December 12, 2009 by admin
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By Sue-Ann Chia and Kor Kian Beng from Straits
Times
AS SHE waited for her husband to finish his Meet-the-People
session, Mrs Lina Chiam sat on a stone bench, flipping through old
photographs.
They had yellowed with age, but time did not dim her memories as
she recalled her cherished moments.
Most of the faces were not familiar, except for the bespectacled
man with an earnest smile who has stood the test of time as
Singapore’s longest-serving opposition MP.
The focus was on Mr Chiam See Tong, decked with garlands on the
campaign trail, or standing at the back of a lorry with a
loudhailer in hand during his victory parade.
There were also pictures after the hustings, showing him
attending a wedding of a Potong Pasir resident, meeting reporters
at a coffee shop, and having drinks with supporters.
The photographs date back to 1984, the year he won his first
election in Potong Pasir. Since then, he has proven his staying
power, retaining the seat in the five polls that followed.
Tonight, some of these shots selected by his wife will be
screened at a dinner to celebrate Mr Chiam’s 25th year as MP for
Potong Pasir.
It is a silver jubilee that testifies to his tremendous
contribution to Singapore’s democratic system, say political
observers.
‘Mr Chiam’s rightful place in Singapore’s political history lies
in his unbending belief that there should be a constitutional role
for the opposition and that he had kept this idealism and hope
alive,’ says Dr Ho Khai Leong from Nanyang Technological
University.
But the avuncular politician, known as Ah Chiam or Uncle Chiam,
is not ready to call it quits.
His hair has whitened, his gait is more stooped after he
suffered a stroke last year, but nothing seems to stop the
74-year-old opposition warhorse from charging on.
He has already thrown his hat into the next electoral ring,
signalling his intention to contest a group representation
constituency (GRC) for the first time – a move viewed as his last
hurrah.
But is the veteran MP, who was at one point the unofficial
opposition leader in Parliament, still a formidable force to be
reckoned with?
Political contest
MR CHIAM contested his first general election (GE) as a lone
crusader with the sole mission of breaking the People’s Action
Party’s one-party rule.
Taking on PAP stalwart Lim Kim San in the minister’s Cairnhill
turf, the teacher-turned-lawyer declared: ‘We can uphold democracy
only if there are at least two parties – one in power and the
other, an opposition who will serve as a check against the excesses
and improper use of powers by the ruling party.’
He did not win. But neither did people forget the independent
candidate who campaigned with his maroon Volkswagen Beetle and his
political mantra – both of which he still holds on to today.
Encouraged by public support, the Anglo-Chinese School alumnus
and former school swimmer took another dive into politics, in the
1979 by-election, and again in the 1980 GE as a candidate of the
Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) which he had founded a few months
earlier.
Both times, he faced PAP heavyweight Howe Yoon Chong in Potong
Pasir, and lost. But with each round, his score improved.
Victory came in Round 4 when he defeated PAP rookie Mah Bow Tan,
who is now the National Development Minister, in the 1984
polls.
He won with a comfortable 60.3 per cent share of the votes in
Potong Pasir, reflecting a surge of support some believe could be
due to remarks made by then-Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew.
Mr Lee had contrasted Mr Mah’s and Mr Chiam’s O-level results,
insinuating that the latter was not as smart as his PAP opponent –
a comment that could have driven more people to root for the
underdog.
Since then, the political tide has continued to flow in Mr
Chiam’s favour in the five elections that followed, peaking in 1991
when his vote share hit almost 70 per cent.
Yet, for all his efforts, some believe he could have achieved
more.
‘Mr Chiam has been very dogged in his determination to present
an opposition voice in Parliament and to optimise the use of his
resources on the ground in serving people in Potong Pasir,’ notes
Dr Gillian Koh, a senior research fellow with the Institute of
Policy Studies.
‘He would have a richer legacy if he had achieved as much in
building up a strong political party and one around a positive and
clear set of ideals people can identify with… This would be
critical for him to secure a larger footprint in the political
scene than the one he has today.’
The good guy
MR CHIAM would probably concede that he is not ambitious, as
evident in his remarks over the years.
In an interview after the 1991 polls, at the height of his
political career, he said almost apologetically: ‘You see, I have
really no great ambitions of my own. I’m being caught in a tide
which I cannot stop. It’s just pushing me on.’
In another interview, in 2004, when asked about his achievements
in 20 years as an MP, he replied: ‘To keep the idea and presence of
the opposition in the minds of Singaporeans is already a big
success in Singapore’s context.
‘I’ve no grandeur dreams…trying to be the ruler.’
He declined to be interviewed for this feature, but his humility
is clear.
For the modest man who dared to challenge the PAP and win, his
virtue of service before self has endeared him to voters who value
his dedication to the care of his constituency. Most continue to
support him and the larger opposition cause he represents, spurning
the PAP’s overtures such as estate upgrading.
Engineer Robyn Yeo, 33, who has lived in Potong Pasir since
1984, recounts how seriously Mr Chiam took his work. He had called
the Town Council to complain about cleaners who refused to remove
big-item rubbish. Later that night, Mr Chiam called and spoke to
his mother.
‘My mother told Mr Chiam that she was very surprised that he
bothered to call us. Mr Chiam then told her, ‘You’re my resident. I
have to understand your concerns’,’ he says. ‘That phone call still
lingers in my mind and reaffirms my support for Mr Chiam.’
Praise also came from the PAP camp.
In an earlier interview, Mr Sitoh Yih Pin, his fiercest PAP
rival who shaved Mr Chiam’s win to 52.4 per cent in the 2001
election, related an exchange he had with the MP.
At last year’s National Day Rally, he chatted briefly with Mr
Chiam who was still recovering from his stroke.
