Sad!
Nobody wants to join the opposition...
SGP will continue to be a one party state.
Son of former leftist is now PAP volunteer
Janil Puthucheary is impressed with party's community work
By Nur Dianah Suhaimi
At the convention, Dr Puthucheary was one of six activists who spoke on how challenges can be turned into opportunities. He spoke about a couple who developed a business selling foldable bicycles despite the hurdles they faced. -- ST PHOTO: CAROLINE CHIA
MORE than 40 years ago, founding PAP member Dominic Puthucheary joined other leftists and defected from the party to later form the opposition Barisan Sosialis.
He was among those detained under the Internal Security Act in 1963 during Operation Cold Store, when more than 100 leftist leaders were arrested.
After a 10-month detention, he was exiled from Singapore - although an order banning him from entering here was lifted in 1990.
Yesterday, his son Janil Puthucheary was on the stage at the PAP convention as one of six activists picked by the party to speak on how challenges can be turned into opportunities.
The younger Puthucheary, a consultant at the KK Women's and Children's Hospital and assistant professor at the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School, said he joined the party early this year after a friend suggested he try his hand at community work.
He was then put in touch with Tanjong Pagar GRC MP Sam Tan and started volunteering at Radin Mas ward soon after.
Asked why he joined the PAP, given his father's history and experience with it, he told The Straits Times:
'I was very impressed by the efforts they put in to help the community and the pains taken by the volunteers and the MPs. I was impressed that the right thing is being done. I thought I'd give it a try.'
None of the volunteers at Radin Mas, as well as Mr Tan, was aware of his family history at the time, he said. His father was also 'very supportive' of his involvement in the PAP.
'My family influences the way I view society and the need to serve society. It was without intent that I saw the PAP as the most effective and constructive group doing this kind of work,' said Dr Puthucheary, 37.
Born in Malaysia, he lived and worked in Northern Ireland, London and Sydney before coming to Singapore in 2001. He married a Singaporean and they have three sons aged from 16 months to six years. His parents live in Kuala Lumpur and his younger brother Zudin is in London.
Asked if he wants to stand as an election candidate now that he has joined the ruling party, Dr Puthucheary answered: 'I am only a volunteer. I've no idea about this.'
In his remarks at the convention yesterday, he spoke of how a couple in Lavender developed a business selling foldable bicycles despite initially facing hurdles.
Their efforts embodied the Singapore spirit and he hoped their story shows 'that as a nation, as a society, as a people, we have what it takes and will not hesitate to turn a challenge into an opportunity'.
The five others who spoke on the same theme were tax adviser Lim Kexin, 27; chief executive of e2i training institute Ang Hin Kee, 45; Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School senior research fellow Azlinda Anwar, 40; semi-retired businessman Jack Soh, 52; and marketing director Chan Hui Yuh, 33.
Nobody wants to join the opposition...
SGP will continue to be a one party state.
Son of former leftist is now PAP volunteer
Janil Puthucheary is impressed with party's community work
By Nur Dianah Suhaimi
At the convention, Dr Puthucheary was one of six activists who spoke on how challenges can be turned into opportunities. He spoke about a couple who developed a business selling foldable bicycles despite the hurdles they faced. -- ST PHOTO: CAROLINE CHIA
MORE than 40 years ago, founding PAP member Dominic Puthucheary joined other leftists and defected from the party to later form the opposition Barisan Sosialis.
He was among those detained under the Internal Security Act in 1963 during Operation Cold Store, when more than 100 leftist leaders were arrested.
After a 10-month detention, he was exiled from Singapore - although an order banning him from entering here was lifted in 1990.
Yesterday, his son Janil Puthucheary was on the stage at the PAP convention as one of six activists picked by the party to speak on how challenges can be turned into opportunities.
The younger Puthucheary, a consultant at the KK Women's and Children's Hospital and assistant professor at the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School, said he joined the party early this year after a friend suggested he try his hand at community work.
He was then put in touch with Tanjong Pagar GRC MP Sam Tan and started volunteering at Radin Mas ward soon after.
Asked why he joined the PAP, given his father's history and experience with it, he told The Straits Times:
'I was very impressed by the efforts they put in to help the community and the pains taken by the volunteers and the MPs. I was impressed that the right thing is being done. I thought I'd give it a try.'
None of the volunteers at Radin Mas, as well as Mr Tan, was aware of his family history at the time, he said. His father was also 'very supportive' of his involvement in the PAP.
'My family influences the way I view society and the need to serve society. It was without intent that I saw the PAP as the most effective and constructive group doing this kind of work,' said Dr Puthucheary, 37.
Born in Malaysia, he lived and worked in Northern Ireland, London and Sydney before coming to Singapore in 2001. He married a Singaporean and they have three sons aged from 16 months to six years. His parents live in Kuala Lumpur and his younger brother Zudin is in London.
Asked if he wants to stand as an election candidate now that he has joined the ruling party, Dr Puthucheary answered: 'I am only a volunteer. I've no idea about this.'
In his remarks at the convention yesterday, he spoke of how a couple in Lavender developed a business selling foldable bicycles despite initially facing hurdles.
Their efforts embodied the Singapore spirit and he hoped their story shows 'that as a nation, as a society, as a people, we have what it takes and will not hesitate to turn a challenge into an opportunity'.
The five others who spoke on the same theme were tax adviser Lim Kexin, 27; chief executive of e2i training institute Ang Hin Kee, 45; Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School senior research fellow Azlinda Anwar, 40; semi-retired businessman Jack Soh, 52; and marketing director Chan Hui Yuh, 33.
