SINGAPORE — The National Solidarity Party’s (NSP) Cheo Chai Chen’s assertion that his People’s Action Party (PAP) opponent Tin Pei Ling’s status as a new mother is a “weakness” has drawn backlash from the public, not least from Ms Tin herself, who took to Facebook to refute his comments. 

In a Facebook post this morning (Sept 4), Ms Tin, who faces Mr Cheo in MacPherson Single Member Constituency, pointed out that she went back to work two weeks after delivering her baby — on Aug 5 — because she wanted to continue serving. “I am confident that even as a mum, I can continue to focus on my work in MacPherson,” wrote Ms Tin, maintaining that she is committed to the constituency. 

She also spoke up for new mothers, saying they should not have to choose between motherhood and a career. “Women today are well educated and certainly capable of contributing in the workplace and in society. Hence, I want to build a Singapore in which more women can successfully manage family and work responsibilities at the same time. What this needs are Government and employer support, strong family ties with husbands playing active roles, and societal understanding and accommodation.” 

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Besides Mr Cheo, Ms Tin is also facing the Workers’ Party’s (WP) Bernard Chen in the single-seat ward. 

When evaluating his opponents during an interview with TODAY yesterday, Mr Cheo, who was speaking in Mandarin, had said: “The PAP’s Tin Pei Ling has been working very hard. But she has just given birth, so voters should let her go home and rest, and take care of her child.

“In general, mothers love their children, so they spend a lot of time with them. If voters choose her, she might focus more on her child than on her voters. This is her weakness.”

His comments drew criticism from some netizens, while other PAP members also waded in. In a Facebook post, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said he had spent four months as a medical house officer delivering babies and tending to recuperating mothers. “I know physically what they have to go through, just after delivery,” he said.

He said he had advised Ms Tin to do less house and market visits since she had delivered recently, but Ms Tin “is obviously not taking my advice” and has pushed on. “Mothers are strong, very strong when motivated ... Those who dare to challenge mothers — beware!” Dr Ng wrote. 

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<< Mothers are strong, very strong >> As a medical house-officer, I did four months of Obs and Gynae where I delivered...

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Grace Fu called Mr Cheo’s comments “unjustified and outdated”. “The work of an MP (Member of Parliament) is demanding, but many women MPs have proven that they can be as effective as their male counterparts,” she said, citing the PAP’s Ms Sim Ann, Ms Low Yen Ling and Dr Intan Azura Mokhtar as examples. “Mr Cheo’s comment that ‘voters should let her go home and rest...’ is a reminder that our work to change societal attitudes is far from done.”

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In a statement, NSP secretary-general Lim Tean assured that his party supports “mothers of all kinds”. Citing two women in his party who are mothers, Ms Kevryn Lim and Ms Nor Leila Mardiiiah Mohamed, he said: “There is no question that mothers are strong, and there is no question that any woman, mother or not, is any less able than her male counterpart.”  (function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.3"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));

Ms Lim, who is standing in Sembawang Group Representation Constituency, shared the statement, adding: “I believe Miss Tin, like all mothers and myself, can also be a career woman of (her) own and manage (her) time respectively without neglecting anyone in the family.” 

At a walkabout today, Mr Cheo told reporters he was joking. On Thursday, he also told TODAY he thought the WP’s Mr Chen was “inexperienced”. Mr Chen, 29, is new to elections and is the youngest candidate fielded by the WP this time.

In her post, Ms Tin, herself the youngest candidate when she made her political debut in 2011, noted: “I should add that neither should youth be seen as a disadvantage.”

She added: “It is good that young Singaporeans are paying attention and getting involved in the GE. It shows that young Singaporeans are willing to stand up for (their) beliefs and work hard to achieve a better future for our country.