PAP - THE WEAKEST LINK

IDENTIFY PAP'S WEAKEST LINK IN HOLLAND-BUKIT TIMAH GRC - VOTE NOW!

The Holland-Bukit Timah GRC is vulnerable after its anchor minister Lim Swee Say was taken out to reinforce the East Coast GRC. Taking his place as team leader is the much maligned Vivian Balakrishnan.

The PAP team in Holland-Bukit Timah suffered another blow when veteran MP Yu-Foo Yee Shoon announced her retirement from politics. Her replacement is Sim Ann, a scholar-class civil servant.

Interestingly, none of the four PAP candidates here have actually contested in an election. Don’t discount a shock defeat.  But who amongst them should be blamed in the event of the unexpected? 

Who is The Weakest Link? You decide.

Candidate 1: Dr Vivian Balakrishnan

An accomplished eye specialist, but Dr Vivian is now a troubled man.  There were high hopes when he entered the political fray. As a youth he impressed television viewers throughout Singapore with his eloquence as a top school debater. But he lost all public credibility after being made responsible for the over-budgeted and under-accomplished YOG. To be fair he might have shouldered more blame than he should as Teo Ser Luck was behind the Games’ earlier preparations. Nonetheless his refusal to acknowledge the YOG's failings, the start-stop reconstruction of the National Stadium and the corruption-hit Changhi Motorhub project confirm his limitations. Benefited from walkovers in 2001 and 2006 elections.

Highest Education Qualifications

Post-graduate specialist training in Ophthalmology 

Career

1993	Moorfields Eye Hospital in London
1995	Consultant Ophthalmologist, Singapore National Eye Centre. Sub-specialised in Paediatric Ophthalmology
Jan 1999	Medical Director of the Singapore National Eye Centre
Jun 2000-Dec 2001	CEO, Singapore General Hospital

Government Office

Jan 2002	Minister of State, National Development
Aug 2003	Minister of State, Trade and Industry
Aug 2004	Acting Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports; Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Trade and Industry
Apr 2005	Second Minister for Trade and Industry
Apr 2005-Present	Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports
2006-Mar 2008	Second Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts

Other Key Appointments

Chairman of the “Remaking Singapore” committee

Chairman of the National Youth Council

Council Member of the Singapore Medical Association

Member of the National Library Board

Member, Singapore Broadcasting Authority Programmes Advisory Committee

Member, National Volunteer Centre Committee

Candidate 2: Christopher De Souza

A first term MP who was magistrate and deputy public prosecutor and now a partner with Lee & Lee. Interestingly his profile on the law firm’s website reveals that De Souza “manages a team which offers customised immigration advice to clients. His clients include individuals seeking to use Singapore as their base for work, business and family. The advice given to clients involves explaining the whole PR/citizenship application process and the requirements needed to support such applications.”  … so much for helping Singaporeans

Highest Education Qualifications

B.C.L. (Distinction) (University of Oxford)

Career

2002	Justices' Law Clerk to the Chief Justice and the Court of Appeal
2004	Deputy Public Prosecutor, Attorney-General's Chambers; State Counsel, Attorney-General's Chambers
2005	Magistrate, Subordinate Courts; Assistant Registrar, High Court
2006	Senior Associate, Lee & Lee
2008-Present	Partner, Lee & Lee (Litigation and Dispute Resolution and Intellectual Property )

Candidate 3: Liang Eng Hwa

For certain, the weakest candidate on paper. Admits in his profile on the PAP website that his “O” level English Language was not good enough for him to get into a JC and he joined DBS as a trainee officer in 1993. Misleadingly, his profiles on the Parliament and Young PAP websites state that he is Managing Director at DBS since 1993. Poor English we guess? Entered parliament through walkover in 2006

Highest Education Qualifications

Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) (University of Melbourne)

Career

1984-1989	Regular Officer, SAF
1993	Started as trainee officer, DBS Bank
Present	Managing Director (Treasury & Markets), DBS

Other Key Appointments

Board member, Urban Renewal Authority (URA)

Candidate 4: Sim Ann

Sim is the last of the 24 new candidates introduced by the PAP, possibly a last-minute stand-in after the surprise retirement of Lim Boon Heng. A recipient of the President’s Scholarship, she has been a high-flying civil servant. She was responsible for bringing investments out from Singapore China while working with International Enterprise Singapore. Thereafter she took on a role with National Population and Talent Division fronting the “foreign talent” rush into Singapore.

Highest Education Qualifications

Politics, Philosophy and Economics, Oxford University,

Masters of Arts in Political Science from Stanford University

Career

Past	Assistant Director for Strategic Planning, Planning & Development Division, Ministry of Health,
2003-2006	Ministry of Trade and Industry
2007-2009	Regional Director (Eastern China), IE Singapore and Consul (Commercial), Singapore Consulate-General in Shanghai
	Director, Overseas Singaporean Unit
Aug 2009-Present	Senior Director, National Population Secretariat / National Population and Talent Division

Other Key Appointments

Member, National Arts Council

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