Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap, 35, made his foray into politics after years of working with needy Malays convinced him that better policies can address their desire for a more balanced family life and civil society.
The counsellor works with Malay families on marriage and pre-marriage issues, for a living, but joined the Workers' Party (WP) in 2006 to address a 'calling' to serve the community.
'I've had a smooth-sailing life. I'm born with a, not silver, but copper spoon in my mouth, and I felt it was time to give back,' he said, in an interview last July with The Straits Times.
Mr Faisal, a father of three children, was inspired during a three-year stay in Melbourne, Australia, from 2002 to 2005. He was doing an undergraduate psychology course at Monash University.
He observed the Malay community there, made up of former and current Singaporeans, who seemed to enjoy a better quality of life due to the country's emphasis on a better work-life balance.
He chose the WP because he believes it has a human touch that the PAP lacks, and was an election agent for the team led by Ms Sylvia Lim in their 2006 bid for Aljunied GRC.
He was also a member of the North Eastern Area Committee where he has been actively involved with grassroots work and activities.
During WP rallies over the past week, Mr Faisal has taken pains to reassure voters that he had a good understanding of issues and problems facing the Malay community and would be able to represent them well.
He had to do so to respond to Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, who brushed him off as an 'unknown' candidate when asked to size up the WP's Aljunied team.
Adapted from an article on the ST, 8 May 2011
