With her good looks and celebrity appeal, Nicole Seah has put politics back into the mainstream for a generation of disaffected and apathetic youths
By Cheryl Chan
Political Correspondent
When Nicole Seah announced her candidacy for Marine Parade GRC a couple of weeks ago, there was no way she could have predicted that she was soon to become Singapore’s second-most popular politician on Facebook – so popular indeed that watch retailers City Chain would offer her an five-figure endorsement deal.
Though she subsequently turned down the offer – thought to be the first ever to have been made to a politician in Singapore – the fact that City Chain wanted her as its poster girl speaks volumes about how she has managed to capture the attention of a generation that has been branded apathetic, apolitical and indifferent.
Ms Seah has managed to get young Singaporeans interested in politics, something that perhaps no politician from either the ruling or opposition parties has managed to do for the best part of 25 years.
Her good looks and ‘star appeal’, coupled with her aggressive, direct and passionate rally speeches, have led the country’s ‘Generation Y’ to take an interest in politics for the first time in their lives, with many on the internet labelling her a ‘hero’, ‘saviour’ and ‘Singapore’s great hope’.
Despite her popularity, Ms Seah will not win her electoral contest in Marine Parade and will not be returned as a Member of Parliament, thanks to Singapore’s skewed political landscape and one-sided electoral rules.
But that isn’t quite the point. She has already won a battle that many seasoned veterans before her could not have even dreamed of winning – she has managed to make politics cool, and in so doing, she has sounded a clarion call to Singapore’s cynical and materialistic youth to rediscover their idealism. She has given them the impetus and the inspiration to dream. And most importantly, she has shattered the old paradigm that politics was best left to the politicians, being a living example that anyone and everyone can play a part in shaping the country’s future.
The idealism of youth has always been the catalyst for social change. Students, in particular, have been at the forefront of just about every significant political movement in the past century, not always with good results – as the Tiananmen Square incident in 1989 will attest. Nonetheless, no change can be brought about without the involvement of raw youthful passion, as evidenced by the fact that Lee Kuan Yew was in his 30s when he first led Singapore’s independence movement. Many of his comrades, including Lim Chin Siong, were in their 20s.
Nicole Seah has become a social media phenomenon, with more than 46,000 fans on Facebook and a host of fan videos on YouTube
Since the heady days of Merdeka, however, Lee and his PAP colleagues have sought to suppress Singapore’s hotbeds of political activity – subjugating key institutions such as the press, the Law Society and the NUS Students’ Union, no to mention closing down Nanyang University altogether.
Knowing full well that a bourgeois society would be more resistant to change, they set out to ensure that Singapore enjoyed the highest rates of savings and home ownership in the world, through social engineering mechanisms such as the Central Provident Fund (CPF) and Housing Development Board (HDB).
The result? For the past two to three decades, young Singaporeans have eschewed and even become fearful of political participation. Instead, they have busied themselves with the pursuit of wealth and material acquisitions – best encapsulated by the ‘five Cs’ of cash, car, condominium, credit card and country club.
The level of apathy and cynicism towards any idealistic cause has led even the present generation of PAP leaders to worry; Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong recently commented that it was very difficult to get private sector high-flyers to join the party because they were afraid of ‘risking failure’ in politics. So much so that the PAP has had to offer its ministers million-dollar salaries to make up for the opportunity costs of public service.
Nicole Seah is not going to change all of this overnight. However, her meteoric rise to stardom has confirmed that there is hope for Singapore’s youth. By bringing political consciousness back into the mainstream – where it undoubtedly belongs – she has reminded young Singaporeans that they have a crucial role to play in shaping the country’s future.
Now, that’s pretty darn cool.
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The author is a political correspondent at The Satay Club. She works as an analyst in a leading multinational research firm.
When sons and daughters have visions, dictators and govts. will fall. Unfair systems collapse. A new world WILL BE.
wah. the whole article din even put her party name: NSP. nicole seah is more than GE.
Have you heard of the biblical story David and Goliath ? Have you seen the movie Rocky I. The most unexpected result can happen……….you never can tell . And i am hoping that that will happen. That will be the day.
