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Jul 4, 2011
MacPherson 'warming up' to me: Tin Pei Ling
By Poon Chian Hui
NEWLY minted MP Tin Pei Ling has said the people of MacPherson are warming up to her.
Calling this a 'significant change', she said: 'I guess, given what has happened, they recognise me, but they have also become warmer.'
The 27-year-old full-time MP, speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a community event in Toa Payoh yesterday, was referring to her baptism of fire when standing on the People's Action Party (PAP) ticket in Marine Parade GRC in May's General Election.
She was widely castigated online for the photos she posted of herself on Facebook, a video clip which caught her in a show of petulance, and for her links to the party through her husband, the principal private secretary to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, among other things. Soon after PAP's victory in Marine Parade GRC was announced, many called for her resignation on Facebook.
Ms Tin said it is still too early to tell whether the public's ill will towards her has dissolved, but she is viewing it as a positive sign that residents have appeared more at ease talking to her.
It has been a month since she quit her job as a business consultant at Ernst & Young to focus on being an MP. Saying she will not be looking for a job for up to a year, she added: 'I'm just focusing on MacPherson, on the people.'
Her days are now filled with meeting residents, such as during her Meet-the-People Sessions, her twice-weekly block visits or when she takes her walks through the constituency. 'When I have lunch or meals in the constituency, residents come up to me... and then we will have a chit-chat.'
Read the full story in Monday's edition of The Straits Times.
