Singapore appointed 2 idiots to lead the task force.

[jw5]

This is an unlikely choice.


NADIA AHMAD SAMDIN, 30
Associate director at TSMP Law Corporation

PHOTO: PEOPLE'S ACTION PARTY


Ms Nadia Ahmad Samdin's life has revolved around giving back to the community since she was 15 years old. She started her volunteer work with the South East Community Development Council, and moved on to focus on causes that help vulnerable women and children.

The lawyer, who is married and has no children, recounted how she once received a call from a child she was mentoring. The girl, whose parents were in prison, needed to go to school for a test. However, there was no money in her ez-link card. The incident prompted Ms Nadia to set up the Lembaga Biasiswa Kenangan Maulud Top-up Fund, to make sure such children have enough money for transport.

The youngest among the new faces that will be unveiled by the PAP, Ms Nadia went to Victoria Junior College and read law at the Singapore Management University.

Apart from her community work, she also serves as a panel adviser for the Youth Court, where her role is to advise judges on the appropriate orders to pass in cases involving children and young persons.

The recreational diver has also seen first-hand the havoc wrought by climate change on the natural environment and hopes to champion this cause.

 

[jw5]

In total, the new Cabinet will have 37 political office holders, the same as the previous Cabinet.

The line-up includes new Member of Parliament Tan See Leng, who will assume the roles of Second Minister for Trade and Industry and Manpower, as well as Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office.

A possible member of the New Task Force.

Singapore GE2020: PAP's Tan See Leng wants to reach out to those in need in Marine Parade

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[jw5]

“Tan See Leng has a depth of private sector experience as a medical professional and business entrepreneur,” PM Lee said. “In MTI (Ministry of Trade and Industry), he will add a private-sector perspective to economic policymaking to make sure our policies are effective in helping businesses and to address problems faced by the private sector.

“Being also posted to (Ministry of) Manpower, he will help align our economic and manpower policies to reinforce each other.”

How about new MP Dr Tan See Leng as a member of the New Task Force?

View attachment 86737

 

[jw5]

Banker - may not have experience in public health.

DON WEE BOON HONG, 43
Senior vice-president at UOB

PHOTO: PEOPLE'S ACTION PARTY


Mr Wee grew up in a rental flat and made the cut to enter junior college after finishing his O levels at Nan Hua High School. However, money was tight, so he decided to enrol in a diploma programme at Ngee Ann Polytechnic, so that he could start work early and help his family with the bills.

After completing his national service, Mr Wee joined a local bank as a non-executive staff member, and got an accounting degree after some years of part-time study.

He later qualified as a chartered accountant.

He has been a grassroots leader in West Coast for 16 years, and also speaks Hokkien and Cantonese.

Mr Wee, who has two children, is a member of the Institute of Mental Health's Visitors' Board. He said he hopes to help the less privileged, as well as those with mental health problems. He also hopes to help small and medium-sized enterprises.

Said Mr Wee: "I hope that... politics can be an extension of my volunteerism, and a platform for me to raise residents' concerns and needs to policymakers."

 

[jw5]

How about this former army Colonel?

MOHD FAHMI ALIMAN, 48
Former Islamic Religious Council of Singapore deputy chief executive

PHOTO: PEOPLE'S ACTION PARTY


Mr Mohd Fahmi Aliman is a former army colonel who stepped down as deputy chief executive of the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) in March. He helped to form and steer the M³@Bedok initiative, launched last year to help the Malay/Muslim community in Bedok Town.

The father of four joined the National Trades Union Congress' Administration and Research Unit in April, and has been spotted on the ground in Marine Parade group representation constituency.

Before he was appointed to his post in Muis, he spent 26 years in the Singapore Armed Forces. His military career included a six-month deployment to Blangpidie for the Aceh Monitoring Mission in 2005, where he was the deputy team leader.

His late father was a gas checker, while his late mother was a cleaner. When he was in primary school, he would help her clear rubbish, he said. She later upgraded her skills to become a cook in a factory.

That is why, said Mr Fahmi, the welfare of low-wage workers in essential services is close to his heart.

 

[jw5]

This one is a possible candidate.

YIP HON WENG, 43
Former group chief of the Silver Generation Office under the Agency for Integrated Care

PHOTO: PEOPLE'S ACTION PARTY


Mr Yip received the Public Service Commission Overseas Specialist Award and started his civil service career as a physical education and mathematics teacher.

He later served in the education, manpower and defence ministries. He said he plans to help to improve aged care services in Singapore.

One incident he remembered vividly from when he first started out as a teacher, he said, was when he disciplined a student who repeatedly failed to hand in his homework.

He later found out that the student came from a poor family, and had to work part time after school. That is why he did not have the time or energy to focus on his school work.

This incident taught him the value of empathy, said Mr Yip, who is married with five children.