‘I told him to look after himself and get well soon,’ said Mr
Sitoh, who stood against Mr Chiam in the last two polls.
‘He said, ‘Don’t worry, when I get well, I will come and beat
you again’.’
Recalling the friendly repartee, he added: ‘I must say, Chiam’s
a good guy.’
The man and his critics
DESPITE his winning ways, Mr Chiam is not without his
detractors.
Even criticisms come from within his own Singapore People’s
Party (SPP), which he joined after leaving SDP.
‘His work has been satisfactory,’ says SPP chairman Sin Kek
Tong, who has had public spats with Mr Chiam over his leadership
style. Both maintain cordial ties.
‘The outstanding part is that he has been able to gain support
from residents over the years. But he didn’t do it alone. Without
the help of the party and supporters, it is questionable whether he
would have been able to pull it off.’
Others point to Mr Chiam’s patchy parliamentary performance, his
inability to grow the opposition ranks in Parliament, and his lack
of a political successor.
The first can be blamed on his childhood. The other two, on his
political experiences that caused him to be once bitten, twice
shy.
In an interview with Asiaweek magazine in 1986, Mr Chiam
confessed that nobody squabbled within his family, which he
believes explains his lack of oratorical skills during
parliamentary debates.
‘I was taught to behave well and not to quarrel with people,’
said the politician who avoids the adversarial approach of opposing
for the sake of opposing.
Despite his shortcomings, he has made inroads over the years as
a long-time champion of compulsory education.
He has also had his moments in Parliament – his objection to a
PAP MP’s racist comment that Serangoon Road was ‘pitch dark’, and
he has debated many national policies, from the cost of public
housing to building more community libraries.
A robust session in which Mr Chiam pressed for more transparency
in property perks enjoyed by politicians led then-Senior Minister
Lee Kuan Yew to remark in 1996:
‘I hope he wins the next election. I think he has done on the
whole good for the House. I was wrong when I thought he was not
going to do much good, but in his somewhat honest, bumbling way, he
has been a voice of sanity.’
While he is not an eloquent speaker, observers say he is a
skilled strategist who has been able to adapt nimbly to the
PAP-dominant political system.
He is credited as the architect of the by-election strategy –
that is, contesting fewer than half the seats and returning the PAP
to power on Nomination Day so that people would be more inclined to
vote for the opposition. It was first used to great effect in the
1991 GE.
It resulted in four opposition candidates – including Mr Chiam –
getting into Parliament. Two others were from the SDP, while the
fourth was the Workers’ Party’s Low Thia Khiang.
With three prized seats, the SDP was hailed as the most
promising opposition party and Mr Chiam became the unofficial
leader of the opposition.
Yet, for all his political wisdom, he failed to stop the seeds
of discord from growing within the SDP. The split culminated in a
fight over a hunger strike by Mr Chiam’s protege, Dr Chee Soon
Juan, in 1993. Dr Chee was protesting against his dismissal from
the National University of Singapore as a neuropsychology lecturer
for misusing research funds.
Mr Chiam lost in the ensuing battle and eventually resigned from
his party post in 1993. A year and a half later, Dr Chee became the
party boss.
Political observers say that experience could have discouraged
Mr Chiam from grooming other aspiring politicians who might have
made his party a bigger player on the political scene.
‘There is no clear heir-apparent to Mr Chiam at the moment. He
may well have been stung by his own experience in SDP when he lost
control of the party to Dr Chee,’ notes Mr Eugene Tan from the
Singapore Management University (SMU).
But could it be water under the bridge now, as Dr Chee is
attending the celebration tonight as a guest?
Congratulating Mr Chiam, the SDP’s secretary-general says: ‘It
is a significant milestone in the history of opposition politics in
Singapore. We wish Mr Chiam all the very best and may he continue
to hold this office for many more years.’
The future of the opposition
IT IS a wish that Mr Chiam intends to fulfil, to keep the
opposition flame burning bright.
He is reported to be seeking an alliance with the Reform Party,
headed by Mr Kenneth Jeyaretnam, to form a credible team to take on
a GRC.
His push for such a tie-up could spring from his desire for
opposition unity. He was instrumental in forming the Singapore
Democratic Alliance (SDA), an umbrella group for three opposition
parties.
Law lecturer Eugene Tan says: ‘The SDA has been important in
helping to avoid three-cornered fights and to demonstrate that a
united front against the PAP is strategically useful for the
opposition. It’s a pooling of resources, especially candidates, and
that helps give the impression of some degree of cohesiveness
within the opposition ranks.’
Confirming talk of a possible tie-up, Mr Jeyaretnam says: ‘The
Reform Party got a lot of feedback from people about what they
thought of Mr Chiam before entering into discussions with him about
a potential alliance…we found that people had good things to say
about him.
‘I would hope that he continues to provide inspiration to the
next generation of opposition politicians.’
Why is Mr Chiam contemplating the audacious idea of leading a
GRC team as his last hurrah in the next polls? To observers, it is
all about breaking a ‘political-psychological barrier’ as the PAP
has won every contested GRC since the scheme started in 1988.
As SMU’s Eugene Tan notes: ‘It may well serve his intent to
leave a lasting legacy politically and to rally people to step
forward and join the opposition parties.’
But not all think it is a good idea, as his age and health could
work against him on the arduous campaign trail.
And what about his diehard loyal constituents? Would they not
feel abandoned? As Potong Pasir resident Mohd Fahmi Ahmad Abu
Bakar, 30, an assistant administrative officer, says: ‘Residents
would want him to end on a high by staying in Potong Pasir.’
Whichever direction he takes, Mr Chiam wants to show that he is
not a spent force and that he is still the man to watch in
opposition politics. – Straits Times
Republished from Straits Times on 12 December
2009
