ward.
She talks about how she is coping with the negative comments and how she would engage such netizens in the future.
Have you seen the latest netizens’comments? What do you make of it?
Not yet. Yesterday was quite a busy day, all the way past midnight. And today, as you can tell...(laughs).
I haven't gone online. One or two friends highlighted (the comments to me). This negative image that has been formed has been unfortunate.
It's definitely not something that anyone would want. But it has already happened. The more important thing now, looking forward as an elected MP, is what can I do?
I think I can put in a lot of hard work, persevere, and persist in serving the residents at MacPherson.
That would be my priority now.
What about the previous wave of negative comments? How have you been coping with them?
It has been an uphill task, a challenging time.
I've already accepted it and I hope that over the next five years – through my work, my actions, and my service to the residents in MacPherson – I would be able to prove my sincerity, show the real me and convince the people that I can be a good MP.
You got online flak for a photo of you posing with a designer handbag box and a video of you stamping your feet. Now this. Do you have a solution to turn around this negative tide of sentiment from netizens?
In a very short period of time, a certain image (of myself) was built up.
I think it will take time to correct the initial impression that was formed. There's no quick-fix.
The best way is through real actions, and, over time, people can assess for themselves who I am.
It’s going to be challenging. I really don't think it can be changed overnight.
Do you intend to engage people who have criticised you online?
I hope to. I think social media is one of the platforms for reaching out, especially with younger Singaporeans. I think in the long run, I intend to (engage these people). Of course, it will be a challenge at the moment.
I hope that eventually, Singaporeans would be able to judge me by what I’ve actually done. This is only the start.
Today marks my first day as an MP-elect.
You are on the executive committee of the Young PAP (YP), and you head YP Media, set up to drive YP’s virtual, technological and digital outreach. Having had these brushes with netizens, will you abandon social media?
No, I won't. I don't think that's the right move. I acknowledge that it's going to be an uphill task at the moment, given what you've observed, but I really hope that through my sincerity and hard work, it will change for the better.
What if netizens still say the same things about you and still doubt your capabilities, say, three years down the road?
I think that's in three years time, so we can only tell for sure then.
But at the moment at least, I don't think I'll give up. Social media is one of the communication platforms. We want to use it as a means to communicate with people. I do intend to keep it that way.
It's going to be a long journey. We'll see how it goes.
One step at the time for the time being.
Do you acknowledge that there will be some people that you’ll never be able to convince?
Yes, I think so. I think we're all aware that no one's perfect. It’s not possible to convince or please everyone in that sense.
I acknowledge that. But what I will do is really to try my best, work very hard, and prove that I'm sincere, that I can and I will serve the people of Singapore.
How have you grown through this experience?
I have learnt a lot. I have become more mature, in terms of how I manage things and myself. I think that it's a good thing.
It's always a continuous learning journey for everyone. I see this as a positive.
I will continue to strive to improve myself and become a better person.
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More in The New Paper today (May 9).
