It probably looked like a good idea to the PAP (People’s Action Party) at the time. Here we have a young, pretty 27-year-old woman who we will unveil to Singapore, especially the younger generation, as the new face of the PAP. With an election coming, we can use her both to show the renewal of the party and to show the younger generation of Singaporeans that they have a voice in the ruling party.
27-year-old Tin Pei Ling was to be these things and more to the PAP. In a way it worked! There has been a lot of talk about her; on her youth, her gender, and her candidacy in the coming election. However being the new face of the ruling party comes with scrutiny and the pressure seems to be telling on both her and the PAP.
Online, people had been flocking to her Facebook page and questions have been raised about her marriage to a high-flying civil servant. There are also online rumours about her having an "extravagant lifestyle". The PAP are fighting back saying that Tin Pei Ling a victim of "gutter journalism."
Frankly I don’t care about her marriage, her gender or even her age. What I will say is this; the PAP really screwed this one up. They had completely mishandled Tin Pei Ling's candidacy.
Seriously, when the PAP put a young, pretty 27-year-old woman as the new face of the party, what did they think was going to happen? Didn’t they think that people will go to her Facebook page, and dig up the fact that she is married to a high-flying civil servant? Didn’t the PAP prepare for the fact that people will say that she only got her candidacy because of her marriage?
Evidently the answer is a big “NO” because the online storm seem to have caught out the PAP. I don’t understand why.
It should be obvious that the moment people knew about her marriage, people will say that she only got her candidacy because of her marriage. Whether this is true or not does not matter; the PAP should have prepared for it. In fact they could, and should, have nicked this in the bud at Tin Peo Ling’s every first news conference. Announced her marriage then and it would have stopped the storm before it started. Instead they kept quiet about it and then it blew up on the internet because now it looked like they were trying to hide it.
In a way, the biggest loser in all this is Tin Pei Ling. She is a new politician and no one as yet knows anything about her position on...well anything political. However anything she says from now till the election will be drowned out by the storm of her marriage and the question of how she got the candidacy. And she can only blame her own party for that.
8 comments:
you are quite right. this unpreparedness, not thinking things thru is being seen in other areas too. consider the lack of infrastructural planning for the inflow of foreigners. and the impact of so many pple coming in in so short a time on the nation's fabric. one could almost call it an attempt to destroy the nation, no matter how good the intentions may be.
It is really scarry when the ruling party of 50 yrs can make such mistakes. What i surmise it that the PAP of before is not the one I see now. The electorade has moved along while they have not. Instead we are witnessing a serious case of political inbreeding and dilution of their "talent" pool. I may not be pro PAP nor am I particularly pro opposition, but I do see a leadership problem.
They can make such mistakes because they know they can get away with it.
Just look at their other mistake : pegging their own salaries to GDP.
Now it's gone ridiculously high (S$3+ million for PM), but NOT one of them dares to broach the subject in parliament.
So much for them checking themselves.
BTW, the other mistakes include : selling off our national assets to foreign companies.
But, they'll keep making such mistakes, because they KNOW they can GET AWAY with it.
We, the voters, always do.
>>...I do see a leadership problem
So do we blame the mentor or his "student"?? Sadly we might be seeing more mentors ministers in near future
Hahaha....
the FUNNIEST THING is that those who see the mistake, blunder and stupid acts are never in a position to change or even influence anything and any event.
Talks are all that we do.
Right?
Hahaha....
the FUNNIEST THING is that those who see the mistake, blunder and stupid acts are never in a position to change or even influence anything and any event.
Talks are all that we do.
Right?
Maybe she is just a test-water candidate, just to see how the public reacts to yound candidates, being unknowingly used to open the way for a certain Mr Lee to follow in his grandpa and papa's footsteps...
The big problem for the PAP now is how to offset the bad feelings people have for Tin Pei Ling now. In the long run, it is good for Singapore to have more young politicians so I do think they have to do some damage control. The sooner, the better.
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