NEWLY minted MP Tin Pei Ling has said the people of MacPherson
are warming up to her.
Calling this a 'significant change', she said: 'I guess, given
what has happened, they recognise me, but they have also become
warmer.'
The 27-year-old full-time MP, speaking to reporters on the
sidelines of a community event in Toa Payoh yesterday, was
referring to her baptism of fire when standing on the People's
Action Party (PAP) ticket in Marine Parade GRC in May's General
Election.
She was widely castigated online for the photos she posted of
herself on Facebook, a video clip which caught her in a show of
petulance, and for her links to the party through her husband, the
principal private secretary to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong,
among other things. Soon after PAP's victory in Marine Parade GRC
was announced, many called for her resignation on Facebook.
Ms Tin said it is still too early to tell whether the public's
ill will towards her has dissolved, but she is viewing it as a
positive sign that residents have appeared more at ease talking to
her. It has been a month since she quit her job as a business
consultant at Ernst & Young to focus on being an MP. Saying she
will not be looking for a job for up to a year, she added: 'I'm
just focusing on MacPherson, on the people.'
Her days are now filled with meeting residents, such as during
her Meet-the-People Sessions, her twice-weekly block visits or when
she takes her walks through the constituency. 'When I have lunch or
meals in the constituency, residents come up to me... and then we
will have a chit-chat.'
-- ST
Those who talk to her are PAP loyal supporters.