In the event Nicole’s team is defeated, we must get her to go into parliament as a NMP so that her presence can be felt and contribution made. While in there, she will have time to gain more experience and exposure that will help her to be the best parliamentarian and statesman in the world.
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The fact that people can consider hawkers’ agreement to keep prices unchanged for six months an achievement just goes to show how most singaporeans are short-sighted, greedy and selfish.
Yes the hawkers may keep prices stable, but who will keep their costs low for them? What do they get in return for absorbing rising costs? The PAP has said that inflation is a global issue and I doubt the hawkers would be spared as they have to import what they sell. Did they get any promises of stable rental in exchange that wasn’t reported by the mainstream media? If so, does any political party have the right to broker such a deal making use of their position in the government?
So easy to keep prices unchanged. Just reduce the quality and quantity.
I am in my mid fifties. I am most disturbed by the fact that my medical bill problems will come very soon. Though I have some savings in my CPF, imagine I cannot put them to my immediate medical needs, Rubbish indeed.
voters must look at the big picture. Would you marry a guy just because he bought you lunch? If pap candidate can change the light bulb for you, you vote for them. Come on, grow up voters. National issues are at stake here. You want your hawker prices to stay constant for 6 mths? THat means, after 6 mths, prices go up! Get ready for 900,000 foreigners after the elections!
NSP wins Marine Parade GRC in 2011!
@Nani-”Tin Pei Ling, no matter what you think of her, she has already made concrete contributions by getting hawkers to agree to keep prices constant for 6 months”-You call this a concrete contribution? What about changing lightbulbs to energy saving ones?Looks like you are missing the crux of these two “concrete” contributions!
Please do not give up opposition candidates. Think about Nelson Mandela & Mahatma Ghandhi. Keep going. We love you very much. So glad you stood up for cowards like me.
I read with some disappointment your article, which has already given up on the battle that is going on in Marine Parade GRC.
I quote, “Despite her popularity, Ms Seah will not win her electoral contest in Marine Parade and will not be returned as a Member of Parliament, thanks to Singapore’s skewed political landscape and one-sided electoral rules.”
Whilst most of us are aware of the political disadvantages our Opposition face. However, it does not do justice to the opposing candidates, especially the likes of Nicole, that such articles appear, writing them off even before the votes are counted. The jury is still out. Or wait a minute, a thought has just come to me, perhaps this is reverse psychology.
What we can do to change the outcome of the “implied” result is to highlight to everyone the issues, the hope that we have of a better Singapore, one where Singaporeans are able to enjoy the fruits of their labour, where we are not oppressed from voicing our opinions, where HDB is affordable for the ordinary citizen etc.
Let us all campaign for the Opposition and perhaps, we can make that difference. If we don’t do this, who will? Let us give a chance for the Opposition to prove themselves and by so doing, we can say with conviction that whatever the PAP has been telling us about the Oppositions’ incompetencies are rubbish; to be burnt in the incinerators, where rubbish belong.
So, let us go out there and try to make a change for our future. Speak and encourage others to make the right choice, not because of fear of reprisals for not voting the PAP, but from a sense of what is right and what is wrong. No one can identify how we have voted except God and us. This has been clarified by the WP. It is also not in the interest of the PAP to want to have this made known internationally. Their credibility would be seriously affected.
Finally, where there is HOPE, there is LIFE and I wish for every one of us Singaporeans to have a better life here in our homeland.
Going up against the mighty PAP especially someone like GCT whose expertise is port barrel politics is knocking egg against stone.
Isn’t he an expert in offering million dollars upgrading?
It is definitely a sure lose battle for our dear Nicole just as everyone also know. No choice with a populous who is always after goodies and free things, Nicole don’t stand a chance.
If Nicole lose the X or Y generation have to migrate out of Singapore. Their future would have been better else where, cannot be helped. Don’t blame anyone but Singaporeans.