"That day, I learnt that it is very important to always ask and seek to understand the situation before we come to any conclusions about how others behave... This is how I will also continue to listen to the concerns of residents."

 

[jw5]

This one is a possible candidate.

YIP HON WENG, 43
Former group chief of the Silver Generation Office under the Agency for Integrated Care

PHOTO: PEOPLE'S ACTION PARTY


Mr Yip received the Public Service Commission Overseas Specialist Award and started his civil service career as a physical education and mathematics teacher.

He later served in the education, manpower and defence ministries. He said he plans to help to improve aged care services in Singapore.

One incident he remembered vividly from when he first started out as a teacher, he said, was when he disciplined a student who repeatedly failed to hand in his homework.

He later found out that the student came from a poor family, and had to work part time after school. That is why he did not have the time or energy to focus on his school work.

This incident taught him the value of empathy, said Mr Yip, who is married with five children.

"That day, I learnt that it is very important to always ask and seek to understand the situation before we come to any conclusions about how others behave... This is how I will also continue to listen to the concerns of residents."

Looks like he may become a full time MP.

 

[jw5]

This one - unlikely..................

HANY SOH HUI BIN, 33
Director at MSC Law Corporation

PHOTO: PEOPLE'S ACTION PARTY


Ms Soh, who was in the Normal (Academic) stream at Bendemeer Secondary School, later obtained a diploma in law and management from a polytechnic, and worked as a paralegal before saving enough money to pursue a law degree overseas.

She recounted how her secondary school teacher advised her that if she became a lawyer some day, she should serve "the lost, the least and the last".

This, she said, became her ethos in life and inspired her to get involved in grassroots work. For the last nine years, she has volunteered in Bukit Panjang, helping outgoing Bukit Panjang MP Teo Ho Pin.

Ms Soh, who has a 16-month-old daughter, co-chairs the Law Society's community legal clinics committee and set up the first community legal clinic in a residents' committee centre in the area.

She hopes to increase community awareness of legal issues, like the importance of lasting power of attorney, and make legal help more accessible, especially to those who are physically disabled. During the circuit breaker period, she was able to mobilise volunteer lawyers to conduct sessions over the phone or virtually.

 

[jw5]

This is a strong candidate.

DR TAN SEE LENG, 55
Former Parkway Holdings Group chief executive

PHOTO: PEOPLE'S ACTION PARTY


Dr Tan, who has spent more than 30 years in the medical sector, is the oldest PAP candidate introduced so far. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in a Facebook post on Thursday that he was glad that Mr Goh had found in Dr Tan a successor as branch chairman.

Dr Tan said he had spent two years under Mr Goh’s tutelage and worked with him on a caregiver support network for the elderly that will be launched after the election, but declined to comment on where he will be fielded.

The father of three grew up in a Toa Payoh rental flat and is a family physician by training.

He said the deaths of his parents from cancer in the 2000s had strengthened his resolve to get a master’s in family medicine, followed by a Master of Business Administration.

Currently a corporate adviser to Temasek Holdings and adviser to DBS Bank, he is also an independent director of Surbana Jurong and was the former group chief executive officer and managing director of healthcare group IHH Healthcare Berhad.

 

[jw5]

Obedient civil servant but unlikely to have new insights.

TAN KIAT HOW, 43
Former IMDA chief executive

PHOTO: PEOPLE'S ACTION PARTY


Mr Tan, a public servant for nearly 20 years, was part of the team that set up the Pioneer Generation Office– now known as the Silver Generation Office – and was responsible for mobilising 3,000 volunteers to do outreach to nearly half a million seniors.

He took up the top post at IMDA in 2017. Under his leadership, the organisation took steps to build up Singapore’s connectivity infrastructure, such as the rollout of the country’s fourth telco.

Previously, he was deputy secretary for cyber and technology at the Ministry of Communications and Information, where he worked on Singapore’s national cyber security strategy.

Digitalisation is an issue close to his heart, he said.

“Helping workers, businesses to use technology to create more opportunities and for a better life is making sure that no one is left behind in a digital future.”

Digitalisation, he said, is an issue close to his heart. "Helping workers, businesses to use technology to create more opportunities and for a better life is making sure that no one is left behind in a digital future."

 

[jw5]

She sounds quite helpful.

NG LING LING, 48
Former managing director of Community Chest

PHOTO: PEOPLE'S ACTION PARTY


Ms Ng, who spent six years in banking before moving to social and public services, said she has been working on innovating new care models, such as using simple technology to help people with high blood pressure understand the disease and guard against strokes.

“I see the importance of long-term holistic care, as our population ages rapidly, to consider both the social and health aspects to the well-being of our elderly,” said Ms Ng, who is married with one child.

