From ‘NSP potential candidate draws Nicole Seah comparisons’, 2 Aug 2015, article by Hon Jing Yi, CNA
Even before it officially announces its slate for the upcoming General Election (GE), one of the National Solidarity Party’s (NSP) potential candidates has been gathering online buzz, not least because she worked as a part-time model.
At 26, Ms Kevryn Lim’s youth has already drawn comparisons to former NSP member Nicole Seah, who, being 24 at the time, was one of the youngest candidates to run in the 2011 GE.
Speaking to TODAY on Friday (Jul 31), Ms Lim said that she was indeed inspired by Ms Seah – who resigned from the NSP last year – to enter politics.
“She really connected with the young crowd,” said Ms Lim, who also cited the book Can Singapore Survive by Professor Kishore Mahbubani, Dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, as well as the American political drama House Of Cards, which stars Kevin Spacey, as sources of political inspiration and influence.
…Referring to some less-than-savory comments she has gotten online over her part-time modeling career, Ms Lim said she does not let herself be affected by what other people say.
“I still model once in a while, so for me it is something I like to do. Like I said before, it’s not a shameful career, it is also a profession,” Ms Lim said.
It’s still early days yet, and I’m in no position to judge Kevyrn’s ability based on her US drama influences or whether she gets paid for posing in skimpy bikinis. The common impression that most voters have of youngsters is a ‘lack of maturity’. PAP’s Tin Pei Lin went through the ‘baptism of fire’ with brickbats and doubts thrown at her after she posed with a Kate Spade bag. Kevyrn should jolly well study how netizens reacted to Tin’s foot-stomping ‘bimbo-ism’ in 2011, and avoid Nicole Seah’s faux pas when she tweeted a Hokkien vulgarity while stuck in traffic, instead of watching House of Cards. Still, Singaporeans are probably more accepting of a former swimsuit model as MP than a cross-dressing gay-married entertainer.
Some comments online have been brutal, one to the extent of ‘what next, a porn star?’ (There is in fact a Top Ten list of pornstars who went into politics, ALL FEMALE). But having sprightly candidates running for elections isn’t something terribly new, just that we have been unfairly critical of young attractive women but not young hot-blooded men. Nicole, Pei Ling and Kevyrn aside, here’s one for the girls, a list of upstart power-hungry men ranked by age.
1. Lim Chin Siong. Won a seat in the legislative assembly in 1955. Aged 22. WTF was I even doing at 22.
2.Relative unknown Abdul Salim Harun, WP, 24. Part of an experimental youth team that took on PM Lee’s AMK GRC in 2006. Included 30 year olds Yaw Shin Leong and Glenda Han as well.
3. Steve Chia, NSP, candidate at 26.
3. K Shanmugam, PAP, now Law Minister, candidate at 29.
3. Christopher De Souza, PAP, 30.
4. Zaqy Mohamed, PAP, 31.
5. Vikram Nair, PAP, 32.
6. Last but not least, PM Lee himself, who charged guns blazing into politics at the tender age of 32.
