Mantra of Authenticity

May 29, 2011 Sunday
Keeping it real for woman of steel
Mantra of authenticity has served S'pore's longest-serving woman MP well

By Judith Tan (with thanks to Sunday Times )

Mrs Yu-Foo Yee Shoon, known for her tenacity in championing labour issues, has received accolades for her achievements as a woman. She credits her family, friends, staff and constituents for her successful balancing of work and family. Last month, she retired from politics after 27 years. -- ST PHOTO: ASHLEIGH SIM

She worked in the labour movement for a quarter of a century, and was a Member of Parliament - first in the Yuhua constituency, then in the Bukit Timah GRC - for as long.

Scribbling the Chinese word zhen ('authentic' in Mandarin) in this reporter's notebook, Mrs Yu-Foo Yee Shoon, who retired from politics last month, said it was the mantra that she applied to her career, the community, and her own life.

And it is zhen that has won Mrs Yu-Foo, 61, who was until last month the Minister of State for Community Development, Youth and Sports, accolades.

She was named Woman of the Year in 1995 by Her World magazine and inducted to the Singapore Council of Women's Organisations' (SCWO) Wall of Fame in 2009 for being the first female mayor. She was mayor of South West Community Development Council (CDC) from 2001 to 2004.

She was the only woman out of 50 trade union 'stalwarts' honoured for making a difference to the labour movement.

In keeping to the principle of authenticity, she said she was merely following in the footsteps of the late pioneer statesman S. Rajaratnam.

Speaking in her comfortable mixture of English and Mandarin, and at times animatedly and gesticulating with her hands, she explained: 'Mr Rajaratnam might have been well educated, yet when he was speaking to the constituents, he was able to explain policies and changes in simple everyday terms. Never once did he look down on anyone who was not educated. To all Singaporeans, to me, he was zhen xin (sincere), zhen.'

And zhen was how Mrs Yu-Foo led her staff, grassroots leaders and her constituents. She opened her heart and her home to them and, in response, many were willing to help her in any way they could.

She used to drive herself around in her Volkswagen but had to hire a part-time driver when her community work increased.

'When he could no longer work, the community leaders I worked with volunteered to drive me from one event to another. I felt rather pai seh (Hokkien for 'embarrassed') at times but they said they were happy to help out and I am truly grateful,' she said.

For an MP to be successful, she pointed out, he or she cannot do it all alone. Quoting a Chinese saying, she said a general 'is great only by the number of men who are willing to do battle with him'.

'I wouldn't be where I am if not for my family, friends, colleagues and the community leaders working really hard on my behalf behind the scenes.'

She said her friends and relatives then would help take her three children, who are now in their 20s and 30s, out when she could not, because of her community work commitments.

She recalled the time when she first became an MP for Yuhua in 1984. Then, she was one of only three women politicians and Yuhua was a new constituency.

'This is a funny story, but one that holds near and dear to me. As Yuhua was a new constituency in 1984, there was no one to help me campaign or canvass for votes - or so I thought,' she said.

'When I first got there, I found a group of men between the ages of 40 and 60, dressed only in singlets, shorts and flip-flops, some smoking cigarettes, waiting to campaign with me. I found out later that they were hawkers from the wet market, who had finished their business by late morning and had volunteered to help. I felt it was very kind of them.'

After a few days, the young People's Action Party (PAP) candidate managed to convince the men to dress 'a little more formally'.

'They actually turned up in T-shirts. Some even put on long pants. But what was really touching was that even the older men, who had grey or white hair, dyed their hair black so I wouldn't appear like I garnered support only from senior citizens,' she said.

'They were sincere, real in wanting to campaign with me. We have become close friends through the years.

'Last year, some of the grassroots leaders from Yuhua even cooked and brought the food over to my home, just to ensure that my 95-year-old father-in-law ate right.'

Being zhen stems from her upbringing. Her father, an immigrant from China and a Chinese school principal, brought her and her three siblings up on Confucius teachings.

'Zhong xiao ren ai li yi lian chi (in Mandarin they mean loyalty, filial piety, humanity, love, courtesy, righteousness, integrity and sense of shame) were the eight values drilled into us and I have consciously applied them in my life,' she said.

Mrs Yu-Foo also saw a kinder, more generous side of him, although he was strict.

'Our relatives from Indonesia sent their children to study here in Singapore in the 1960s. When the parents could not visit during the Konfrontasi period, they came under the care of my father who raised them - a boy and a girl - as his own,' she said.

Learning from his example, Mrs Yu-Foo became a champion of issues concerning workers, women, children and the aged in Parliament. She said she would continue to fight for these causes, in her capacity as a private citizen.

Having a soft spot for the poor, she went out of her way often to ensure they were given the chance to support themselves.

'Most of my clothes were made by tailors working from home. The white qipao I wore during hustings, for instance, was made by a single mother who needed to work from home. Letting her design and make my clothes helped her feed her family.'

She added that the clothes made by her constituents are not wanting in quality and design as even the Secretary of State for the United States, Mrs Hillary Clinton, complimented her on her gowns, at the last Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting held here two years ago.

Mrs Yu-Foo hopes the younger ministers, especially those at the Environment Ministry, would look into allowing cottage industries to thrive here.

'This would allow the needy to earn a living baking cakes and biscuits, for instance, instead of asking for handouts,' she said.

Mrs Yu-Foo first stood for elections in the Yuhua ward in 1984 and represented it until 2006, when she was moved to Holland- Bukit Timah GRC.

Having been a politician for 27 years has made her the longest-serving woman MP in Singapore's history. She served under all three prime ministers - Mr Lee Kuan Yew, Mr Goh Chok Tong and Mr Lee Hsien Loong.

After graduating from Nanyang University or Nantah, she joined the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) as a senior industrial relations officer.

It was hard work trying to talk workers into joining NTUC or forming trade unions affiliated to it.

'Even my university mates thought I was looking for a job at the factories when they saw me waiting outside the gates,' she said, laughing.

With the tenacity of a bulldog, Mrs Yu-Foo said she refused to give up. It was this same tenacity that saw her rising through the ranks in the NTUC over the years to become its chairman, vice-president, assistant secretary-general and deputy secretary-general from 1971 to 1999.

One incident in the late 1970s is etched deeply in her mind. She had, after spending several weeks waiting outside the gates of a Japanese factory, managed to get the workers to sign up with NTUC to form a union, only to have it turned down by her bosses.

'I was told the project belonged to (then) Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and to drop it,' she said. It was Mr Lee who had convinced the Japanese to invest in Singapore, she was told, and anything pertaining to Japanese companies would come under him.

But 'I stuck to my guns and instead I convinced the then NTUC sec-gen Devan Nair to persuade PM Lee to allow me to unionise the workers', she said.

'PM Lee would listen to reasons, as long as they benefit Singapore and Singaporeans as a whole. I guess I talked their ears off. Imagine how happy I was when I was told to go ahead and form the union. I was over the moon.'