During the Covid-19 outbreak, she said she helped bring in tele-health systems for community care facilities like the Singapore Expo.

“We were working Monday to Sunday, there were no boundaries of work days to tackle the problem because it was 24/7,” she said, adding that she mobilised volunteers to help with Bengali and Tamil translations for infected migrant workers.

“It was really all hands on deck...Covid-19 is still with us, and I’ll continue to be part of the fight against the virus.”

 

[bonds]

How about OYK's cousin? He has experience in healthcare.

MR XIE YAO QUAN, 35
Head of healthcare redesign at Alexandra Hospital

ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG


Mr Xie has been helping out with the Covid-19 battle amid the pandemic, as he leads Alexandra Hospital’s operations in a major community care facility and other areas.

Before moving into public healthcare, Mr Xie spent five years in the private sector at an investment company. Before that, he spent six years in the Singapore Armed Forces.

Mr Xie, who is married, wants to keep healthcare accessible, affordable and of quality for Singaporeans, as well as support the lower-income families and vulnerable individuals holistically.

He has been an active volunteer in the community since 2015, introducing several initiatives to support lower-income families in Jurong.

“We need to listen deeply to residents and bring their suggestions together to improve lives and build a better home. There is so much energy and wisdom in the community,” said Mr Xie.

SMLJ is healthcare redesign ?

 

[jw5]

SMLJ is healthcare redesign ?

If it is from PAP, it means find ways to charge the sinkie patient more money.

 

[jw5]

He is interested in lifelong learning.

ZHULKARNAIN ABDUL RAHIM, 39
Lawyer

PHOTO: PEOPLE'S ACTION PARTY


Mr Zhulkarnain, a partner at law firm Dentons Rodyk and Davidson, spoke of the need to build on community modes of distribution, such as neighbour networks to support the needy, and to “entrench this idea of humanness” in policy-making.

Over the last decade, the father of three has conducted free legal clinics and done pro bono work as an assigned solicitor with the Legal Aid Bureau. He was previously the chairman of the Association of Muslim Professionals.

He was the fifth of six children. His mother was a housewife and his father did odd blue-collar jobs when they were growing up, eventually joining a construction company and working his way up to the rank of supervisor.

“From him, I remember the importance of lifelong learning,” said Mr Zhulkarnain, who would go through his father’s presentation slides with him as his father did not know how to use PowerPoint.

“The Covid-19 circuit breaker period has shown up various digital inequalities amongst our people, such as those who cannot afford digital devices to do home-based learning,” he said.

“But what I feel is that beyond digital connectivity, it is human connectivity that we would have to look at in terms of policymaking and process.”

 

[jw5]

She is concerned for the elderly.

MS YEO WAN LING, 44
Chief executive of social enterprise Caregiver Asia

PHOTO: PEOPLE'S ACTION PARTY


Ms Yeo was part of the global operations team at the EDB. She now runs Caregiver Asia, a social enterprise that connects those in need of care with freelance caregivers in Singapore. She said she hopes to create more opportunities for the elderly in Singapore to continue to work or contribute to the community.

Ms Yeo said one of the most meaningful things at EDB was “being able to work on projects that created and brought in very good and meaningful jobs for all Singaporeans”. She added that she started her social enterprise as she saw a gap in the provision of home-care services, in particular long-term care for the elderly.

On why she left the civil service to start her own venture, she said: “My grandmother...was ill for a number of years before she passed on. And it was spending her twilight years together with me that I realised the importance of being able to grow old with grace and dignity.”

Ms Yeo said she hopes to create more opportunities for the elderly to continue to work or contribute to the community, and wants to champion caregiving programmes.

Ms Yeo, who is married, said: “Politics allows me to bring together the type of experiences I have with the civil service, and working in the community... and to be able to influence not just day-to-day operations of helping people, but also to bring it up to a larger platform such that I can (have an impact on) national policies.”

 

[jw5]

He does not sound convincing.

MR ALVIN TAN SHENG HUI, 39
Head of Public Policy and Economics at LinkedIn

PHOTO: PEOPLE'S ACTION PARTY


Mr Tan has been a grassroots volunteer since 2005, working together with Jalan Besar GRC MP Lily Neo in Kreta Ayer-Kim Seng.

Speaking in Mandarin, he said he faced obstacles in his education journey – he was once held back a grade, and did not do well enough to enter a local university.

Despite the earlier setbacks, he earned a Bachelor of Economics with First Class Honours from Sydney University, and later, a Master in Public Policy from Harvard University. He has worked at the Ministry of Defence, the United Nations and non-profit group Oxfam, as well as in investment banking. He is now in the technology sector - earlier at social media giant Facebook and now at social networking platform LinkedIn.

Mr Tan said he hopes to use his skills and experience in the public, private and non-profit sectors to help Singaporeans become more nimble and prepared for the future of work.

