Meet the Singapore Flash, the PAP's most standout fan on Friday night

He was pretty much the unofficial mascot of the ruling party that night.

Jeanette Tan| September 12, 05:15 AM

When you think of People's Action Party supporters, you would always expect them to be dressed in white.

Photo by Christopher Wong for Mothership.sg Photo by Christopher Wong for Mothership.sg

But not this guy — he wants to be known as Mr Lim, and he's in his late 30s. He works in the financial sector, dealing with "sales of financial instruments".

He isn't really on what one might call the "loony fringes". He talked to us about foreign investors, neighbouring countries watching the election with concern that any loss on the PAP's part will "freak them out". He talks about the military, about bilateral relations Singapore has with other countries.

He also critiques the opposition fairly eloquently, opining, for instance, that "to a certain extent they oppose for the sake of opposing".

Perhaps the most surprising thing about Mr Lim, though, is that he was an opposition supporter, just four years ago.

"The last election (result) was simply because the government had not been listening to us... I gave a lot of feedback. I wrote to the press, I wrote to the forum, I wrote directly to the various ministers. They were not doing anything to cool down the measures, to build more houses, to facilitate for the population.

(And) it was only after the election that things changed — and there was a reshuffle of cabinet ministers. It was only then that things started to pick up, so much so that I feel maybe they overdid it a little."

Photo by Thrina Tham Photo by Thrina Tham

A converted ruling party fan, he was moved to rent a suit one day before the polls out of concern that "there would be a swing in the votes" — that was, in his mind, how he could "do something about it".

"After comparing the two days’ rally, I was amazed that the turnout was about the same. So I (was) a bit concerned whether the opposition has a chance to take (more GRCs), I read the report by some of the political analysts, they say this time round a lot of opposition parties will come out more aggressive, and I (was) worried that they (would) make the situation turn around."

How his suit was going to change the way other people voted beats us, but hey — it worked, we suppose!

"I was looking for a suit which is white in colour but (the rental shop didn't) have, because after all I don’t need the logo, I just need the suit that’s all."

Photo by Sarah Tan Photo by Sarah Tan

He ended up printing out an enlarged PAP logo from PhotoShop, and pasted it in the middle of his chest — all this, he said, were things he had never, ever done before. He doesn't want to become famous or a public figure, or to become known, though.

"I... really stepped out of my comfort zone. I put on my mask (so) nobody recognises me."

His outfit may have stood out for being red instead of white, but someone did notice him.

"Mdm Ho Ching saw me — she likes my outfit, and saw me, but was in a rush because PM Lee was waiting for her in their car. She said, 'Nice outfit!' and then dashed off."

He also met and took photos with these two senior ministers:

Photo by Thrina Tham Photo from Mr Lim

Photo by Thrina Tham Photo from Mr Lim

He left us with this, too, that kind of made us think:

"We are a small island, we don’t have any resources, people are all we have. Unlike a bigger nation that can afford to make mistakes, Singapore cannot afford to make mistakes because once we do, there’s no turn around."

 

With reporting by Thrina Tham