The Beleaguered Tin Pei Ling

Why is this PAP cinderella Tin Pei Ling, and not other new prospective PAP candidates, being singled out for profuse criticisms by netizens is not entirely without logic. Her young age may be one factor indicating that she has just been weaned from suckling and lacks any political or worst still any humanitarian experience. But above all, it is her opulent lifestyle and rather highfalutin character that irk the netizens. It must have cost a bomb for her to celebrate her birthday at an upscale restaurant in Japan which could have been just one of her regular expensive feasts. Not only netizens but ordinary voters will wonder how a young hubristic woman with such expensive taste and politically inexperienced could pretend to know the hardships of ordinary people and much less to serve them.

She is married to the private secretary to the Prime Minister and this the netizens consider, rightly or wrongly, to be an important factor in Tim Pei Ling being chosen as a new candidate in the coming General Election. With such an uproar over her candidature, it will be a surprise if she could win if she were to contest in an SMC. So the latest PAP stunt is to put her as a candidate in Marine Parade GRC under the stewardship of SM Goh Chok Tong to ensure her election as an MP. But SM Goh is likely to have taken account that Tin Pei Ling is unlikely to be a vote-getting team member in his GRC. If anything, she will only bring down the percentage of votes that SM Goh's team is likely to get in the election.

That the PAP wallahs have come out in open support of Tin Pei Ling in face of widespread criticisms by netizens is something to be expected. They cannot be seen to chicken out at this stage as they have their reputation to consider. Tin is probably selected after an extensive process of selection and they could not afford to be seen to be abandoning her just because of netizens' criticisms. That would show them up to be fragile in succumbing to pressure. They go one step further in criticising the new media for making uncalled for attacks on Tin. The MSM Lianhi Zaobao devoted its editorial on 2-4-11 under the title:"Say no to smearing black politics" (向抹黑政治说不) joining in the Government's criticisms of netizens' attack on Tin. In spite of all the government's support of Tin, there is an approp0riate Chinese saying: "Empty cave comes the wind, its coming is natural" (空穴来风，其来有自）。Ir really means there is no smoke without fire.

Tin Pei Ling makes history in that this is the first time a new PAP receives such widespread adverse reception even before the hustings begin. It is left to be seen if she can transcend her bruised image if she is elected and show her detractors that she is made of sterner stuff than what they make her out to be. Not only the netizens but the whole of Singapore will be watching Tin Pei Ling's performance with highly critical eyes.