I can guarantee you that when Goh Chok Tong looks at Nicole’s rally speeches, he is wishing that he had her on his team instead of Tin Pei Ling. He must be wondering why he ended up with that useless $15,000 per month Parliamentary stomper instead of Nicole. The fact that TPL will be an MP, and Nicole won’t, is a damning indictment of our political system. It is rotten and corrupt to the core.
Nicole, just like all the other opposition candidates in this election, offer us hope. But the ignorant aunties and uncles who will stupidly vote PAP (aka the silent majority) even though they themselves are fed up with life in Singapore will be our undoing. THe best we can hope for is that in 20 years time all these people will die and our electorate will become more discerning. But then again that is wishful thinking. In 20 years time, the electorate will be made up of 50% “new citizens” who will gladly support the PAP’s ultra liberal immigration policies and opening of the floodgates to let in more of their countrymen.
Tell those aunties and uncles that if they still vote for PAP, then don’t blame their kids for sending to JB Nursing homes later in life…it is their own doing. I have just did this straight to my folks, using the same strategy “instilling fear” into them, just the old master player
This is Nicole’s first election. It is just her baptism of fire for her. I have a feeling she will stick around and become a real force to be reckoned with in 2016 and beyond. She could become the next Sylvia Lim.
Politics is a serious game. An election is not a popularity contest or a beauty paegent. In the end, Marine Parade voters will ask themselves who can do more to help the residents? PAP or NSP? As SM Goh Chok Tong said, the other NSP team members are keeping quiet and letting Nicole do all the talking. Why is this? Is it because “they don’t know what to say”?
I think that there is someone on the opposing team (PAP) who “doesn’t know what to say”. Rather than accusing the NSP members of hiding behind Nicole, you should ask why the PAP members are hiding behind GCT? Ask Nicole and TPL to contest one-on-one and let’s see who wins.
Do you hear any of Goh Chok Tong’s colleagues in Marine Parade GRC talking? I don’t.
This is untrue and misleading. BG Tan has been vocal and he has been very well-received. Tin Pei Ling, no matter what you think of her, she has already made concrete contributions by getting hawkers to agree to keep prices constant for 6 months. What has Nicole Seah done? What have her team mates done? Why are they hiding behind her and letting her do the talking? SM Goh’s comments are right… 4 grown men hiding behind one young lady!
Why has GCT done in the past 5 years anyway? As an overpaid backup forecaster?
nani, i have a feeling you have not been following the activities of the nsp closely enuf
NSP has done a good job unleashing Nicole’s star appeal. Previously when she was in RP, this was not done because of KJ’s ego and wanting to be the main attraction. Similarly, WP could do the same thing with Glenda but they don’t, because LTK insists on party discipline. Someone should give LTK and KJ some advice with regards to media relations.
Now all we need is 20 more Nicole Seahs to step forward. Then Singapore will really have hope. The GRC system is a joke because Nicole would probably win at least 70% or even 80% of the votes in a one-on-one contest with Tin Pei Ling.
Good article, but I would like to ask Ms Cheryl Chan how she can so sure that Nicole won’t win a seat in Parliament? She seems to be saying that it is a foregone conclusion that she will lose. Nothing is 100% until the results are out. Sure, she is against a strong team, but anything can happen, so please don’t write anyone off. Also, there is also a chance that Nicole could become an NCMP, so she would still have a seat in Parliament.
Yeah, I agree with you that there is a remote possibility that NSP will win at Marine Parade. But I think the point of the article is the hopeful awakening of politics among Gen-Y and even across all ages! That no matter what age we are, or whether we have paper qualifications, politics ought to be everyone’s concern. Nicole Seah has ignited that fire. And I’m so glad that we did. We have to thank the PAP for that (sic), indirectly!
Given the missteps by MM in recent days, I would not write off any contest yet. People are awakening and they are now more receptive to the opposition. Just look at the attendance at opposition rallies as compared to 2006.
Even if Nicole Seah and the NSP don’t win Marine Parade, she has already brought many young voters’ attention to the election who may be otherwise apathetic and uncaring, thanks to the power of Facebook and Twitter, and these people will very likely be voting for her come 2016.