PAP - THE WEAKEST LINK

IDENTIFY PAP'S WEAKEST LINK IN WEST COAST GRC - VOTE NOW!

The West Coast GRC has a very weak anchor in Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang. Lim’s inept response as Health Minister in the outbreak of SARS in 2003 was a major cause of disastrous consequence to Singapore in terms of human lives and economic losses.

The West Coast GRC team is weakened by the retirement of long time MP Ho Geok Choo, while Cedric Foo is slated to run in the Pioneer SMC. Incumbents Arthur Fong and S Iswaran are joined by two new PAP candidates who appear to be heavyweights, on paper. StanChart’s Foo Mee Har has attracted all sorts of wrong attention so far, while Lawrence Wong has not shown how he does not fit in the subservient civil servant stereotype.

With his limited achievements, Lim will struggle to stay on top of his members, who are all too used to rubbing shoulders with the rich and famous. Who amongst this four will be the one to bring Lim down? 


Who is the least of a team player. Who is The Weakest Link? Your votes will determine.

Candidate 1: Arthur Fong Jen

Fong is an earlier member of the PAP’s princeling class. He is the son of Major Fong Sip Chee, the former Minister of State for Culture. Fong junior has made a career (and no doubt a small fortune) from the banking sector. He is now a Client Relationship Manager (i.e. he manages the rich and famous) at Credit Suisse, with expertise in the Indonesia (ahem…) and Taiwan markets. His interests are listed to include golf, scuba diving, photography, wine and motor sports. Fong has never faced an electoral contest after walkovers at the West Coast GRC in 2001 and 2006.

Highest Education Qualifications

Bachelor of Science in Management and Finance (University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, U.S.A.

Career

1990	Business Development Manager, CitiBank, N.A. International Personal Banking
1993	Relationship Manager, Creit Lyonnais Private Banking
1996	Assistant Vice President, OCBC Private Banking
May 2000	Senior Vice President, The Citigroup Private Bank
May 2007	Executive Director, UBS AG Wealth Management
May 2009-Present	Director, Singapore Deputy Market Leader, Credit Suisse Group AG

Candidate 2:  Foo Mee Har

Since her introduction to the public, Foo has been hitting the headlines for all the wrong reasons. Her background as a former Malaysian citizen, who attended school in her country and Australia, has drawn skepticism about her loyalty to Singapore, particularly under the current tide of anti-“foreign talent” sentiments. Vigilant netizens reported that an application for a bankruptcy order was filed, and later withdrawn, by Foo's employer StanChart, against a man alleged to be her husband. As if this is not bad enough, allegations have surfaced in the internet that the StanChart Global Head of Premium Banking had climbed the corporate leader through the years using less than savoury means. Disproving these accusations, if untrue, will not be difficult. But Foo has thus far curiously made no attempt to refute them.

Highest Education Qualifications

Bachelor of Science (Psychology) degree (First Class Honours), University of New South Wales, Australia

Career

Past	Management Consultant, Coopers and Lybrand Management Consultants and PA Consulting Group.
	Head of Human Resource, Jardine’s shipping group
1994-Present	Standard Chartered Bank 2003 - Country Head of Consumer Banking in China 2005 - Deputy Chairman of Standard Chartered Bank (Thai) PCL 2006 - President & CEO of Standard Chartered Bank (Thai) PCL 2008- Global Head of Consumer Lending in Singapore of Standard Chartered Bank (Thai) PCL Present - Global Head of Premium Banking

Candidate 3: Lawrence Wong Shyun Tsai

Wong served in the Administrative Service of the government, or in layman’s term, he was a “Scholar”. An economist by training, he was behind several “bright ideas” such as the Economic Restructuring Shares (ERS), Committee on Singapore’s Competitiveness, the Economic Review Committee and the Economic Strategies Committee. He also claims responsibility for implementing the bitterly criticized MediShield reforms that forced Singaporeans to turn to other medical insurance options to cope with their huge hospital bills – an alternative that not everyone can afford. Incidentally, Wong was Principal Private Secretary to Lee Hsien Loong,

Highest Education Qualifications

Masters in Public Administration, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University

Career

Past	Ministry of Trade & Industry
	Ministry of Finance
	Director of Healthcare Finance, Ministry of Health
2005-2008	Principal Private Secretary to Lee Hsien Loong
2008-2011	CEO, Energy Market Authority (EMA)

Candidate 4: S Iswaran

Iswaran was born in Madras, India. He started his career in the civil service and went on to become a Managing Director at Temasek Holdings. Even while he served as Deputy Speaker of Parliament from 2004 to 2006, Iswaran retained his appointment at Temasek and was director of a large number of its investment vehicles and investee companies. Iswaran was responsible for Temasek’s private equity investments, in particular the healthcare, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and technology sectors.

