October 19, 03:43 PM 
514 Chai Chee Lane 03-16, Singapore 469029 One can count on one hand the number of hairstyles Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had since he joined politics 31 years ago.
PM is no David Beckham when it comes to hairstyles, but look closely — the nuances are there.
There's the neat, close crop that looks effortless but requires daily maintenance:
Photo from PM Lee's Facebook page
And the slightly windblown, grey-on-the-sides cut for maximum volume:
The good-with-an-apron cut (even better beside an ang moh):
Source: Tony Abbott Facebook page
And of course, who can forget the Colonel Crew Cut?
Source: Wikipedia
It was the crew cut (although to be fair, he retired a Brigadier General) that left the most impression for some as it was the style he first adopted when he was still wet behind the ears in the arena of politics.
For party activist Helen Tan, PM Lee's Colonel Crew Cut would stand for something else altogether.
She shared her first encounter with PM Lee, who was attending his first constituency event since retiring from the army:
"My RC Chairman said: 'Tonight you go and sit with somebody, VIP. They did not tell me it was LKY's son.
He was wearing white and he had a bit of a crew cut lah, and I was thinking: 'Why is this monk asking me so many personal questions?' In the end I found out that he was LKY's son."
Cue 'so embarrassing!' look.
The 71-year-old was lauded as one of a group of People's Action Party pioneer activists at a book launch by the PAP Seniors' Group at the Fullerton Bay Hotel yesterday (Oct. 18). The commemorative book features 50 elderly activists and their stories, which include Tan's humourous anecdote.
Hairstyles aside, she has been an activist for the "kaypoh monk" for more than 40 years.
And judging from this handshake, all's well between the two of them.
