For some Singaporeans, the latest image they've seen of newly elected Member of Parliament Carrie Tan would probably be this:

"That shot was so 'paparazzi'!" Tan laughs.

Her partner was so stunned by the number of cameras waiting for them, she adds. He initially suggested that she enters first while he follows close behind.

"I said no! You're coming with me!"

Championing social issues like work-care conflict

The attention that Tan and her partner received that day is probably a tiny glimpse of the public scrutiny that she is now under as a full-fledged politician, one who is about to deliver her maiden speech in Parliament.

We're seated at the Courtyard Cafe at the National Gallery. It's just like any other Monday except that in about less than two hours, Tan will be across the road attending the first session of the 14th Parliament of Singapore.

This is the second time we're meeting Tan in three months, the first being our pre-election chat in late June.

The newly elected MP is busier now with back-to-back appointments. Our previous meeting was casual but this time, she is accompanied by a PAP staff.

Delivering a maiden speech would be quite a terrifying endeavour for most people. Not Tan though, who is "not so unaccustomed to public speaking".

"I mean to me it's like, these are things that are weighing on my mind for a long time and I'm very familiar with the issues."

Said issues range from social policies to work-care conflict (the tension that caregivers feel when they have to juggle work and caring for their families) to Singapore's evolving social compact.

Even before becoming a politician, Tan has been observing these issues and how they play out in social media discourse. The challenge for her maiden speech, she says, is in refining her thoughts and making them more accessible for everyone.

The issues that she chose for her maiden speech aren't surprising coming from the founder and strategic advisor of Daughters of Tomorrow, a charity which helps low-income women find employment opportunities, and through that, financial independence and social mobility.

She noticed that some of the issues she encountered on the ground through Daughters of Tomorrow were complex and had to be addressed systemically.

So when the opportunity to join politics came, Tan found that it was the natural step to take her advocacy work to the next level — straight into Parliament.

Tan adds that her last six weeks of MP duties, listening to residents have shown her that the social issues she has been championing ever since she was a social activist happen not just to vulnerable women but a broader spectrum of people as well.

For instance, the notion of "deserving-ness". Where does one draw the line when allocating financial assistance? At which point is someone not needy enough for support?

Tan recounts the story of a resident who was so distraught because he did not qualify for any of the Covid-19 assistance schemes due to his employment circumstances which were "not straightforward".

"He just happened to miss one or two criteria right, and he felt like there's nothing there to help him. And he refuses to go for ComCare because to him it's like, 'I'm not a charity case. So why should I be treated like a charity case?'"

"It reinforces the same issues that I think we need to do further reflection about," says Tan.

Her words bring to mind something she said earlier in June: That she is still very much an activist, just one who is working on the inside.

Spurred on by responsibility entrusted by Lee Bee Wah

If there's one memory of GE 2020 that Tan holds dear to her heart, it is the moment when she received a flower garland from her predecessor ex-MP Lee Bee Wah.

"She had a flower garland from the residents and she took it off and put it over my head....I don't know whether she meant it that way but to me, that gesture was she's handing over the the responsibility of looking after the residents to me and entrusting me with this work. So I was, I mean — (takes a deep breath)"

"Are you holding back your tears?" our cameraman asks.

"Yeah," Tan replies, trying to compose herself.

"Even now, you know, I think that was a very significant gesture for me."

Evidently Tan has taken this responsibility very seriously and it would not have been possible without her team, particularly her grassroots leaders whose "experience and wisdom" she relies on.

"They know so much about the people, the relationships, the dynamics. And I think being a part of that family now is very precious."

Thanks to the fact that Tan does not drive, she gets to connect with her grassroots team members in the unlikeliest of places: Their cars.

"Sometimes you know, they will tumpang (give a ride) me in the car to get from one location to another location and we have those private moments together to check and to know each other better. I really enjoy that."

Has it been a smooth transition though, taking over from Lee who was very well-loved by her residents, and gaining the trust of her grassroots team?

She laughs for a bit, before admitting that yes, people come with certain preconceptions of what an MP should be, although she isn't sure she fits those stereotypes.

However, she is grateful that her grassroots team has been "very open-minded":

"I'm very grateful that they've been very open-minded and very supportive, and I think being open to see me for who I am, and I really appreciate that."

Comparisons between both ladies' working styles are a given, and naturally so, says Tan. Lee used to be very responsive and so people expect a fast rate of response from her successor.

"So, of course lah, there's some pressure there, and it's something that I try to do as well," she says. She has now picked up the habit of taking notes whenever she meets residents in the community and start working on them as soon as she can.

Happily, Tan has also encountered residents who encourage her not to put so much pressure on herself. In fact just the day before, a group of uncles urged her not to work so hard.

"I'm like, wow this is a change. Six weeks ago, we were like, 'Eh, are you going to be here? Are you going to work hard?' Six weeks later we're like, 'Don't work so hard, take care of your health.'"

"I think they see lah, they see my dedication and it's nice," she smiles.

"Sometimes I feel like I'm running a customer service hotline"

"I do sometimes feel that," she says emphatically.

She says this because there is a wide variety of issues that come to her which require a similarly wide range of solutions. Not everything has to be passed on to a public agency, says Tan, because some issues can't be solved by them.

"I think the key thing is how to then find a more efficient, and also resource-mindful way of helping residents resolve their difficulties."

Tan gives the example of a resident who lives near a reservoir. She came to Tan complaining of insects flying into her home. It wasn't an infestation, just a "common phenomenon of living near nature", says the MP.

So instead of sending the query to NEA, Tan decided to try a different approach:

"I basically just Googled some natural home remedy insect spray and sent the links to her and said, 'Would you like to try it out? Maybe we can find ways to self-manage.'"

"So far, they didn't get angry so I guess it could be a helpful way!" Tan grins.

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Top image by Joshua Lee.