My Hero

Well, in a few hours we will know the results. But whether or not this man retains his seat in Potong Pasir, he remains my hero. Whilst he may not have the scholastic achievments of many of the PAP scholars, or the oratorical skills of Lee Kuan Yew, Sir Chiam See Tong has all the qualities of a hero.

Guts - We will always remember how he slew the goliath in Potong Pasir 22 years ago, and the many times he stood up in parliament, 1 against 80, including giants like Lee Kuan Yew, and stood his ground.

Fighting Spirit - We will always remember those times when everyone in parliament laughed at his verbal gaffes but he just plodded on, single-minded, and committed, and came out victorious, so that even his opponents conceded defeat and lauded him.

Endurance - We will always remember those images of him meeting his constituents in the humble environment of the HDB void deck, enduring the discrimination, and moving around in his humble Volkswagen; but as always, he stayed focussed on fulfiling the promises he made to his voters.

We should also remember the brave residents of Potong Pasir who endured 2 decades of neglect and stayed loyal to their elected member of parliament. If they finally succumb to the onslaught of the mighty PAP machinery, the rest of Singapore understands. But if you persevere for one more term, we salute you.