He said he also aims to bridge the digital divide for seniors and other vulnerable groups, adding that the Covid-19 pandemic has hastened the need for all Singaporeans to acquire such digital skills. Work is now being done to help these groups, and more needs to be done, he said.

Said Mr Tan: “By the time Covid-19 is over... if we (still) haven’t become comfortable with technology, I think we might have failed our people.

“And so I will continue to really tirelessly advocate, and go to the ground and help all our students, stallholders... prepare for the future of work that has come much sooner than any of us has expected.”

 

[jw5]

He is interested in social mobility.

DR WAN RIZAL WAN ZAKARIAH, 42
Senior lecturer at Republic Polytechnic

PHOTO: PEOPLE'S ACTION PARTY


Dr Wan Rizal, who is married with four children, started volunteering in the community in 2010. He was chairman of Al-Islah mosque in Punggol, and was also part of Punggol's Interracial and Religious Confidence Circle.

He was a student in the Normal (Academic) stream before obtaining a polytechnic diploma and enrolling in the National Institute of Education and later Nanyang Technological University, where he obtained his degree in physical education at the age of 31.

He said: “I hope to be the voice in Parliament that upholds social mobility. Because of the non-linear path that I had taken, I strongly believe that education is the key to social mobility. This is how we can allow people who have less, or did less well to move up and prevent our society from being stratified.

“Singapore must continue to be a nation of opportunities for all, not for just the privileged few, or the lucky ones, but for every Singaporean.”

Singapore’s education system is on the right track, he said. He added that he hopes to be part of its further development. For instance, he said he sees the value of early childhood education, and the importance of providing multiple pathways for Singaporeans to continue developing their skills.

He also hopes to advocate for the sandwiched class, as well as those who may face difficulties juggling work and family life.

 

[jw5]

He is concerned about income inequality.

MR ERIC CHUA SWEE LEONG, 41
Former director of the SGSecure programme

PHOTO: PEOPLE'S ACTION PARTY


Mr Chua grew up in a three-room flat in Ang Mo Kio. His father was a forklift driver and his mother was a seamstress.

He was awarded the Local Merit Scholarship (Civil Defence) by the Public Service Commission to read communications studies at Nanyang Technological University. He served with the SCDF, eventually becoming commander of the 3rd SCDF Division.

Most recently, he was director of the SGSecure Programme Office in Ministry of Home Affairs.

Mr Chua, whose baby boy is eight days old, has spent 15 years doing community work with youth. He said he finds joy and satisfaction in mentoring young people and seeing them find success in life.

He added that he hopes to continue his work with youth and to hear their concerns on issues such as social mobility and income inequality.

 

[jw5]

He enjoys community work.

MR RAYMOND LYE HOONG YIP, 54
Managing partner at Union Law LLP

PHOTO: PEOPLE'S ACTION PARTY


Mr Lye, a father of three, has been volunteering for 25 years.

When introducing himself, he recounted how he and other volunteers helped a low-income resident deal with a problem.

Mr Lye, who chairs the Punggol East Citizens’ Consultative Committee, said the resident’s daughter had obtained a scholarship from an unnamed agency that allowed her to enter university despite her family’s finances.

But the agency later asked the resident to cough up a large sum of money as her daughter’s grades were not good.

Mr Lye said that after several attempts, he and other volunteers managed to get the agency to write off the sum and the family was able to save up enough money to buy their own flat and move out of the rental block.

Despite having volunteered for groups like clan societies and trade associations, Mr Lye said that he finds community work most fulfilling. “Most satisfying for me is community work, where I get to listen to residents in their homes, their void decks and the coffee shops,” said Mr Lye, who has been volunteering in the new Sengkang GRC.

“I have always tried my best to help, as no government policy is foolproof and there are those who may fall through the cracks.”

 

[jw5]

She was a helicopter pilot.

MS POH LI SAN, 44
Vice-president for Terminal 5 planning at Changi Airport Group

PHOTO: PEOPLE'S ACTION PARTY


Sembawang is a special place for Ms Poh, a former helicopter pilot with the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) and the first woman to be appointed full-time aide-de-camp to the late President S R Nathan.

She spent a lot time in Sembawang when she was based at Sembawang Air Base for the RSAF.

“Sembawang is really a very special place for me, plenty of fond memories. And now that I have a chance to go back to Sembawang to serve on the ground, I’m really excited to work closely with our volunteers with our residents there,” said Ms Poh, who started volunteering in grassroots activities and Meet-the-People sessions in Sembawang GRC in 2018.

Ms Poh, who is single, started an annual Women Festival for the constituency and also took part in distributing food to rental flat residents.

She is tipped to join the PAP team that will contest Sembawang GRC, which will likely lose Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan as he is expected to retire from politics soon.