Highest Education Qualifications

Master of Public Administration, Harvard University

Career

1987	Ministry of Home Affairs, Deputy Director (Police, Security and Rehabilitation)
1988	Ministry of Education, Deputy Director (School Planning and Development)
1991	Deputy Director (Special Projects), National Trade Union Congress
1991	Chief Executive Officer, Singapore Indian Development Association (SINDA)
1995	Ministry of Trade and Industry, Director (International Trade)
1996	Director, Singapore Technologies Pte Ltd (Strategic Development)
1998-2000	Senior Vice President, Direct Investments, Temasek Holdings (Pte) Ltd
1998-Jun 2006	Managing Director of Investments, Temasek Holdings (Pte) Ltd

Government Office

Jul 2006	Minister of State, Ministry of Trade and Industry
Apr 2008-Present	Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Trade and Industry
Apr 2009-Present	Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Education

Board Directorships

Non-Executive Director, Sunningdale Precision Industries Ltd

Non-Executive Director, Hyflux Ltd

Director, Sunningdale Tech Ltd.

Director, SembCorp Industries Ltd

Director, SciGen Ltd

Director, FHTK Holdings Ltd

Director, Daimler-Benz Vietnam lnvestments Singapore Pte Ltd 

Director, China Everbright Industrial Investment Fund Pte Lid 

Director, China Everbright Industrial lnvestment Management Pte Ltd

Director, PLE Investments Pte Ltd 

Director, Fibers Technology Corporation Pte Ltd

Director, Singapore Africa Investment Management Pte Ltd 

Director, 98 Holdings Pte Ltd 

Director, Southern Africa Investments Pte Ltd 

Director, MerLion Pharmaceuticals Pte Ltd 

Director, Cradance Services Pte Ltd 

Director, Biotech Research Ventures Pte Lid 

Director, Asia Pacific Pharmaceutical Holdings Pte Ltd

Director, Century Private Equity Holdings (S) Pte Ltd 

Director, V-Sciences Investments Pte Ltd 

Chairman, Temasek Life Sciences Ventures Pte Ltd 

Director, Coleman Fund Management Pte Ltd 

Director, Tazwell Pte Ltd 

Director, Temasek Life Sciences

Director, Temasek Life Sciences Pte Ltd 

Director, MacRitchie Investments Pte Ltd 

Director, Cassia Fund Management Pte Ltd 

Director, Anderton Investments Pte Ltd 

Director, TLS Alpha Pte Ltd 

Director, TLS Beta Pte Ltd 

Director, Dover Investments Pte Ltd

Director, Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory Ltd 

Director, Securities 2000 Inc (Philippines)

Director, PT Asean Aceh Fertilizer (Indonesia)

Director, Mercedes-Benz Vietnam Limited (Vietnam)

Director, Asean Bintulu Fertilizer Sdn Bhd (Malaysia)

Director, Temasek Holdings Advisors India Private Limited (India)

Director, Matrix Laboratories Limited (India)

Director, Hendrix Feed (Xiangtan) Co Ltd (China)

Director, Quintiles Transnational Corp. (USA)

Director, Orqis Medical Corporation (USA)

Director, Lotus 2000 Limited (South Africa)

Director, Prosper Development Ltd (British Virgin Islands)

Director, Compass Technology Holdings Limited (Cayman Islands)

Director, N.A.I. Ltd. (Mauritius)

Director, Maxwell (Mauritius) Pte Ltd (Mauritius)

Director, Fircroft Investments Limited (Mauritius)

Director, Biosensor International Pte Ltd (Bermuda)

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