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Their dads were once PAP adversaries
But Barisan Sosialis members support their sons' candidacy
By Zakir Hussain
THEIR fathers opposed the PAP in the 1960s.
Yet yesterday, Mr Ong Ye Kung and Dr Janil Puthucheary declared their candidacy under the PAP banner at the coming polls - with their fathers' support.
The two are likely the first offspring of Barisan Sosialis members to be fielded by the PAP. Their fathers were the late Barisan MP Ong Lian Teng and Barisan founding member Dominic Puthucheary.
When Dr Puthucheary, 38, a paediatrician, decided to join the PAP in early 2009, he was anxious about his father's response.
His father, Datuk Puthucheary, 77, a lawyer in Kuala Lumpur, was a founding member of the PAP who helped set up Barisan Sosialis in 1961 after the PAP split. In February 1963, Datuk Puthucheary and 112 others were detained in a massive security crackdown on suspected leftists codenamed Operation Cold Store. He was released 10 months later and barred from entering Singapore until 1990.
On breaking the news to his father, Dr Puthucheary said: 'I spoke to him and I started explaining about the Meet-the-People sessions and the tea that I was drinking and I had a whole plan of how I was going to explain all this.'
But his father cut him short.
'He said, 'I'm very proud of you'. He said it's not about which side you are on... it's about being engaged and involved in the community, being prepared to stand up, step forward and be part of the struggle to make this or that work.'
The PAP's core values and those of his father, he added, have more in common than they are different.
As for Datuk Puthucheary, he said yesterday: 'I don't want to revisit history. I'm very proud of my son and his desire to serve the society he lives in.'
When Mr Ong, 41, an NTUC assistant secretary-general, spoke to his father about joining the PAP, his father replied in Chinese: 'It's a new generation, we have to move on.'
The late Mr Ong Lian Teng, who died in June 2009, joined Barisan Sosialis when it was formed in July 1961. He contested the Bukit Panjang seat in the Legislative Assembly election in 1963 and defeated PAP incumbent Lee Khoon Choy. He resigned from Parliament in 1966 with other party members to protest against the Government's 'undemocratic acts'.
Mr Ong described his father as 'a patriot' who 'believed in the cause of Singapore, he believed in serving people'. When his father saw that he was helping workers in his roles at the Workforce Development Agency and the NTUC, 'I think he saw a lot of himself in me', Mr Ong said.
'When I spoke to him about entering politics, he supported me fully. He passed away two years ago, so that conversation was quite some time ago.
'I'm very glad the PAP starts its tea sessions very early so I could reconcile that with him,' he added.
Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean said the party's history reflects Singapore's: 'When you say that we field candidates who are the children of leftists, well, the party has its roots there.'
The PAP, Mr Teo added, is a broad-based party that welcomes diverse views. 'There are some people who may be a little more left and there are some people who may be a little more right, but it's a broad range of views.'
The party is willing to consider any idea provided it works and brings 'better lives to Singaporeans'.
'From that point of view, we're not ideological. We are logical, we are focused on what will benefit the people and how that benefit can be extended into the long term,' he said.
When asked for his views on detention without trial under the Internal Security Act, Dr Puthucheary admitted that it was a hard question for him to answer.
The law was used very differently today, in the post Sept-11 world, to maintain security in the face of terrorist threats, he noted.
'I might philosophically argue with some aspects of policy but the philosophy is not as important as the pragmatic implications for our security, for our country,' he said.
He would discuss his views on the matter within the party, he added.
Neither Mr Ong nor Dr Puthucheary could imagine a day when the PAP will again split.
Said Mr Ong: 'Views were a lot more stark then. Today, the party has strong leadership and can accommodate many diverse views.'
Added Dr Puthucheary: 'The PAP works on the basis of cohesiveness and internal discussions for a united front. If what you describe happens, it will not be the PAP any more.'
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But Barisan Sosialis members support their sons' candidacy
By Zakir Hussain
THEIR fathers opposed the PAP in the 1960s.
Yet yesterday, Mr Ong Ye Kung and Dr Janil Puthucheary declared their candidacy under the PAP banner at the coming polls - with their fathers' support.
The two are likely the first offspring of Barisan Sosialis members to be fielded by the PAP. Their fathers were the late Barisan MP Ong Lian Teng and Barisan founding member Dominic Puthucheary.
When Dr Puthucheary, 38, a paediatrician, decided to join the PAP in early 2009, he was anxious about his father's response.
His father, Datuk Puthucheary, 77, a lawyer in Kuala Lumpur, was a founding member of the PAP who helped set up Barisan Sosialis in 1961 after the PAP split. In February 1963, Datuk Puthucheary and 112 others were detained in a massive security crackdown on suspected leftists codenamed Operation Cold Store. He was released 10 months later and barred from entering Singapore until 1990.
On breaking the news to his father, Dr Puthucheary said: 'I spoke to him and I started explaining about the Meet-the-People sessions and the tea that I was drinking and I had a whole plan of how I was going to explain all this.'
But his father cut him short.
'He said, 'I'm very proud of you'. He said it's not about which side you are on... it's about being engaged and involved in the community, being prepared to stand up, step forward and be part of the struggle to make this or that work.'
The PAP's core values and those of his father, he added, have more in common than they are different.
As for Datuk Puthucheary, he said yesterday: 'I don't want to revisit history. I'm very proud of my son and his desire to serve the society he lives in.'
When Mr Ong, 41, an NTUC assistant secretary-general, spoke to his father about joining the PAP, his father replied in Chinese: 'It's a new generation, we have to move on.'
The late Mr Ong Lian Teng, who died in June 2009, joined Barisan Sosialis when it was formed in July 1961. He contested the Bukit Panjang seat in the Legislative Assembly election in 1963 and defeated PAP incumbent Lee Khoon Choy. He resigned from Parliament in 1966 with other party members to protest against the Government's 'undemocratic acts'.
Mr Ong described his father as 'a patriot' who 'believed in the cause of Singapore, he believed in serving people'. When his father saw that he was helping workers in his roles at the Workforce Development Agency and the NTUC, 'I think he saw a lot of himself in me', Mr Ong said.
'When I spoke to him about entering politics, he supported me fully. He passed away two years ago, so that conversation was quite some time ago.
'I'm very glad the PAP starts its tea sessions very early so I could reconcile that with him,' he added.
Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean said the party's history reflects Singapore's: 'When you say that we field candidates who are the children of leftists, well, the party has its roots there.'
The PAP, Mr Teo added, is a broad-based party that welcomes diverse views. 'There are some people who may be a little more left and there are some people who may be a little more right, but it's a broad range of views.'
The party is willing to consider any idea provided it works and brings 'better lives to Singaporeans'.
'From that point of view, we're not ideological. We are logical, we are focused on what will benefit the people and how that benefit can be extended into the long term,' he said.
When asked for his views on detention without trial under the Internal Security Act, Dr Puthucheary admitted that it was a hard question for him to answer.
The law was used very differently today, in the post Sept-11 world, to maintain security in the face of terrorist threats, he noted.
'I might philosophically argue with some aspects of policy but the philosophy is not as important as the pragmatic implications for our security, for our country,' he said.
He would discuss his views on the matter within the party, he added.
Neither Mr Ong nor Dr Puthucheary could imagine a day when the PAP will again split.
Said Mr Ong: 'Views were a lot more stark then. Today, the party has strong leadership and can accommodate many diverse views.'
Added Dr Puthucheary: 'The PAP works on the basis of cohesiveness and internal discussions for a united front. If what you describe happens, it will not be the PAP any more.'
[email protected]
