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SINGAPORE: Nee Soon GRC Member of Parliament Carrie Tan was surprised to be invited in 2018 to tea sessions with the People’s Action Party (PAP), a precursor to becoming a party candidate.
The founder of Daughters of Tomorrow (DOT), a non-governmental organization that helps low-income women, felt that she had been quite critical of the government. But he thought this would be a good opportunity to speak for the underprivileged to the ruling party.
“I feel like I need to help them understand certain things that I’m looking at and certain topics that they may not have had the opportunity to delve into,” he said. “Every tea session for me was a promotional moment.”
Along the way, he met different ministers and parliamentarians and became convinced of “their conviction and their intention to do good for Singaporeans,” he said.
Nee Soon’s GRC MP Carrie Tan speaks with a Yishun resident. (Photo: Marcus Mark Ramos)
A deciding factor was that when he spoke his mind, he felt that people were listening.
“I think one of the key considerations I had was … Do I have to not be myself? Do I have to fit into a certain box to be able to enter this process? I was a bit skeptical, “she said.
“But it was very encouraging, because every step of the way I was very honest. I shared my views and people listened, and they were receptive to what I had to share … (and) I guess in the end, I felt like: Can lah! “
He said that in his years of trying to solve the problem of poverty, he had seen that the challenges faced by low-income families are “multifaceted.”
“Being in politics gives me a broader platform to take a more holistic approach to looking at some of the things that society probably needs to change or change in order to provide better scaffolding and stepping stones for the poor among us,” he said.
“WE ARE THE WRONG PLACE”
Seven months after the 2020 general election, the Nee Soon South representative seemed quite at home in a cafe on Yishun Ring Road, sipping crispy prata and a barley drink.
Sitting along a busy street flanked by two coffee shops, the interview was interrupted multiple times by residents greeting their MP.
When Yishun’s reputation as a magnet for cat killers, murders, petty crime, and bad news in general is mentioned, he bristles: “I love Yishun, I love the people here. We are a misunderstood place, okay.
“We have the most charming and charming people. So many benefactors, ”he gushed, pointing to the people who were dining or drinking.
“You see the guys in the cafeteria. They will like to scream from here to there. It’s very kampong, I love it. “
Representative Carrie Tan chatting with residents of her neighborhood. (Photo: Marcus Mark Ramos)
She admits that there are residents who compare her to former MP Lee Bee Wah, who was a MP there for 14 years, and was affectionately known as “Hua jie”Or“ Sister Flower ”among the residents of Yishun.
“I think there is something natural and normal. There are different types of residents, some of them will compare and say: Hey, you know, the last time Dr. Lee used to do this, this, that, that … I can learn from that, “he said.
“Then there will be other residents who will say: Don’t worry, just be yourself. We support you, just to do what you do. “
A NEW SOCIAL COMPANY
The little changes Ms. Tan has started to make can be seen on a banner with bright pink letters announcing her weekly Meet-the-People sessions. It says “Bringing care to you on…” followed by the day, time and location of the MPS, and the hashtag #Carriecares.
At his division, Nee Soon South, he has changed the language of reminder notices for residents who are delinquent on conservation charges.
“We have taken a much more supportive stance to say that if you are facing some kind of financial hardship that is preventing you from paying your bills, please contact us … Don’t go through this alone,” she said.
The city council is also making an effort to reach out to these residents to ask if they need support and refer them to support agencies, he said.
Representative Carrie Tan meets with residents of her neighborhood. (Photo: Marcus Mark Ramos)
Ms. Tan, who resigned as DOT director, also plans to pilot a new social enterprise, called RISE Community, in Yishun. While she is known as an advocate for women’s issues and gender equality, she now wants to reach out to men.
“I spent five, six years of my life building an engine to empower women. This is like the next step where I’m looking to do more work to train men, ”he said.
Details are under wraps, but he said the NGO will reach out to men who have lost their jobs or are in danger of losing them, to help them develop better coping mechanisms and create a community of support for them.
There are many initiatives for people to acquire new skills and combine them with jobs, but she believes that the ability to take advantage of those opportunities requires a change in mindset. “I think we underestimate the extent of the mental and emotional strain that poverty has on people. We hope they just get up and then … find a job the next day. “
Representative Carrie Tan meets with residents of her neighborhood. (Photo: Marcus Mark Ramos)
More will be shared later this month when the initiative launches, he said.
When asked about his thoughts on the 2021 Budget that was released on February 16, he expressed concern about the rapid pace at which Singapore’s economy is transforming.
“While it is necessary, I think we should consider putting more resources to help those who are further behind in the lowest or lowest income groups, who may have a harder time catching up,” he said.
“I believe that the cost of not mitigating the crisis faced by lower-income groups may come to bite us in the future, because then it will generate consequences in terms of their mental, emotional and physical health.”
ACTIVIST OR MP?
People’s Action Party (PAP) candidate for Nee Soon GRC, Carrie Tan, during a walk in Northpoint City on July 8, 2020 (Photo: Jo Yee Koo)
With her salt and pepper hair, activist background and tattoos, Ms. Tan is not in the usual mold of a PAP MP.
When asked about his tattoos (there are three), he shared that the kite tattooed on his wrist symbolizes “letting go”, and was inked in 2013, when he turned his social enterprise to a charity.
“That was the best decision I made: really expand the job. Comet: you have to let it go to fly further, ”he said.
Do you still see yourself as an activist or are you more of a deputy these days?
“These are just job titles,” she said as she listed her various roles these days as grassroots advisor, MP, vice president of the Nee Soon city council, and continued involvement in her social enterprises.
“At the end of the day, I am serving people and I am passionate about promoting certain causes.”
Over the course of the conversation, she reflects that her views have evolved in the process of getting started in politics and after speaking with more people of different age groups and with diverse cultural backgrounds and beliefs.
“As an activist, sometimes I can also have certain quite idealistic opinions on certain issues,” he said.
“I definitely grew in my understanding and perspective of the diversity of opinions that people have on different issues … having mutual understanding and respect in society is very important, and I think I have faith that in Singapore, we are a society in the that we can agree I disagree on some things “.
