They share CVs to find mates for their children at first such
event here By Goh Chin Lian
'My son's 30. He's never had a girlfriend. He's working on his
computer all the time and seldom goes out,' explained Mrs Wang,
67.
So she decided to play Cupid, distributing his business card to
other parents.
It was the first parents' matchmaking session, organised by
dating agency Clique Wise which had taken up a suggestion by Prime
Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
PM Lee had floated the idea of having parents play matchmaker
for their children in his National Day Rally speech last month.
He described how thousands of parents in Beijing secretly sought
out spouses for their children at such sessions, commonly held in
parks, and suggested Singapore parents try it too.
Yesterday, they did. Parents took matters into their own hands,
saying their children were too busy for a social life.
Many like Mrs May Jow, 60, came without their children's
knowledge. 'I took my daughter's photograph from the drawer without
telling her,' she said.
The matchmaking process was simple: Parents exchanged details of
their children like age, education and current job, and asked to
see a picture of the 'candidate'. Some whipped out passport-sized
photographs, others 4R-sized pictures. One parent came with an 8R
computer printout of the family posing with the candidate in a
graduation gown.
Parents were not only scrutinising the candidate's looks, but
also sussing out the candidate's parents to see if they came from
similar backgrounds. If all goes well, they exchange phone
numbers.
Some parents like Mrs Jow were on the lookout for candidates who
matched their children's height and age.
'The age difference should be about three to four years and he
has to be at least 1.76m tall,' said Mrs Jow, whose daughter is
aged 30 and is 1.68m tall.
Parents hunting for a son-in-law also wanted someone with a
higher educational qualification and a stable career.
Said housewife L.H. Heng, 55: 'My daughter has a polytechnic
diploma. Her spouse cannot have any lesser than that.'
The session's organiser, Ms Lydia Gan, said the event was held
at Speakers' Corner as the older generation was familiar with Hong
Lim Park. It was also free.
All Ms Gan had to do was register online with the National Parks
Board, since rules were eased to allow outdoor demonstrations at
Speakers' Corner from Sept 1.
While the matchmaking session was registered as an exhibition,
and not a demonstration, it did draw onlookers like odd job
labourer Jeff Tan, 60. He had dropped by after shopping in nearby
Chinatown, thinking he would catch a protest in progress.
But there was none. So far, only non-profit group Hearer of
Cries has held a demonstration, staging a 10-minute protest against
employers who abuse maids.
Mr Tan said: 'I wouldn't come here specially. I work in Changi
and I'm living in Tampines. It's too far.'
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