On the morning of June 26, history was made when Liverpool FC won the English Premier League for the first time in 30 years.

This was a momentous day for ardent Liverpool fan, 43-year-old Mariam Jaafar.

Exclaiming that she is a "huuuge fan" of the team, she said: "[the win] just makes you happy, it gives you a buzz for the rest of the day."

And it seems like a buzz was just what she needed on the day The Reds emerged victorious, as it was also the day she was officially introduced as a new candidate for the People's Action Party (PAP).

Together with Ong Ye Kung, Vikram Nair, and Lim Wee Kiak, who are running for re-election as members of parliament (MPs), and fellow new candidate Poh Li San, Mariam will stand for election in Sembawang GRC.

Going into politics: not "if", but "when"

She has been in several jobs over the course of her career, ranging from a stint as an engineer, to her current profession as a consultant at global management consulting firm Boston Consulting Group.

But she never saw herself becoming a politician.

However, she told us that it was always a matter of "when", rather than "if" for the people around her.

And it doesn't sound surprising, really, given the nature of her job in the consulting industry.

As a consultant, she has sat on a number of government committees and boards. "It is actually part of my job to advise governments on policies", she explained.

On top of that, "of course, I do have an interest in policy. I have a lot of good debates with my friends", she said.

Life-changing moments

Deciding to run for an MP seat wasn't done overnight.

In fact, she said that coming to the decision was a long process.

"It took me quite a while because it is a pretty big decision in terms of lifestyle. It has been a conversation and something I thought was a good way to give back to the community, but I wasn't sure if I was going to be up to it."

But two major incidents in the past year forced her to sit down and think of about the next phase of her life: her father's cancer diagnosis, and the Covid-19 pandemic.

She said: "When major things like this happen in your life, it causes you to sit back and say: 'Ok, so what is it that you really think is important and want to do?'"

While stewing on this question, she was reminded of her father's advice, which her family fondly calls "Jaafarisms".

One thought that tugged at her heartstrings was advice he had given her when she was facing a tough time at work.

"I was confiding in him and he just kept quiet for a while. Then he said to me: 'If not you, then who?' Now, there's a little bit of philosophy in that question."

Reminiscing that very memory, Mariam said that she then knew what she wanted and needed to do: To have the heart to serve and do more to serve others.

While her father was a key reason why she's doing all this, he was also one of the last in her circle to know that she was going to run for MP.

"You know, I wasn't able to tell my dad for a long time because he was going through treatment, so it was a little bit late by the time I told him.

He doesn't say very much, he just told me: 'Ok, let's try your best.' So I know that means he's supportive of me."

Big shoes to fill

Mariam, who sheepishly shared that she joined the PAP "just recently", was spotted helping out in Woodlands since late March with then-MP for the Woodlands ward, Amrin Amin.

With Amrin contesting in Sengkang GRC this general election, it seems likely that Mariam will be taking over his role if her team is elected.

Describing him as "very hardworking" and "really friendly", she admits that she has some big shoes to fill.

"The people love him, and he's been really helpful by providing guidance and encouragement. Yes, [I have] big shoes to fill, but you have to go in with intent."

However, she is confident to assume the role if given the chance, and said she would use her experience as a consultant to her advantage.

Putting her consultant skills to use

You're probably asking: what can a consultant do to help residents? Perhaps you're even wondering, what does a consultant even do?

As she breaks into laughter when posed this question, she said:

"Most people don't know what consulting is, they think we make a lot of PowerPoint slides... Yes, I do make a lot of PowerPoint slides but consulting is very different now. My work is very hands-on and actually one of the biggest skills is being able to mobilise [an] organisation."

But her PowerPoint skills have come in handy, anyway.

For starters, she made a word cloud (a visual representation of text data) to identify the more prevalent concerns that have been raised at Meet-the-People sessions.

She said that the majority of the issues raised by residents involve welfare and housing concerns.

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Something that appeared in the word cloud, however, caught her by surprise.

"One word that popped out — which was something that we won't necessarily think of immediately — are the people on home detention. So how do we reach out to this group of people?

The key is, I think, to do all we can to help residents who come to us. Sometimes we can't [do much], but at least we are there to listen and provide comfort."

Enjoyed social mobility

Social mobility seems to be a cause that a lot of the new PAP candidates care about.

This includes Desmond Tan, Shawn Huang and Mariam herself, who all mentioned the topic in their respective introductions.

For Mariam, this cause is personal as it is something that she and her family has "enjoyed tremendously".

"You know, my parents were also starting their career. It's not me, it was my parents who were experiencing the social mobility. They worked hard and progressed in their respective careers."

Mariam grew up in a 1-room HDB flat with her siblings and parents.

Her mother was a nurse, while her father was a Malay teacher who also provided translation services for extra income.

Her parents made sure that Mariam and her siblings would focus on their academics and made it a joy for them to learn.

"Whenever we went out, or found a new word in the newspaper, we would immediately go to the dictionary and see what it means, then try to write a different sentence with the new word."

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Hard work and a lot of luck

And her upbringing is probably why she excelled well enough in school to earn herself a Masters' and Bachelors' degree from Stanford University, on top of an MBA degree from Harvard Business School.

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However, she attributes her education and career journey to "hard work and a lot of luck".

For the first three years of primary school, she attended Raffles Girls Primary School, mainly because she lived within the vicinity.

However, the family moved to Jurong and after her father was transferred to teach at Bukit View Primary School, and she attended that very school as well for the last three years.

She cheekily quipped: "Every school is a good school, right?", echoing a phrase coined and popularised by then-education minister Heng Swee Keat.

"It was easier to be in the same school as him, anyway", she explained.

Mariam did well enough for her Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) to attend Raffles Girls School. That, Mariam says, was where she learnt that there was much a girl could do.

"The school was seminal in my development. It was really the principal, Carmee Lim, who always wanted to push girls to believe that they can do anything and pick up entrepreneurial skills."

In her teenage years, she was interested in becoming a lawyer thanks to the shows that she watched.

"I thought I was going to study law because, you know, there are no television shows about consultants or even engineers! But there were so many lawyer shows like 'Matlock' and 'Ally McBeal'."

At the end of her tertiary education and Raffles Junior College, she ended up scoring a scholarship to attend Stanford University, and chose to study electrical and electronics engineering as she had always been doing science-related projects in school.

She says that she "fell in love" with the school after she received a postcard from her Malaysian cousin who was previously studying there.

Having the heart to serve

Her time at Harvard, on the other hand, was purely accidental.

"Soon after my husband and I got married, his company told him that they wanted to send him to the Boston office. So I had to figure out what to do in Boston and it sounded like a good time for me to do an MBA."

So can an Ivy League graduate connect with the heartlanders?

Mariam answered with a resounding yes and stressed that having humility is especially important.

"You can never forget who you are and where you come from. If you remember those things, then it becomes a lot easier to have the heart to serve."

You'll never walk alone

With all her qualifications and experience in tow, one could probably foresee Mariam aiming for a ministerial position.

But she laughed it off, and shared that her main priority is to take things one at a time, starting with getting to know the residents, and if elected, to help them as an MP.

As a fan of Jürgen Klopp and his team, she follows them by example and said:

"The Liverpool players would always say that the most important game is the next game. You take one game at a time. Just like them, we have to win the elections first. Once we're elected, we need to help the residents. After that, who knows, right?"

In the words of the football club's motto, it seems like Mariam is keen to make sure that the residents of Sembawang GRC will never walk alone.

Top image by Fasiha Nazren.