Advertisement

GE2015: Paul Tambyah of the Singapore Democratic Party

Dr Paul Tambyah of the Singapore Democratic Party.

In this series, Yahoo Singapore speaks to potential candidates for the upcoming General Election. Members of Singapore's various political parties have been invited to participate. Featured here: Paul Tambyah of the Singapore Democratic Party, who was interviewed Thursday, 27 August.

Social justice has always been part of Paul Tambyah’s life.

“I grew up in an environment where we were very aware of social justice issues and the marginalised, and the need to be concerned about these issues,” he said.

His late father was a doctor and his mother is a social worker who advocates for the disabled. As a child, he witnessed many interactions his parents had with disabled young people and their families. "They were always treated with friendship and respect,” he said.

“I got involved with politics because I felt very strongly about many issues - in healthcare, education and social justice issues among marginalised individuals in Singapore."

“If you really want to change policy, you’ve got to be involved in Parliament so that the ministers are held accountable, so that authorities have to be forthcoming with data that is otherwise inaccessible,” he said.

He is part of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) team contesting in the four-man Holland-Bukit Timah GRC against Vivian Balakrishnan, Sim Ann, Christopher De Souza and Liang Eng Hwa of the People’s Action Party.

“The SDP is a party that is strong on social justice. It believes in equality and fairness… We don’t need a natural aristocracy to tell us what to do,” he said.

A senior lecturer at the National University of Singapore and a professor of medicine, Tambyah was a longtime volunteer with the party but could not become a member because he was also active in human rights advocacy group MARUAH, which forbids its members to be members of political parties. He left the group this year to join the SDP.

Paul Tambyah on a walkabout with the Singapore Democratic Party. Photo: SDP Facebook
Paul Tambyah on a walkabout with the Singapore Democratic Party. Photo: SDP Facebook

The real Chee Soon Juan
He chuckles when asked about the perceived negative association with party secretary-general Chee Soon Juan. He relates an incident where he and a fellow academic had a meal with Chee. After the dinner ended, the academic remarked to Tambyah, “He’s normal.” Similarly, Tambyah’s wife commented after meeting Chee, “He’s just an ordinary guy with a deep passion and a strong conviction."

Tambyah stresses that the negative image of Chee was perpetuated by those who felt threatened by him. Chee’s political career includes several lawsuits for defamation and jail time.

"Social media has helped people see Dr Chee without the filters of the mainstream media of the 1990s and 2000s,” Although Tambyah admitted it may be more difficult to change the minds of the older generation, “Anyone younger than 30 who has interacted with Dr Chee, they have a very different impression of him,” he asserted.

Tambyah adds that his mother expressed some concern over him joining an opposition party. He said, “I had to just keep telling my mum, ‘Look, the knuckleduster era is over. We’re no longer in the era where political opponents are locked up without trial.’ So that reassured my mum a little bit.”

Paul Tambyah on a walkabout. Photo: SDP Facebook page
Paul Tambyah on a walkabout. Photo: SDP Facebook page


The importance of opposition parties in Parliament
As a doctor, healthcare is an issue close to his heart that he intends to champion, if elected. “We have good hospitals, good nurses, good allied health professionals, but so many patients cannot afford basic healthcare.”

An expert in infectious diseases, he also takes issue with the fact that HIV drugs are not subsidised, despite campaigning from social workers and advocacy groups. "The current government believes in the 'many helping hands approach’ where they provide charity for those who need help... but I believe that things such as healthcare and education are a basic human right, and you shouldn’t have to depend on charity," he said.

Tambyah believes that more opposition party members in Parliament will act as a good reviewer for the ruling party’s policies. He cites the example of the People’s Action Party in the 1960s.

In the 1960s, the PAP was the opposition in the Malaysian federal parliament - a time that Tambyah describes as the “golden years” of Singapore - “Those were the years that the HDB launched their massive building campaign, JTC, the Economic Development Board, and you’re forced to come up with really good ideas, because your ideas have to be challenged. And they’re not challenged by seven opposition MPs – they’re challenged by a good number of people who bring many different talents and abilities to the table."

Tambyah added that Singapore’s progress came because they (Lee Kuan Yew, Goh Keng Swee, Toh Chin Chye, E.W. Barker) “had a good, strong opposition keeping them on their toes”.

See the full interview here: